In this latest post of Story Behind The Album Cover, artist Andrej Bartulović (All Things Rotten) discusses the cover art for the brand new RAVEN album All Hell’s Breaking Loose. Andrej has done numerous album covers for the likes of Mortis, Nocturnal Breed, and the latest from Alcatrazz! Enjoy the read, and check out the links below for more on Andrej Bartulović’s work.
First, can you give me a bit of background on yourself, how you got into art (different media’s) and in particular, album art?
I got into art while I was practically a kid. Got more involved into band stuff in high school and started working for bands around 2000. – the great time of MySpace. Awesome times!
Do you have favorite artists, and particular rock album artists, any favorite album covers (by other artists) from your youth?
Always loved Ed Repka, we all grew up with his covers. But artists I admired were regular metal fanboy list artists, starting with Giger then Cappullo. Grew up with Italian comics, not American. Dylan Dog was my fave comic and for many years Corrado Roi was my fave artist back then. Today I worship Riccardo Federici, an absolute beast and God (for me at least).
You’ve done the latest Raven album (did you happen to do the previous one?) Can you tell me a bit about your connection to the band?
If you are referring to “Metal City” as the previous one, then no. I didn’t do that. I did their “Leave ’em Bleeding” EP. I started working for the band years before on some shirts. I think Mike Heller just posted on Facebook that he needed artsy/graphic guy and I answered. He checked my page and I think that’s how it all started, that was years before. Working with Mike since. We toss ideas around, I do sketches, brothers are deciding is it a go or no. They’re all cool guys. I’m honored for a chance to work with them.
What inspired the whole idea and drawing for the All Hell’s Breaking Loose cover? Were there ideas put forth from the band or drawn from the music?
I think the idea came from the album directly, it’s actually all hell’s breaking loose on that record. It’s mayhem of an album (in a good way). Guys wanted madness, monsters, basically Metal City on steroids on steroids on steroids (yes, I wrote that 3 times haha).
Can you detail how you created the artwork for AHBL – techniques, materials,… It is a very detailed piece. Excellent
Thank you for your kind words, appreciated! It was hand drawn on tablet, colored and textured too. There were many changes concerning poses and faces, kinda tricky to pull those out. I used reference photos, of course. Monsters were the easy part haha. Also drew the logo by hand to fit the aesthetics of the cover and get more comic book feel. And yes, would use this opportunity (thank you again) to say loud and not so proud – bass guitar has 2 extra tuning machines. It’s a honest mistake we’ve all overseen. Super weird! But we were busy adding all those laser spiders. So yeah, shit does happen but I think it doesn’t ruin anything, just adding bit of charm.
Anything else you can tell about this cover, and how well it turned out?
The answer is below the previous answer, basically. But I’m happy how it turned out, guys love it and people seem to dig it too. So it’s win-win-win.
You’ve done a number of other covers, notably the last 2 Alcatrazz albums. What are some of your favorite covers you designed, with a line or 2 about them?
Yes, I did the last 2 Alcatrazz covers, gotta thanks to Giles (for the opportunity and trust) and Silver Lining Music for patience. Some of my faves? Bah, I always think the last thing is the best thing. I’m super critical about stuff I do so I really can’t decide about faves. I like the last Nocturnal Breed stuff I did.
What sort of music do you listen to? And any favorite tracks from the new Raven album?
At this exact moment as I write this I have Dissection playing through the speakers. It’s usually death and black metal, but I also love Arjen Lucassen stuff too… weird heavy stuff like Lost Horizon, Laibach, EMF, ABBA…hahah. Last few years I’m mad about video game soundtracks… nostalgia all the way.
My fave Raven track from the new album would proly be “The Far Side”, but the whole album is absolute batshit crazy and young bands should take some notes.
What other projects are you working on (music related or otherwise)?
Just finished some book cover illustrations; but generally it’s more or less about music – shirt designs, banners, whatever the band needs. But whenever someone needs any art done I’m around, like a sleazy weirdo hiding in the bushes.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/AllThingsRottenOfficial
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