The first colour concept image for Hamerex’ forthcoming album. The basic theme of the cover is Wakefield, West Yorkshire (the band’s home town) as Hell. The album has a recurring influence from Dante’s Inferno, one of my favourite books. I’ve been through Wakefield many times on the train so have mainly seen it from the top of the large rail bridge that cuts through the centre. Looking down from the bridge reminds me of Hell’s Malebolge, a series of concentric rings of vast trenches or canyons in which the shades of sinners march, flee, boil or are trampled for eternity. Hence, I’ve chosen the bridge (viewed from ground level) as a unifying factor throughout the visual development progress. Or, in real-personish, as an image that links all the drafts.

I was never entirely satisfied by this draft, & didn’t think it was necessary to work into the detail of the bridge or the buildings in the background. The emphasis here was mainly on the mini-Balrog-like demons and marching shades.

Again, I didn’t think it was necessary to work into the detail of the bridge or the buildings in the background, though this does give more of an impression of the Wakefield skyline that gets much more attention in later drafts (coming soon!). The emphasis here was on the giant three-faced Lucifer who resides in the lake of Cocytus, the centre of Hell.

This draft focuses on what would be the reverse-side of the cover, a scene influenced by the Fifth Circle of Hell, the City of Dis, in which the souls of Heretics burn in stone sarcophagi, surrounding the tombs of the leaders.

All images are  rendered in Acrylic ink & paint on packing paper.

A video clip of the recording progress can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/23dfPJyjPL0

A live performance of the song ‘Inferno’ from the forthcoming album can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/l30-xUCL8xE

Hamerex’ website: http://www.hamerex.com/

These images can also be viewed at Grindtone Art’s deviantART page.