We Spoke To The Guy Behind The Most Controversial Album Cover In Metal

There's been much speculation/capslock yelling online about the artwork on one man atmospheric black metal band Sacred Son's debut release. It's a picture of him smiling on holiday, and because of it people either think he's a brilliant genius or an evil scene traitor who should be burned at the stake. 

We scribbled down a couple of thoughts about the whole thing this weekend and lots of you had an opinion about it, so we thought that instead of hypothesising any further we'd get in touch with the man himself and straight up ask him what he's up to. He was kind enough to talk to us but not totally forthcoming about the artwork…

Hi there, Sacred Son! How does it feel to be centre of attention in the metal world right now?
It feels pretty damn surreal. I didn't for a second think anyone would actually hear about this record, so it's been a huge surprise to see the amount of coverage it's been getting. The split in opinion on the cover has been quite something – one person lauding it as "Andy Warhol levels of genius", the next calling it "fucking hipster trash".

Tell us about Sacred Son...
I officially started Sacred Son back in January, although starting my own solo project was something I'd been thinking of doing for a while. Whilst I enjoy the collaborative and social elements of playing in a band, I've always been intrigued by the creative freedom and the lack of compromise that being a solo artist allows. I've pretty much exclusively played in heavy bands prior to this so composing and performing black metal wasn't a huge departure from what I'd been doing previously.

So, come on then, what was the thinking behind the cover?
I'm hesitant to reveal too much as I'm really enjoying some of the theories people are posting about it. One guy thinks I was murdered by a Norwegian black metal band shortly after the picture was taken, a few seem convinced it carries some mysterious deep and dark connotations, while some just see it as a cynical cash-in attempt. I may one day reveal the cover's meaning, but for now people are welcome to come to their own conclusions.

What's next for Sacred Son? 
The album is being released on cassette in October and there has been a fair bit of demand for a vinyl pressing, so I'm seeing what options are out there for potentially making it happen. I'm also currently in the process of getting a band together with the aim of playing shows by the end of the year.

What are your favourite record covers of all time?
In no particular order: Cattle Decapitation – Humanure, Death Grips – No Love Deep Web, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Round and Round, Black Cilice – Mysteries, Napalm Death – Scum.

Thanks, Sacred Son!

Here's a charming little gallery of Sacred Son's favourite album covers in the order he's mentioned them (the Death Grips one is blurred out but we're sure you can work out what it is):

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