Quand je pense à une pochette typiquement Metal, je pense immanquablement à Andreas Marchall. Un peu de l'image que notre inconscient associe automatiquement à Sodom, Kreator, Blind Guardian, Obituary, In Flames ou Immolation lui est en fait dû. Sans ses fresques aux couleurs fortement contrastées, ces groupes perdraient une partie (plus ou moins grande) de la dimension mythique qu'ils ont acquis au cours des albums. J'ai vraiment été heureux comme un gamin quand Andreas a accepté de répondre à l'interview qui suit ... Merci encore à lui !Hi Andreas, and thanks for the interview! When the idea came to us on Thrashocore webzine to do a report on metal most famous illustrators, you've immediately been the first to come to my mind. Do you realize how far you have become an icon that is fully part of the "metal mythology”?
Thank you! This is a compliment.
How did you come to illustration, and when did you begin to earn enough money to live from this activity?
I started beginning of the eighties. My first professional record covers were a series of metal compilations for "Noise" records. Of which the best known is the "Doomsday News 2" Sampler. Soon afterwards I have drawn Kreator's "Coma of souls" which still is one of my favourites.
Is there any artist that have influenced your work through the years ?
Yes, Bernie Wrightson who is a fantastic comic book artist of the seventies. Also a group of classic English painters who called themselves the "Präraffaelists" and the German romantics like Caspar David Friedrich. The themes were different but the dark atmosphere was a big influence for my work.
Having provided artworks for bands from a large scope of metal styles (from heavy metal with Grave Digger, speed metal with Blind Guardian, thrash metal with Sodom, thrashcore with The Spudmonsters, death metal with Obituary, melodeath with In Flames, black metal with Dimmu Borgir ...), one wonder whether you like one of these styles more than the others ? ... But the least would be to know if you do listen to metal music for your own pleasure ?
I don't have a personal favourite metal style, only favourite bands (Kreator, Sodom, Obituary etc). Well, maybe dark metal, but I also loved recently a new record of a very young German band called
Orden Ogan. It will be released later this year. It's melodic power metal with fantastic atmosphere. You have to check it out.
How do you approach illustration for a new CD ? Do you need to like the music on offer ? Do you only work from a concept or from the lyrics ? How far do you accept to be directed and constrained by musicians point of view ?
Sometimes I only get the title and must come up with an own concept. But I much prefer to hear the music first and get some ideas of the band. Then I make a rough sketch and discuss it with the musicians. Sometimes the band has very very detailed ideas (i.e. Blind Guardian).
Have you become a close relation to some of the famous artists you have worked with / for ?
Not so much any more, because I hardly go out on parties and concerts. I used to have a closer contact, when I was younger and had more time to take part in the scene.
When I was younger I had closer relationships. I went to all the concerts and joined the parties. I went on tour with bands because I shot lots of music Promos as director. But now my life is quieter. But from time to time I'm pretty happy to meet people like Mille Petrozza, Tom Angelripper and others.
How much time do you usually spend on metal album artworks ?
Up to a month on very detailed paintings. Most is still handwork. I use a computer now, but still prefer analogue art.
I don't really remember having witnessed a whole CD booklet illustrated by you; most of the time you just do the cover artwork. Am I wrong ? If yes can you tell me what albums have been fully graced by your art ? If no, can you tell me why ?
On the Blind Guardian CD "Nightfall in Middle Earth" there are a lot of booklet paintings, also for Running Wilds "Pile of Skulls".
What are your limits, what are the things / subjects you wouldn't accept to do artwork about ? Politic stuff ? Explicit gore things ? Porn art ? Poppy Walt Disney stuff ?
I like gory stuff. I wouldn't do fascist or extreme leftist political stuff. Sometimes pure provocation for provocation's sake starts to bore me. Times changed and cynicism is what rules the global capitalist world. What we need is new kind of moral values, so pure childish provocation seems a waste of time to me.
Are there any musicians / bands you would like to do cover art for ? Maybe there are some albums that have already an artwork that you would have liked to do yourself ?
I really would like to do covers for gothic bands (
Cyril: Andreas indeed did the cover art for the last two The Dogma's albums, that are quite border line). Unfortunately they seem to prefer computer/photoshop style illustrations.
Are there any CDs whose cover is not really what you would have wanted it to be ? Some disappointments to tell us about ?
Yes, Gravedigger's "Tunes of War" for example. I wasn't given enough time to do it. I also shot and edited a music video for them. I was very busy. So what could have been an epic battle scene fell finally short on detail.
I can imagine that you express yourself through other topics / mediums than metal album cover artworks ... Can you please tell us about the other Andreas Marshall that readers (myself included) might not know about ?
Mainly, I am a film director and screenwriter now. See my Horror feature film "Tears of Kali" which was released all over the world an won lots of awards on film festivals. If everything turn out well there will be a new film next year. I'm also a fanatical photographer, carrying heavy cameras wherever I travel. My working room looks like a darkroom, and my wife hates that.
I haven't found any Andreas Marshall official website on the web (only an unofficial one that hasn't been really finished and that is already old). You don't have a real interest for the World Wide Web except for emailing ?
Yes, but I'm very lazy about making a web page. You can contact me over the official "Tears Of Kali" website:
www.tears-of -kali.de.
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