Friday 31 October 2014

CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL - BLACK METAL'S 'LORD OF LOGOS'

''What's the point of having a band logo that you can't read?''

 - Thomas Haugen, guitarist, Emperor




Above: 'Emperor' logo, by Christophe Szpajdel

- It's a good question. Black Metal was the last great rock n roll movement to occur before the advent of the internet. Born in Scandinavia, and fed by fanzines and underground tape-trading, it was / is characterised by a certain extremist 'elitism' amongst some of its more reactionary practitioners.

However, after its tabloid-baiting inception, many key bands ( Emperor, Immortal, Cradle of Filth, et. al. ) matured musically and philosophically, and became respected members of the greater Heavy Metal pantheon, releasing acclaimed and complex albums, and playing to huge crowds around the globe.


Below: 'Wolves In The Throne Room' logo




Below: 'Northumbria' logo




Like all sub-cultures, Black Metal comes with its own set of aesthetic markers. The dress code ideally involves leather jackets, black jeans, Evil Dead / Kiss- style monochrome facepaint, spikes and bullet-belts.
Album art normally features snow-swept forest scenes, graveyards, or famous gothic art. And of course, the aforementioned 'unreadable' band logo. Let's face it, how much more 'cult' can you get?
The greatest practitioner of the 'Black Metal Logo' is Belgium-born artist Christophe Szpajdel, whose background in forestry directly informs his sinuous, organic designs. He originally bequeathed his famous 'Emperor' logo ( see top of page ) as a gift to the band while working on the fanzine, Septicore. This logo is actually marked by its distinct legibility, and perhaps goes to show that Emperor - from the very beginning - had ideas beyond the constrictions of a narrow-minded and parochial scene.
As Christophe tells MONOBLOG:

''The editor, Thierry, was in touch with Thomas Haugen ( Emperor's rhythm guitarist ‘Samoth’ ) who was playing in the death metal band EMBRYONIC, which then evolved into THOU SHALT SUFFER later on. In a letter addressed to Thierry, he mentioned starting a new band playing unholy metal of blackness and death - a band called EMPEROR - and I sort of surprised EMPEROR with a logo that shortly became their emblem.
At that time, I wouldn't have believed the Emperor logo could make me famous, and it happened when they released their legendary album IN THE NIGHTSIDE ECLIPSE exactly 20 years ago.''
Indeed, since those humble beginnings, Christophe's unique contribution to branding design has been featured in countless art gallery retrospectives, and even a deluxe design book, Lord of Logos: Designing the Metal Underground ( see links at the bottom of this page ).


Below: 'Lamentations Of The Ashen' logo





Christophe has long been a resident of the UK since the heady days of the early Black Metal scene, and aside from continuing to add to the list of 7,000 band logos that he has created over the years ( tip for artists: he charges 50% upfront for the initial rough sketch, which is non-refundable ), he tells us that 'this year I am running a very special exhibition at The Phoenix, in Exeter'. More details as soon as we get them!

Below: 'Grim' logo




CHRISTOPHE SZPAJDEL EXTRA:

FAMOUS COMPANIES RE-BRANDED, BLACK METAL-STYLE






Such has been the impact of Christophe's unique contribution to the art of the logo, that he was asked by design magazine Fast Company to put a cheeky spin on some well-known companies. Christophe explains:

''I got a fixation about PRADA since the movie THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and to make it controversial, I did a PRADA logo just for my own pleasure. Last year I got approached by FAST COMPANY to do logos for 11 famous brands.''

MONOBLOG is sure you'll agree that it proves even Black Metallers have a sense of humour...for the full selection of Christophe's corporate logos, see link below. 







BREAKING NEWS: NEW UK EXHIBITION!
November 18 to December 31st 2014
Exeter Phoenix
Bradninch Place
Gandy Street
Exeter
EX4 3LS
tel: 01392 667 080