The Art of Metal

The Art of MetalOver 400 of the finest examples of metal poster and cover art, spanning the entire 50 year history of metal, and how that art has helped define the genre Without the larger than life character and imagination of the art that complements it, metal wouldnt have had the same impact in capturing the intense spirit and visual identity that define its rebellious essence. From the colorful, outlandish, and sophisticated use of visuals for album artwork and

Over 400 of the finest examples of metal poster and cover art, spanning the entire 50-year history of metal, and how that art has helped define the genre

Without the larger-than-life character and imagination of the art that complements it, metal wouldn’t have had the same impact in capturing the intense spirit and visual identity that define its rebellious essence. From the colorful, outlandish, and sophisticated use of visuals for album artwork and posters, to the immediately recognizable logos of such bands as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, and a host of others across many subgenres, there’s a close-knit relationship between the riffs that thunder from the guitar and the images that have come to represent the songs, anthems, and sheer nature of the beast.

Does any other form of music immediately conjure up such evocative and distinctive images as the mere mention of the term "heavy metal"? From its inception in the 1960s through today’s giants, the art has been closely connected to the music. Every quintessential album brings to mind a readily identifiable album cover. Each great band has an immediately identifiable logo. All of the landmark gigs have a poster that quintessentially depicts the time, place, and passion of the event. Today, the art that has been used to illustrate the music now stands on its own.

What might have begun as a way of packaging metal has taken on a life of its own. It’s now possible to trace the way the genre itself has evolved, and changed, by looking at its art. The Art of Metal explores the ways in which the art has helped define each of the crucial subgenres that make up the multifaceted and colorful centipede that is metal.[AuthorName]Edited by Martin Popoff, Malcolm Dome, and Bryan Reesman and Foreword by Lemmy Kilmister[/AuthorName][AuthorBio]Martin Popoff is the author of over 50 rock books and is a 20-year veteran writer for the likes of Goldmine, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Guitar World, CMJ, and bravewords.com. Additionally, he has served as consultant and researcher for Banger Films on feature films as well as the TV series Metal Evolution and Rock Icons and speaks at conferences on metal history.  Bryan Reesman is the author of Bon Jovi: The Story and has contributed to nine other books including Wes Craven Interviews and Rock Stars At Home. He is the host of the podcast Side Jams where he interviews rock stars about their hobbies and outside passions. He is also a longtime voting member of the Recording Academy and contributes to Billboard, Grammy, The A.V. Club, and NBC News THINK.
Malcolm Dome started writing about music, and metal in particular, for Record Mirror in 1979. He was part of the Kerrang! team in the 1980s, cofounded RAW magazine in 1988, and now writes for the UK magazines Metal Hammer, Prog, and Classic Rock, among others. Dome has also authored a number of books, including Encyclopedia Metallica (from which a certain band got its name), an official book on Bon Jovi, and histories of Van Halen, Aerosmith, and AC/DC. He has presented radio shows for Total Rock and has appeared in a number of documentaries.[/AuthorBio][NumIllustration]over 430 color and b/w photos[/NumIllustration][CoAuthor][/CoAuthor][SubTitle]Five Decades of Heavy Metal Album Covers, Posters, T-shirts, and More[/SubTitle][ColorPattern]over 430 color and b/w photos[/ColorPattern]