Crown The Empire are an American metalcore band formed in 2010 who have gained considerable acclaim and worldwide success. Following their signing to Rise Records they approached me to design the artwork for their fourth release 'Retrograde'.
Having developed a new atmospheric and textural direction with their sound, the band were seeking a more abstracted, psychedelic aesthetic to their visuals, drawing from a diverse range of references, including 60s sci-fi and retro-futurism, celestial visualisations and contemporary 'new aesthetic' art movements, moving far away from the generic style often associated with the metalcore genre.
Working closely with the creative director, I created a set of over 30 artworks utilising various radical digital art techniques. These were then refined to the 9 which most closely matched the band's vision. The selected pieces then became a suite of artworks which sat alongside individual tracks and made up the imagery of the booklet, while the core image was rolled out over a range of merchandise and visual support material.
The main vortex artwork was created using 3D glitch processing on simple geometric shapes which were then composited and combined with various manipulations.
Having developed a new atmospheric and textural direction with their sound, the band were seeking a more abstracted, psychedelic aesthetic to their visuals, drawing from a diverse range of references, including 60s sci-fi and retro-futurism, celestial visualisations and contemporary 'new aesthetic' art movements, moving far away from the generic style often associated with the metalcore genre.
Working closely with the creative director, I created a set of over 30 artworks utilising various radical digital art techniques. These were then refined to the 9 which most closely matched the band's vision. The selected pieces then became a suite of artworks which sat alongside individual tracks and made up the imagery of the booklet, while the core image was rolled out over a range of merchandise and visual support material.
The main vortex artwork was created using 3D glitch processing on simple geometric shapes which were then composited and combined with various manipulations.
Teaser created by Rise Records to promote the album release, featuring a kalaidoscopic reveal of the artwork
Limited Edition Electric Blue + Magenta Splatter Vinyl LP, 3x5 Custom Wall Flag, Cassette Tape, Sticker Pack
Limited edition pre-order pack
Graphic created by Rise Records to show success of the album release
“It’s always a difficult thing to capture a feeling or an emotion into something tangible like a piece of art. It’s not a normal way people see the world, and it can be tasking to learn techniques and discipline to have the ability to create what you feel. Working with James on the Crown The Empire album cover for their third LP ‘Retrograde’ was a task that definitely exemplified this level of creative control. We had a collection of art references that acted as an homage to the spirit we were essentially trying to capture both sonically and visually with this record, but being that the band and myself lacked the skills to actually apply our train of thought to an art medium other than music, we had to find an artist that could understand our vision and run with it. James involvement allowed us to unlock that visual medium and he was able to capture the essence of what the record was and apply it to create something completely new and original. It was an extremely easy process, and we couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out, or our experience working with James. Thank you again!"
Brendan Barone - Creative Director of Crown The Empire
Brendan Barone - Creative Director of Crown The Empire
James Usill 2016
