Logos from Hell

Logos from Hell

eath metal and black metal logos may be considered a crude form of typography often rendered by hand but sometimes constructed by a conglomeration of fonts. Typography, having its origin in the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete circa 1850-1600 BC, has evolved over the centuries into an art form handled in modern times by visual experts and even the lay person. Death and black metal logos, as a legit art form, is gaining momentum as the genres begin to surface into international mainstream visual art and music communities. Its reputation is often overlooked because if its extreme nature however it is important to take note of its presence and its relationship to professional typography and logo design.

Death, black and related extreme metal music genres are arbitrarily defined by their sound. They are a more aggressive form of music, inspired by their tamer predecessors. The nature of extreme musicemploying fast tempos, heavily distorted guitar playing, often undecipherable vocals, and unholy lyrical contentis synonymously reflected in its visual branding. Branding is the implementation of a visual graphicsuch as a logowhich serves the purpose of creating an association or expectation for any given product. In this case, the product of focus is extreme heavy metal music. A bands logo may serve the purpose of being recognizable, imply a style of music, create a theme, appeal to a specific audience, or simply be used as a marketing tool for products and advertising. Just as the sound of extreme heavy metal music can be arbitrarily defined, so can the style of logo it commands. Death metal logos are often delineated by their lack of legibility as it goes hand-in-hand with the seemingly audible illegibility of the music. Subjectively speaking, one might draw the conclusion that the more extreme the logo, the more extreme the band. The notion of an extreme logo can be compared to the concept of display typography which is less concerned with legibility and is typically

used as an artistic or decorative form of type versus the more structured text type comprised by a large body of words. The typical artistic elements of a death metal logo often consist of pointed edges, web-like features, blood drips, thin and intricate borders, ideograms, and more importantlyrepetition and alignment. Despite the raw and imaginative characteristics of a death metal logo, it still retains the simple structure of most well-defined type. Death metal logos rely heavily on the fundamentals of typography, employing the mindfulness of symmetry, tracking, kerning, various letter heights, and even the implementation of ligatures. Black metal logos, for example, depend heavily on script-inspired letter forms, ornate embellishments, and the excessive use of ideograms such as upside-down crosses, pentagrams, and various occult symbols. This compendium of death and black metal logos includes the talent of some of the most prolific and well-respected artists in the underground extreme heavy metal music community. It is an attempt to offer incite, meaning, and purpose to a form of art that has found its niche in the extreme music market and makes no apologies for pushing the limits of acceptable logo and type design.

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Logos from Hell

Logos from Hell

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his brief inspection of extreme heavy metal logos would be incomplete without the most influential logoand bandin death metal music history. The band Death, by which the genre of death metal is named, exhibits a logo that is both a rudimentary and difinitive part of logo history. Originally penned with a fine point marker in 1984 by former member Kam Lee, the logos raw nature and symbolic content ring true in many logos today. The Death logo has seen various incarnations as the band progressed over time but the original version retains the true qualities essential to the bands origin. Note the 666 around the letter T (which doubles as an inverted cross); an element that never appeared on any of the official Death album covers.

Original Death logo by Kam Lee

I L L U S T R A T O R : Lou Rusconi C L I E N T : Otto Schirach

I L L U S T R A T O R : Irwan Azman Awang C L I E N T : Tortured Maternity

I L L U S T R A T O R : Lou Rusconi C L I E N T : Hemaphrodite Jihad

I L L U S T R A T O R : Mark Riddick C L I E N T : The Ravenous

I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp C L I E N T : Tearstained

I L L U S T R A T O R : Christophe Szpajdel C L I E N T : Trono

I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp C L I E N T : Kathaarsys

I L L U S T R A T O R : Mdan Savamhel C L I E N T : Nostalgia

I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp C L I E N T : Paths of Possession

I L L U S T R A T O R : Daniel Desecrator C L I E N T : Occult 666

I L L U S T R A T O R : Mark Riddick C L I E N T : Orthrus

I L L U S T R A T O R : Mdan Savamhel C L I E N T : Heresiarch