Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
6 Page roll-fold insert
3 Colour disc with silver knockout

Label: InVogue Records

Story: It's always a pleasure when I get to work for Nick at InVogue. I've done a few jobs for him over the years, so I was flattered when he asked me to design the artwork for his very own band, Before Their Eyes. 
He showed me some tracks and I was floored. It was such a focused piece of work that I felt the cover needed to be focused as well.

I took inspiration from a lyric in the title track, "Midest Modesty", that goes "Now lets be honest, I don't deserve this. So, I'm focused in the Midwest getting back to where we built this". I felt that I found a great metaphor for being 'pinned down' and staying right where you are put, in using the imagery of entomology. Entomology is the practice of collecting bugs and pinning them onto a board for a collection. Also, Dragonflies are very common to the Midwest. It just all seemed to make sense.

Luckily, Nick and the band loved it and they were able to put this into production merely a few weeks after I was originally contracted to do the work. 

This is a great album, and you should buy it:

http://merchnow.com/catalogs/before-their-eyes

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
12 Page Booklet
2 Colour disc

Label: Test Your Metal Records
Photography: Sheldon Dent (www.sheldondent.com)

Story: Gomorrah had a very specific vision that wouldn't be completed with photo manipulations and stock images compiled into one singular composition - so we shot it for real. We hired Sheldon Dent, as his style would offer the sharp clean look that we were looking for.

The cover model is my lovely wife, Elizabeth Moore, who was ecstatic to help me on a project until she realized she had to hold real lamb intestines. Elizabeth is a vegetarian, but Gomorrah wanted gore. That where their two worlds collided in a beautiful final photo taken by Sheldon. All of Lizz's makeup was done by Tovey Demman, and Lizz was a faded shade of grey for a few day afterwards.

The layout was fairly simple after all the photos were taken and Bowen Matheson (Guitarist, Gomorrah) agreed with me that we shouldn't overload this cover with grunge effects and over done Photoshopping. We kept it really clean and minimal. I love its rigid dichotomy between the cleanliness of the layout, and the gore and chaos of the actual central image.

Very proud of this one.

Specs:
6 Panel Digipack
3 Colour disc with silver knockout

Label: Independent

Story: Within Rust are a Vanouver band that pack a punch. Experimental, dreamy, but still rocking hard the entire time. I met with their singer, Nolen, to discuss the art and the image behind their record. He know he wanted some sort of galaxy, or vast empty space, yet wanted to envoke the human feeling - and not go overboard into the realm of aliens and sci-fi.

I came up with this concept of the human place in the galaxy. Astronauts, Nebulas, and technology of man. I loved intentionally messing up the images with glitches and static, and I especially loved editing all the text to look distorted and as if it had been dragged through an old scanner. 

Do yourself a favour and check out this band, and maybe pick up their record if you can too.

https://withinrust.bandcamp.com/

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
6 Page roll-fold insert
2 Colour disc with silver knockout

Label: InVogue Records
Photography: Marcus J. Ranum

Story: Shreddy Krueger are a great band from my hometown, and happen to be great friends of mine - however, I wasn't their first choice for designing the album art, and with good reason too.  Being on InVogue records and having essentially the pick of the litter from todays top young names in design, they had quite the big pot to quell from.

In the end, when they saw the treatment I had come up with - they were sold on it. Funny enough, this is exactly that. This was the first idea I came up with and it barely even had any changes.
 

Specs:
Jewel Case
24 Page full colour booklet
3 Colour disc

Label: Independent
Photography: Freddie Bennett

Story: I was floored when I was asked to take on the task of designing and packaging Still Remains' new record. It's their first album in 7 years, and when I was in High School right through College I was a big fan of Still Remains.

Getting to work closely with these guys was an honour, as well as a lot of fun.  We got to try some pretty cool stuff, their vocalist hand wrote all the lyrics out, and from there he let me just take the helm and control their destiny. I am super happy with this project and I can't wait to work with them again.

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
2 Colour disc with silver knockout

Label: eOne Entertainment
Photography: Joel Jaszczyszak

They are The Wild! and they are fucking crazy!
Dylan from The Wild! and myself have worked together in the past multiple times, and I always made a point of harassing him about getting to do their album art when the time came. Well, the time came and they came to me.
They had a basic concept in mind, and hired Joel from joelsview.com to rock all the photography (who did an amazing job, with a quick turnaround), so I just got to do my thing and to a touch of photo editing and giving the concept a rugged and grunged up look. I love it, and I know they do too! Check these guys out if you haven't!

Specs:
Jewel Case
16 Page full colour booklet
3 Colour disc

Label: Independent
Photography: Jayce Van Der Linden

Story: Designing artwork and making music are my two favourite things, but designing the album art for your own band is probably one of the most difficult things. I had a lot of time to think about this one, and the easiest way I thought to execute it was to do mostly photography, from a photographer that I adore.
It was an awesome day of covering each other in paint and messing around in Mike's garage to get this all done perfect. Big ups to Cody Glada for being the cover model for this one.
 

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
24 Page Booklet
3 Colour Disc

Label: Independent

Story: I've worked with The Rockies boys for a few years now, throughout their years as Malibu Knights and right into present day as The Rockies. If anyone knows how to write a catchy rock song - It's these guys.

I always like working with Dan and his crew because they always just let me fly at it and create what I like. He came to me and said "We want something classic rock. Something avant garde like Zeppelin." I immediately thought of one of my favourite designers/photographers Storm Thorgerson and drew much inspiration from his work. I am super happy with how this one turned out, and there wasn't much in the way of edits - besides changing their band name at the last minute ;)

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
20 Page full colour booklet
3 Colour disc

Label: Independent
Photography: Barrett Klesko

Story: My band, Young Sparrows, got the opportunity to tour with Submerge - and we fell in love. Literally. We became band boyfriends over night and I would do anything for these boys - including but not limited to their album artwork.
Cody made it very clear that this was an 'anti-religion' album, but in no way wanted it to be viewed as hate speech. He wanted me to find a metal enough concept depicting a dark spiritual world, without looking satanic or anti-christian. I figured these pagan goetia symbols were the way to go, as well as a cover with a woman experiencing a very dark 'stigmata' type experience. It invokes a cool dark imagery, that is obviously in someway related to the spirit world, but isn't blatantly telling a black & white story. It is open to interpretation.

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
2 Colour Disc

Label: Independent
Band Photography: Eduardo Abarca

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
Full Colour Digital Printed Discface

Label: Independent

These Aussie rockers know how to bring it! Jessica Christy, the groups vocalist, got a hold of me through social media and they had no concept for artwork whatsoever. They just had the title for the EP "Flames". It lit a fire under me (pun intended), and I created some packaging that I am very proud of.

Designed to look like an old ragged match book you may find in your pocket after a night out with friends, Midnight Jealousy’s art treatment is familiar in a cozy sense. You open to find one match left, only to ignite the flame by playing the music.

Rather than let the art tell a whole story in itself, this concept works with the band in creating the image of the music being what is on fire. just drop this disc in your player and set the flames ablaze. This EP truly is fire!

 

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack

Label: Independent

Story: An unused proposal I made for the Okanagan Valley Hardcore band "Father's Lungs". I was immensely happy with the final product and a tad discouraged that they chose not to use it, but them's the ropes! Check them out on Facebook, they are a great band with a great classic hardcore sound. I have nothing but good things to say about these fine young men.

Specs:
4 Panel Eco-Sleeve

Label: Independent

Story: Coming up with the EP artwork for my band, Young Sparrows', second release was a daunting task to say the least. I went through a few versions of what the cover looked like, and in the end we decided the album title alone was powerful enough to be the cover. After a few different type treatments, we decided on the shield/family crest look, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

 

Specs:
2 Panel Sleeve
2 Colour Disc

Label: Independent

Story: Joël and I have worked together a lot over the past two years. I have been a fan of Joël's since I first heard his band "Prom Night In Black and White". We connected in later years through a different incarnation of his creativity and have been in touch ever since.

With this project he let me have free reign and I knew right away I wanted his face on the cover, which I usually try and stay away from, but Joël just has this welcoming, comforting look to him. He is so truthful in his music, and it is truly him exposed - no rockstar bullshit. No metaphorical or mysterious cover art would do this justice - it needed to be him.

 

Specs:
2 Panel Wallet
2 Colour Disc

Label: Independent

Specs:
Digital Release Cover

Label: Prospect Park

Story: Korn held a cover contest on Talenthouse.com, so I entered. I finished in the top 5 out of hundreds of entries, but they still haven't announced the bands official choosing. They can choose from any of the applicants regardless of voted position. Fingers crossed.

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack

Label: Independent

Story: This is an unused proposal for the Vancouver rock band "Ghost Walk". I liked the simplicity of having the logo be the main focus, but the band felt it was too professional/clean looking. They wanted to have a dirtier southern-rock look, which I am currently putting together - but I loved how this turned out so I figured I would share it.

Specs:
4 Panel Booklet Jewel Case

Label: Hadean Records

Story: The album that never was. All the production, mixing, and mastering for this record was completed, and then lost in a computer crash, and then redone from square one at a brand new recording studio along with artwork, done by me. Sadly, somewhere along the line it never came to see the light of day. Very sad indeed.

 

Specs:
Two Panel Wallet Sleeve

Label: Independent

Specs:
12 Page Booklet
2 Colour disc with silver knockout

Label: Season of Mist
Cover Painting: Ken Serafin // www.serafinconcepts.com

Story: I've been down with Archspire since day one. These guys will mow down anything in their path with relentless brutality, and make fart jokes while doing it. When it came time to do their second record, I was already on them like white on rice to make sure I did the layout. They always hire AMAZING painters and digital artist for their album covers, and this was no exception. Ken Serafin kicks ass in so many ways that I had to ensure the layout on the inside could stand up to his amazing work.  As always, it was nearly impossible to fit all of Oliver's lyrics into this booklet, but we made it work with a little bit of style to-boot. So, all in all, I was very happy to be a small part of this amazing project.
 

Specs:
2 Panel Sleeve

Label: Independent

Specs:
Digital-Only Release Cover

Label: InVogue Records

Specs:
2 Panel Wallet
2 Colour Disc

Label: Independent

Specs:
6 Panel Digipack
2 Colour disc on silver

Label: Trendkill Recordings

Digital Paintings: Joshua Dartez (cataplexy36.deviantart.com)

Story: The band had these digital paintings done by Joshua Dartez over at Cataplexy and I thought they were absolutely brilliant, but as for layout - they had nothing.  I approached the band and let them know that I would love to layout their record art and I would love the opportunity to see Joshua's digital paintings in high res and be able to work with them. So, they agreed and this is the result.

The other thing about working with Archspire is that they have about 5 songs worth of lyrics jammed into one song. Oli (their vocalist) is insanely talented as well as verbose, so having to get all these lyrics to fit onto two panels was no easy task. When all's said and done, I am happy with the result as they were too.

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack

Label: Independent

Story: An unused proposal I did for Winnipeg based rock band "Hope Atlantic". Sadly, I was a little late to the draw and they had already hired a designer to complete their album artwork. Luckily, they were stoked about what I did and they hired me to design them 3 tee shirts for their cross Canada tour. Very nice!

Specs:
4 Panel Digipack
3 Colour Discface

Label: Independent

An unused proposal that I did up for one of my favourite metal bands, The Agony Scene. When I heard they were reuniting, and that one of my other clients (Still Remains) had contact with members of the band, I put this together as a concept for their potential new album.

Specs:
Digital-Only Album Cover

Label: Independent

Story: My friend Chris Baker is a top notch dude, and a top notch musician. He moved to Vancouver a few years ago and started the progressive/technical/death metal band Makaria.

As always, I was super excited to see what Chris was pumping out so when he asked me to design the cover art for their digital-only release "Particle Zoo" I was ecstatic!
We were both so happy with the final product, and it may turn into a full release with full packaging before the end of the summer. So lets keep our fingers crossed that we get to see that!

Cover for the digital-only self titled release from Sunspoke. Sunspoke consists of Luis Diaz, and amazingly talented rapper/hip hop musician who creates his own beats as well as his own rhymes. Luis was very specific with what he wanted, and in our first meeting he had some rough sketches and had found some images of raven's and crows that he really liked. After the meeting I went right home and this just poured out of me. He was happier than a pig in the mud and this was the first and last cover I made. He had absolutely no changes and said I had 'knocked it out of the park'. 
That always feels good.