Prime Directive: Exterminate

Posted May 5 by nick (6 Comments)

Our favorite Don Henley-loving douchebags The Ataris recently performed a full set of Misfits covers on the opening night of The Bamboozle. Judging by the description of the Ataris as "cookie cutter pop-punk" on the festival's website, even the promoters weren't too stoked on this. Dudes, you do not need to have been there to know that this sucked. Where there are cookie-cutter pop-punk bands, there are terrifically shitty Misfits covers. Where there are malls with scene kids choking on soft pretzels, there are terrifically shitty Misfits covers. Kevin Lyman will no longer tender contracts for the Warped Tour unless the prospective bands agree to cover "Astro Zombies." OK, we totally made that last part up. But somewhere, Glenn Danzig gently weeps.

Night Of The Living Dread

Posted January 13 by bennett

His ballpoint blitzkriegs have graced the covers of albums by Abscess, Autopsy, Phobia and Engorged, but Dennis Dread has created Darkthrone’s own personal Eddie with Mr. Necro, the undead Hessian whose grim cartoon visage haunts the façades of F.O.A.D. and Dark Thrones And Black Flags. We hit our man up email-style at his home studio in Portland, Oregon.

All your work is in ballpoint pen—in fact, you're a Bic man. Has it always been this way? Yeah, pretty much. My drawing style essentially evolved from doodling on my notebooks as a kid. It used to get me in trouble at school but now it allows me to spout my opinion to Decibel magazine!

Before Darkthrone, you'd done album covers for Autopsy, Abscess, Phobia and Engorged. Is it a prerequisite for you to be a fan of the bands you do covers for? It’s not necessarily a prerequisite but I definitely have to resonate with the project. I always listen to the band and communicate with the people involved before I agree to a commission. The music is critical but it is also important that I get along well with the people involved. I have a very specific way of working, so bands have to know what I do and trust that I will create something appropriate. I don’t have any lofty “commercial art” career goals, so I have to have some other reason to spend hours hunched over a drawing table.

How did you first come into contact with Darkthrone? Was there a particular piece you had done that they had seen and liked? I got an e-mail from Nocturno Culto saying he liked my art and wanted to commission me for the next Darkthrone cover. Shortly after that initial contact, I began to correspond with Fenriz and ideas coalesced. I never asked or thought about it too much, but I’d guess they liked my cover for the Abscess CD Horrorhammer. That was release on Darkthrone’s Tyrant Syndicate label so they would’ve seen that one for sure. I probably have Chris Reifert to thank for the Darkthrone connection. Chris believed in my art and exposed my work to a much larger audience through Autopsy and Abscess. Incidentally, Abscess RULES and Horrorhammer is a killer CD!

Were you a Darkthrone fan before they got in touch? Yeah, I've been blasting Darkthrone in my studio for years so it has been a real honor to work with them. I also like Isengard and Storm, even though Fenriz slams those projects every chance he gets. I tried to score a copy of Storm on vinyl from him but he hated it so much he didn’t even own one himself! I never would’ve guessed back in the ’90s that we’d ever collaborate, but as soon as we began to communicate they seemed like old friends—very unpretentious and polite. They also take their music seriously but not themselves, which is a perfect combination.

Mr. Necro is like Darkthrone's version of Iron Maiden's Eddie mascot. How did you develop the character? Darkthrone had a very clear vision of what they were looking for and they specifically wanted a “mascot” like Eddie or Vic Rattlehead. I was skeptical at first. I’m a huge Iron Maiden fan and I worshiped those Derek Riggs covers when I was a kid. Anyone who draws a heavy metal mascot will be judged in the glowing eyes of Eddie! But that’s what they wanted, and I was happy to oblige. In hindsight they were absolutely correct and our collaboration has been very successful. I’m sure there are chumps talking shit on the internet but most real headbangers seem to “get it” and resonate with the character. I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.

How much direction did Fenriz and Nocturno Culto give you before you started working on the covers for F.O.A.D. and Dark Thrones And Black Flags? They have a pretty clear idea in mind, but they also allow me total freedom to develop my own vision. I don’t provide sketches, so once we’ve agreed on the general premise I get to work and they don’t see the art until it is completed. It’s a nearly perfect situation. With F.O.A.D. they wanted a corpse or zombie with leather and spikes set in the graveyard of their early demo. Nocturno wanted him to be wearing a helmet and Fenriz wanted a [Mohawk]. They couldn’t agree so I settled it with a cracked helmet, a sort of unintentional but well-deserved homage to Slaughter! Canadian Metal! The early working title for the new one was Bring Out Your Dead, and they wanted Mr. Necro pulling a cart of bodies through a medieval village, which I elaborated with some details of my own. We’re already planning the next cover but, as the saying goes, my lips are sealed…

Was it Fenriz's idea to include the logos of underground thrash bands (Deathhammer, Nocturnal) on Mr. Necro's jacket? Yeah, the band patches are Fenriz’s idea. I think it’s great that they use their albums to promote younger and lesser known bands. That’s the true underground spirit! When I was a kid I got into tons of bands by reading the thanks lists on my favorite LPs. I would underline bands and write lists and try to track shit down. Nowadays it’s much easier to find stuff and communicate, but the spirit is the same. If you look really closely you'll see a Von pentagram over Necro’s pocket. I ran a contest on my blog and it was amazing how quickly people identified that tiny pentagram! Never underestimate the fanatical attention to detail of metal fans! Every time Necro appears, there will be a different band patch on his jacket.

How long did it take you to complete the covers for F.O.A.D. and Dark Thrones And Black Flags? I probably spend an average of 50 hours on drawings of that scale. It is very meticulous work. The Darkthrone covers felt even longer with Fenriz whipping my back and Nocturno Culto driving splinters under my fingernails...

What's the history behind your art mag, Destroying Angels? Destroying Angels is a cut & paste zine that covers just about any aspect of underground culture that interests me. I published the first issue in May 1998, and I’ve been releasing a new issue about once a year ever since. There are no editorials, no reviews, no letters sections, and no barcodes. It is simply about exploring, celebrating, and sharing my passion for great underground art. At some point people lost sight of the “fan” in fanzines and started cranking out drivel that was all about complaining and asserting false “scene superiority.” I don’t waste my time on anything I don't wholeheartedly enjoy. The zine is created entirely by me, from start to finish, and I produce them in very small numbers. I’ve also been curating annual underground art exhibitions entitled “Entartete Kunts”. These shows are an extension of the zine and feature some of the most devoted artists from around the world. The 2009 exhibit opens on Friday, June 19th, in Portland and I’ll likely have the original Darkthrone art on display.

Are you working on any album covers for anyone currently? My next album cover is for Wehrmacht. They’re officially re-issuing their early demo along with previously unreleased material from the late ’80s! I’m also working on a t-shirt for Sacrilege B.C. to commemorate the reissue of their debut LP, Party With God, on CD! Then it’s a full gatefold for the new Engorged full-length, House of Cthulhu! After Engorged, I’ll begin work on the next Darkthrone cover. 2009 will be a very exciting year!