Introduction

Being a blog dedicated to the use of gargoyles, grotesques, statues and carvings in album art, especially that of Doom Metal (and related genres). It may also include similar archaic images such as standing stones, monoliths, or mediaeval illustrations.

To my mind Doom Metal (when done correctly) evokes a feeling a great age, spirituality and contemplation, and this is enhanced by the imagery. I have a love of churches and other old buildings, and the two things go hand in hand for me; the images of gargoyles, statues and crosses used by Doom and Doom/Death bands, especially in the early 90s, seemed to perfectly fit the music. Also, the band names like Cathedral, Church Of Misery, Chapel Of Rest, and Castle; all these added to my imagined link between the music and churches and other old buildings.

Sunday 15 January 2012

The roots of my obsession...

I can trace my fascination with gargoyles and carvings back to before I discovered a love of music. As I child, I had a fair collection of Ladybird books, among which was this one:


I loved this book (and it's companion book called, naturally enough, "What To Look For Inside A Church"), and was entranced by the feeling of tranquillity and age that the pictures seemed to convey. Alongside the crosses, sundials and gravestones, I was particularly taken with this little fellow:


A few years later I read the Narnia books by C. S. Lewis, and one illustration from "The Magician's Nephew" caught my imagination and instilled a similar feeling as before; a griffin-shaped fountain from the ruins of the ancient city of Charn:


Years later whilst wandering the phantasmogorical paths of early 90s Doom Metal, I found that the music and related imagery gave me the exact same feeling.
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