HOW TO MAKE ETHICAL ALBUM ART
For the up and coming band, put down the AI-generation and consider more creative, original ways to represent music
NPZ #3 — JANUARY 2025 — PAGE 6
Coming out of my conversations, I felt like I could understand better why bands would use AI images for cover art. In a time of constant demand for output, social media, streaming, the internet, etc. it’s not sustainable to wait months to years to get your record out, especially without big label support. Yet at the same time, I do hope that we can come together as a scene to reject such anti-human, anti-art technologies that will only further homogenize and dilute the creative and rebellious spirit of metal. There are plenty of ways to make eye-catching cover art more creatively and ethically, perhaps we just need to remember how.
HERE ARE EXAMPLES HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN ALBUM ART IN A COOL, ETHICAL WAY.
HIRE AN ARTIST
Classy, respectful, a tale as old as time. If we think about the most famous and iconic album covers of all time, much of that is credited to the power of art.
Here’s an example of how to properly show respect to album cover artists by British metal band, THE BLEEDING:
“The Bleeding will never use AI-generated artwork for any of our releases…For us, the entire presentation—music, album covers, even inlays—must come from genuine artistic effort. If there ever comes a time when we're too broke to commission a cover, we'll sketch it out ourselves rather than use an AI prompt to spit out some stock art in 30 seconds. Our last album, Monokrator, featured cover art by the incredible @juanjocastellano_art and we’re honoured to have worked with a master illustrator to bring our vision to life. Support real art, real struggle, and the underground spirit! 🔥🤘”
via: @thebleedingofficial Insta
If you’re looking for an artist, check pg. 13-16!
Some favorite art covers from NOISE POLLUTION ZINE viewers include:
MEGADETH, Rust in Peace — Ed Repka
MEGADETH, Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? — Ed Repka
EXODUS, Bonded by Blood — Richard A. Ferraro
SEPULTURA, Chaos A.D. — Michael Whelan
JUDAS PRIEST, Defenders of the Faith — Doug Johnson
METALLICA, Ride the Lightning — AD Artists
METALLICA, Metal Up Your Ass — Stephen Gorman
METALLICA, …And Justice for All — Stephen Gorman
TAKE A PHOTO
Consider another classic, take a cool ass photo! This can range from the simple but impactful, to a classic band lineup, the artistic and conceptual, or the downright morbid (NPZ does not recommend pulling a Mayhem). A couple examples and fan favorites include:
JUDAS PRIEST, British Steel — Rosław Szaybo, Photo by Bob Elsdale; Szaybo “designed...a blade…donned a studded bracelet, and gripped the blade by its (blunt) edges” (Proxy Music)
METALLICA, Kill ‘Em All — Photographer Gary L. Heard; “Heard took Burton’s [hammer] idea and ran with it, shooting a shadowy hand dropping a hammer in a pool of blood on a white tile floor” (Revolver)
METALLICA, Hardwired…to Self Destruct — Herring & Herring; Can view their process of repeating projected images in “Metallica - The Making of Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (2016) [Full Documentary]”)
USE PUBLIC DOMAIN PHOTO/ARTWORK
Here you’ll have to be careful with copyright laws. I’M NOT A LAWYER, but as far as I understand, public domain and royalty-free images are free game. There are a variety of places to look, including archives like Wikicommons, and pdimagearchive.org, or free image sites like Unsplash or Pexels. Keep an eye out for COMMERCIAL USE PURPOSES, that’ll be the key word. And for artwork, keep in mind that PHOTOS of artwork can be copyright, even if the art is in public domain. Most public domain images will be from 70-100+ years depending on country of origin, including those from war, government operations, etc.
MULTIMEDIA/COLLAGE
If you want to further cement legal protection when using images, consider altering or collaging your piece! Or just as another budget friendly method to make your art stand out, and retain that homemade, underground grit. Scan some shit on the local library copier, cut up a magazine, traditional glue or digital tools, go wild!
MEGADETH, Countdown to Extinction — Hugh Syme; Photography, digital illustration, set design
DEATH, Sound of Perseverance — Travis Smith; Photography based and digitally constructed
THE RED CHORD, Fed Through the Teeth Machine; Michael J. Windsor — Digital collage
POPPY, I Disagree — Jesse Draxler; Black metal-esque designs drawn digitally over a portrait of Poppy
SYSTEM OF A DOWN, Toxicity — Mark Wakefield, Brandy Flower; they did deal with copyright laws using the likeness of the Hollywood sign, Flower: “To get the album and merchandising rights was like $20,000…It was a lot of Photoshopping hours.” (The Ringer)
PANTERA, Cowboys From Hell — Art Direction: Bob Defrin; Live Photos: Joe Giron; Front cover background photo: Bettman Archive; “The cover art depicts the band in a quaint Western saloon. In reality, it is a 1910 photo of the "Cosmopolitan Saloon" in Telluride, Colorado, with the bandmembers pasted over it” (Wiki)
