Case Study
Soundgarden – King Animal
When Kim Thayil and I first started discussions for the King Animal cover, there was still no album title. Kim was envisioning a white or pale blue cover, something that would stand out against the band’s catalog. The band did not want to be on the record cover itself, and wanted to see some sort of expansive environment. We began to discuss possible elements or settings what would reflect these colors.
Band photo by Paul Lorkowski
Initial Ideas
I began to research different white elements and settings (ice, ocean, snow, desert, concrete, etc.), considering how they would work visually, and what complimented the band’s identity. Simultaneously, we started discussing the focal point of the cover. I brought up the idea of a hand-made pagan or alchemy symbol, and Chris mentioned (to Kim) that he liked the bone elements from my work for Neurosis’ Given To The Rising.
Kim and I agreed the symbol was an intriguing idea: How we could use an element like that in merch and posters, etc? But we would save that conversation for later. For now my focus turned to specific environments seen here, an anonymous winter forest, the equally bleak Salton Sea (California) and Aral Sea (Kazakhstan), and the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania.
Presentation & Further
The next phase was to present these ideas to the rest of the band. In these emails, you can see the fluidity of the process, as everyone weighs in as a focused approach solidifies: a collection of sun bleached skulls and antlers, embellished with flowers. Band portraits would stay true to the bands catalog: effected, possibly unrecognizable.
The Cover
As the timeline has pushed our schedule into late spring, it became evident that we weren’t going to find much or any snowfall. The background would have to be a stock image. With that, I began constructing the primary sculpture in my studio. Using skulls from my house (the impala) and scouring the internet for bones (coyote skulls), the piece started to come together. Snow was created by combining water-storing-crystals (soil additive) with a snow blanket. Driftwood was used as a structural and angular elements. Both real and fake flowers were integrated. We chose to nix the hand made symbol, because it was feeling too Blair Witch, and decided to create something more graphic to be used elsewhere in the packaging.
The band photos came together using Don VanCleave’s photos as the starting point, and integrated into something more fitting to the artwork.
Identity and New Logo
With the artwork approaching the finished state. We shifted back to the icon discussion. The band wanted a new and vibrant icon that related to the past imagery, but also pointed forward. From there, I combined elements of the King Animal cover with historic alchemy elements, which created something both iconic and unique to the band. The popularity of the icon has grown over the last few years, and was continually used both on and off stage.
Layout and Packaging
The next phase was layout. King Animal has 2 different vinyl versions, 3 CD versions, 2 digital versions (iTunes etc), and the massive Super Deluxe. In general, we tend to use the Super Deluxe as the primary release because it contains all of the bells and whistles. We also hope that the reviewers getting advance copies understand that their single-sleeve promo doesn’t quite represent the artwork and written content.
And the Rest…
From here, I continued to work and brand the release campaign: merchandise, tour visuals, music videos, web, and more. Beyond the work created below, I also worked with independent vendors, and established style-guides so that each step of this release would continue to hold true to the brand.
Concert Visuals
Right to left – Tour Excerpts from Las Vegas // Black Hole Sun // Superunknown // Fell on Black Days // Slaves and Bulldozers // Dusty // Searching with My Good Eye Closed // Beyond the Wheel
Music Videos
Been Away Too Long // Halfway There
Promotional Videos
King Animal album trailer // Non-State Actor visualizer
Apparel
Posters
