As anyone that’s seen their infamous shirt, Cradle of Filth like pushing buttons. And with their eleventh album, Hammer of the Witches, coming out in July, they’ve done it again. The band have unveiled the album artwork, illustrated by Latvian artist Arthur Berzinsh, and it’s a doozy. What’s more metal than a goat embracing nymphs in a forest? Answer: Not much. Here’s what frontman Dani Filth had to say about the artwork:
“The artwork for ‘Hammer Of The Witches’ was created by Latvian Artist Arthur Berzinsh and is a lavish walk-through of the lyricism, drawing on rich Renaissance themes and displaying them in beautiful yet unsettling scenarios. Half of the detailed pieces are totally original for the release, others are Berzinsh classics cunningly tailored to the themes of the album, which are themes rife with heady witchcraft, be it persecution, retribution or unfettered spiritual liberation. The female form is rampant throughout the artwork, unashamedly displayed in its classical rendition of beauty… and horror.”
Here’s what Berznish had to say about his artwork:
“In terms of mood, I was looking for the inspiration of this set in the spirit of Faustian romanticism, the ambivalent art of Renaissance that reanimated motives of pagan mythology after the Middle Ages, and of course, the darkly beautiful and charming spirit of Goetia traditions that is filled with the atmosphere of hermetical rituals. My personal conceptual leitmotif that inspires me, is a conflict between the free-thinking and totalitarianism, where the raw power always gains the upper hand over individualism. The act of art is a theurgical act that creates existence in the Platonic reality – reality of ideas. So, at least in this Platonic dimension let’s give the suppressed ones a chance to get their revenge. For me the Goat of Mendes on the cover symbolizes the scapegoat, who’s tired of his humiliating role and wants a payback. This character is an archetypical symbol of libido and other primordial forces and instinctive aspects of a human being. And these forces always have been a menace for those who want to reign over the others, like it’s schematically represented in George Orwell’s “1984”.”
And also, boobs. Cradle of Filth are finishing recording Hammer of the Witches in Suffolk at Grindstone Studios.
