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‘Extreme metal, perhaps more than any other musical genre, abides by a strict and clear visual code that conveys to listeners exactly what they’re getting into. “The genre kind of commands a particular style of logo that the listener can identify with,” says Mark Riddick, a designer and author of Logos From Hell, a 600-page book that chronicles the logos of thousands of metal bands.
‘Metal and its innumerable sub-genres have always embraced ideals like iconoclasm, pride, and independence. It’s music made by outsiders for outsiders, and its logos reflect as much. “The point of these logos is like, unless you’re in-the-know already, it’s not for you,” says Tim Butler, who designs merchandise for bands like Metallica and Slayer. “It’s to keep it sort of insular.”
‘This mindset has led to an artistic style that’s defined by visuals that are almost hostile. The identities of metal bands—black and death metal bands, in particular—tend to feature grotesque imagery and typography that swirls like branches, drips like blood, and clings like spider webs. It wasn’t always this way. If you trace the genre’s abrasive aesthetic to its roots, you’ll find your way to Black Sabbath, the British band widely regarded as the creator of heavy metal. The bubbly letterforms of the logo that appeared on the band’s eponymous debut album look more hallucinatory than creepy. It is a distant cousin to the aggressive wordmarks seen today. “Typographically, that stuff sort of starts off as psychedelic,” Butler says of early metal logos. “Later on it got more aggressive and pointy.”
‘As metal evolved into myriad subgenres, each more extreme than the last, wordmarks and branding evolved in step. “Logos just tend to get more and more extreme and as you branch out,” says Riddick. It’s reached the point that you can almost determine the style of music from the typography. Indeed, there might be no better example of typography’s multi-sensorial nature than extreme metal logos. Thrash metal bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Overkill adopted logos with straight, sharp edges to reflect the tight and controlled nature of the music. Death metal bands—which tend to focus on subjects like violence, religion, horror, and, yes, death—tend to incorporate those themes into logos that feature things like dripping blood, organs, severed limbs and skulls. The logos associated with black metal, which has its roots in deeply anti-Christian views, the occult and paganism, often are ornate, symmetrical, and derived from art nouveau’s swirling, rounded forms.
‘Christophe Szpajdel, a Belgian designer who has crafted more than 7,000 logos for bands since the 1980s, explains that, just like any other form of design, a good metal logo relies on basic principles like symmetry, visual harmony, letter height, and precision. When making a band logo, Szpajdel often works at an architect’s table, where he draws in pencil before tracing in pen. His 1991 logo for the Norwegian band Emperor is often cited as the template on which all other black metal logos are based. Its letterforms were inspired by medieval blackletter typography, but Szpajdel thinned them to create a wordmark that is so clean and simple as to be almost elegant. Asked what makes a good black metal logo, he said, “I think the lettering should be sharp, inspired by gothic/old English fonts. First and last letters should be bigger than the middle ones. Unlike most people who think a black metal logo should contain symbols like pentagrams, inverted crosses… I think this is overdone.”
‘It’s easy to forget, when met by their antagonistic form, that there is real craftsmanship behind metal logos. And that, says, Riddick, is why he dedicated an entire book to this genre of typography. “I want people to recognize this as much more than a high schooler scribbling in his notebook and calling it art,” he says. “This is legitimate serious talent. It’s a subculture that’s create a whole look and feel unlike any other. That’s a powerful thing.”’ — Elizabeth Stinson
Tutorial: Death Metal Logo
INSIDE THE WORLD OF EXTREME METAL LOGOS
Тhe Dark Lord of Logos
Unlocking The Secret Language of Metal Band Logos
Decibel’s Top 5 Death Metal Logos
Dan Capp
Schwer lesbar: Die unmöglichsten Death Metal-Logos
VISUAL DARKNESS
The Man Behind The Black/Death Metal Logo
Symmetal
Luciferium War Graphics
Japanese design site explains how death metal fans find bands based on…logos?!
Death Metal Flyer Accidentally Uses Logo Font for Show Date
ModBlackmoon
Lord of the Logos: Black Metal AF
Black & White: A Conversation With Death Metal Illustrator Mark Riddick
LOGOS FROM HELL – A COMPENDIUM OF DEATH AND BLACK METAL LOGOS DE MARK RIDDICK
The aesthetic extremism of heavy metal design
The art of Death Metal logos
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Extras
How to make that unreadable death metal logo
Time Lapse: Creating A Death Metal/Deathcore Logo
BEST BLACK METAL LOGO EVAH!
BLACKMETALIZER: An interactive generative Black Metal logo generator
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Interview w/ a Creator
from UniteAsia
Always great to get behind the headspace of designers for some of your favorite artwork and logos. Today we spend some time with our friend Kiryu out of Zhuhai, China as he talks to us about his process of designing metal AF logos. The dude is busy as hell because besides designing logos, he actually sings in a HUGE number of insane metal bands.
Hey bro! How’s it going? Can you give everyone a little background of yourself?
I’ve probably been designing for my band since 2013, maybe earlier. I started designing for a lot of metalcore bands because here in China there are so many metalcore bands. Slowly I started designing for a wider ranger of bands from black metal or death metal, to thrash and progressive. While designing I also play in bands like Obsoletenova and Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship, drawing my own band’s logo because it’s a lot of fun!
What inspired you to start making logos?
The biggest reason I wanted to start making logos was simply because logos super cool! Hahahaha…For a long time I was just a regular guy that spent hours and hours looking for new music. While looking for new music I also naturally started checking out logo designs by a variety of bands. I realized that the logos I liked the most are deathcore bands, because they look super cool. Hahahaha…
What was the first logo you designed?
It was so long ago that I don’t remember. I don’t even have the logo anymore honestly. But early on, I painted for my band Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship.
Can you take us through a typical process of creating? If a client approaches you how do you get started?
Most of the time I just let the band first describe their ideas and I listen and take time to understand what they’re looking for. It is very helpful for the band to show some references of what they like.
Once that has happened how long before they get to see a first draft?
Maybe within a week.
Wow! That’s fast! And how many times will you allow the band to ask for edits and changes?
I have no problem revising drafts according to their ideas, but if the original requirements AND the draft are completely changed or the whole idea has been thrown out all together, than I only allow this to happen three times.
Is their a particular band you are surprised has approached you to create a logo?
That should be the Agonal Breathing logo that I finished working on most recently.
When you’re designing for slam bands what are the elements you must retain?
Must be sick.
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Show
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p.s. Hey. ** James Bennett, Hi. Thanks. Lyle’s, even the name itself has a certain fanciness about it. Sorry for my eyes seeing quotes where there are none. My bad. As someone with lifelong occasional lower back flare ups of a most disabling nature, I feel you. Back in the day, I did quite like White’s ‘Nocturnes for the King of Naples’, yeah. I don’t have a lot of confidence that I would like it as much now however. At the time, so-called gay lit was in its infancy, and White’s novel was unusually artful for gay lit at the time, which I appreciated and might have over-appreciated. If you read it, I would be very interested to see how it seems to you. I’m fine. This week is going to be heavily involved in readying our film, as I think the World Premiere will be announced this weekend, and there’s a lot to do to be ready for that. How about you? Ciao to you! xo. ** Misanthrope, There are all sorts of substances that could’ve been blended into his fentanyl. I wish I could do something to help. I hope he wakes up in time. ** Steeqhen, Hard to imagine you spending even a couple of days much less a summer just partying and playing video games. I only ever have stress dreams when I remember them, which is odd because I don’t feel particularly stressed when I’m awake, but then I guess that answers the question. ** Sypha, Haha, yes, that was a bit rude of your subconscious. I wish dream expert/anaylist Bernard Welt was around to interpret that one. ** Dominik, Hi!!! My total pleasure, as always. There is a video of ‘Figurante’ doing its thing online, but I didn’t use it, I think because there was awful music playing the background or something. But if you search, you might find it. Better than nothing? Oh, wow, you are up to a lot. Hermit Hour looks really interesting. When will you launch it? Thinking it’s okay if I share the link? Hope so. Everyone, the mighty Dominik, perhaps best known thus far as the mastermind behind the crucial lit/art zine SCAB, is launching a super interesting seeming new project, and here’s the link to its initial website. That’s so cool and admirable and smart and everything else! And a new SCAB coming! I’m so glad I asked! I’m good, just crazy busy and a bit nervous trying to get the film finished and ready to be launched. That’s pretty much my life right now. Pearl Jam, those guys! Hm, how about … Whatcha need is Motherly love, Motherly love, Forget about the brotherly and other-ly love, Motherly love is just the thing for you, You know your Mothers’ gonna love ya till ya don’t know what to do, G. ** _Black_Acrylic, Yes, how in the world did I miss finding good old ‘Felix’. ** James, Very nice, intricate review there. You ever had any longings to write reviews, of music or films or books or whatever? When I have something IRL I have to do in the late mornings, I’m usually in a rush with the p.s. If not, not so much. I like doing interviews. I like talking with people, and, in interviews, I don’t have to worry about having nothing to say because they steer the conversation. I think they’re fun and an honor. The only Sondheim I know well are ‘Sweeney Todd’ and ‘Sunday in the Park with George’, but I like them. An ex-boyfriend of mine starred in the original, flop Broadway production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’. Spring is borderline sprung. I think either do croptops pretty soon or reject them because croptops on guys older than maybe mid-20s is pretty embarrassing. Next stint of daylight, here we come! ** Steve, Ah, cool, your reviews! Everyone, Steve has written about the queer contingent of films at the recently concluded film festival Slamdance right here if you’re interested. I knew Dean Johnson socially. We talked a fair amount. We were in the same general scene in the early 80s. Obviously so sorry that ridding you of your malady is proving to be so complicated. Oh, Steve, you listen to a lot of music, and two hours of music every two weeks is not that much. Two hours tend to fly by, and it doesn’t take that many songs/tracks to fill it up. ** Adem Berbic, I’ve always found Firefox woefully inadequate. I saw an email from you upon awakening, and I will open it and download what’s in it straight away. Thanks, thanks! ** Justin D, Glad you dug the skeletons. ‘The Color of Pomegranates’ is singular. Maybe if Kenneth Anger had been a whole lot less hyper and more religious, but even then. Enjoy the storming. It’s just leisurely gray and somewhere between moist and not here. Nothing to celebrate. ** HaRpEr, Hi. Yeah, Schulyer can be such a curative. I’m assuming you’re happy about the classes ending, right? Nothing melancholy thereby? I don’t think I understand the concept behind the sanctity of the dead. Or at least not the sanctity of the skeletons. That seems like the life begins at conception argument. I don’t know. I do want to go to London in time to see the Leigh Bowery show if possible, so I’ll not those recommendations, thanks. ** Nicholas., Time’s weird. I’m just getting our film ready. Not remotely as interesting as your instagram film screening activities. Just working here in the dark and private. Dinner? Not sure yet. I’d like to eat at a restaurant, but I think my friends are busy, and I don’t do restaurants alone. Or I don’t like to. I also don’t like riding buses alone. Weird. Well, have an eventful week then. ** Bill, Hi. Wait, what’s the submission? It has a trailer? What is it? ** Niresh Swamy, Hi, Niresh. Great to meet you, and thanks a lot for coming in. Well, if you’re okay with reading ‘The Sluts’ in pdf form or online, You can read ‘The Sluts’ online or download it at Scribd here. You can download it for free at z-lib (you have to join the site, but it’s free, and it’s a great site) here. It’s usually available/free at internet archive.org, but it doesn’t seem to be available right now here. Do those help? Thanks for wanting to read it. How are you, what are you doing? ** ellie, Hi! How are you? Great to get the chance to see you. Oh, I find it hard to believe that your head is ever boring, I must say. Cool, thanks for the link up. Everyone, I strongly suggest you hit this link and read the latest writings by the great ellie on their also beautiful looking tumblr. I do indeed like that skeleton. It looks so chill but kind of also hysterical, but then I guess skeletons always look they’re feeling hysteria. Take care, pal. ** Joe, Hi, Joe! Oh, wow, thanks! I’ll go look for your email. ** nat, Howdy. Congrats on the breakthrough on your writing thing. What broke you through, or can you even tell? Split pea soup is one of the wonders of the world maybe. Slurp. ** Dan Carroll, Aw, thanks a lot. They’re kind of really involving in a great way to make too. Gotta love Matmos. I’m gonna go find ‘for Felix’ and think cinematically. ‘I’m really just trying to do more fag shit’ is a fine sentence, so maybe just lay it on him? At your discretion, of course. ** Right. I decided to remount this old galerie show from years back, and hopefully you understand why and do not find yourself in disagreement with my decision. See you tomorrow.
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