The Art of Metal

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 andimagination 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 albumartwork and posters, to the immediately recognizablelogos of such bands as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest,Motrhead,Metallica, Slayer, and a host of others across many subgenres, theres a close-knitrelationship between the riffs that thunder from theguitar and the images that have come to represent thesongs, anthems, and sheer nature of the beast.

Does anyother form of music immediately conjure up suchevocative and distinctive images as the mere mention ofthe term “heavy metal”? From its inception in the 1960s through todaysgiants, the art has been closely connected to the music. Every quintessential album brings to mind a readilyidentifiable album cover. Each great band has animmediately identifiable logo. All of the landmark gigshave a poster that quintessentially depicts the time,place, and passion of the event. Today, the art that has been used toillustrate the music now stands on its own.

What might have begun as a way of packagingmetal has taken on a life of its own. Its now possible to trace the way the genre itself has evolved,and changed, by looking at its art. The Art of Metal explores theways in which the art has helped define each of thecrucial 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, andmetal in particular, for Record Mirror in 1979. He waspart of the Kerrang! team in the 1980s, cofounded RAWmagazine in 1988, and now writes for the UKmagazines Metal Hammer, Prog, and Classic Rock,among others. Dome has also authored a number ofbooks, including Encyclopedia Metallica (from which acertain band got its name), an official book on BonJovi, and histories of Van Halen, Aerosmith, and AC/DC.He has presented radio shows for Total Rock and hasappeared 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]