Black Ink, Black Metal – The Art Of Heath Rave

It was Heath Rave who asked Decibel during an interview, “When have tattoos and rock music not gone together?” We all know the answer, but we’d be willing to wager that they’ve never gone together this well.
You’re probably more familiar with Rave as the bloodfueld drummer from Wolvhammer. You can still download their first two EPs for free, which are two chronic examples of raw inner-city hate music. Their latest album, The Obsidian Planes, is on a completely different tip – the slow-moving, ice-cold tip of an iceberg tip. But it’s all black.

Furthermore, Rave is a tattoo artist working out of Speakeasy Custom Tattoo in Chicago. His tattoos are boldly evil. Check out the black metal wizard, or the seven-eyed goat, or Alf. On the side, Rave is working on these killer cvlt paintings. It almost makes watercolor painting seem badass and brutal.

Rave explained, “Those are paintings I’m doing for a series. I’m doing Vince Neil, and a Halford and a Lemmy, too. They’re all going to be set up the same way, and they’re going to say something about each one’s legacy as artists from my perspective.” The Varg is actually available as a print, if he has any left.