UPDATES
August 8, 2022. Latest additions : gallery 2022 : SKINFLINT + INCANTATION
NEW ART
BOOK
"THORNCROSS : Over 3 Decades Invoking The Dead" (coming 2022, more info soon)
LITHOGRAPHS
Available
here : http://shop.e-kunst.com/artist/chris-moyen
Details...
ART
BOOK 2013 (Sold
out / Épuisé)
CHRIS
MOYEN / THORNCROSS "Black Ink & Metal"
Art book is out October 8, 2013. Nuclear
War Now! Productions
(ANTI-GOTH 251) SOLD
OUT. Thank
you all for the support! / Merci à tous pour
votre soutien!)
Chris
Moyen's ThornCross: Black Ink & Metal Book + Incantation/Archgoat
"Reh/Live 1990 + Jesus Spawn Demo" LP
ANTI-GOTH 251
(Description by J. Campbell)
As
Death and Black Metal gravitated toward a more extreme
degree of sonic horror, the associated visual aesthetics
followed suit, becoming increasingly more violent and
blasphemous. The emergence of brooding, dark Death Metal
and the frenetic aggression of the raw and bestial strains
of Black Metal required a shift in vision, and the artwork
of Chris Moyen became the most recognizable imagery
to adorn the covers of the most extreme Metal of the
early 1990s. As a youth in Bordeaux, France, Chris was
immediately attracted to comics before the age of ten.
A few years later, Moyen discovered Metal, which became
a lifelong obsession for him. His exposure to early
cover artwork such as Iron Maiden’s “Killers”
(Derek Riggs), Celtic Frost’s “Emperor’s
Return” (Phil Lawvere), and Necrophagia’s
“Season of the Dead” (Drew Elliot) convinced
Moyen that he wanted to create artwork as iconic as
those covers that inspired him. Moyen’s artistic
association with underground metal began in 1989 when
he became acquainted with Ludo “Evil” Lejeune,
one of the editors of “Ultimate Speedcore Dislocation”
zine for which Moyen planned to contribute some illustrations.
The zine died before Moyen could work on it; however,
Lejeune soon founded the European Sarcofago and Blasphemy
Fan Clubs (and also Evil Omen Records) and sought out
Chris Moyen for artwork for flyers and newsletters.
Almost immediately, bands throughout the world began
contacting Moyen to obtain artwork for demos, records,
t-shirts, and flyers. His first two vinyl covers, for
Mortician’s “Brutally Mutilated” 7”
and Derkéta’s “Premature Burial”
7” (both released on the infamous Seraphic Decay
label), solidified Moyen’s artistic presence.
Brutal, primitive, and evocative, Moyen’s pen
and ink illustrations perfectly reflected the sound
of the bands with which he worked – bands that,
like him, focused upon striking a balance between abrasive
intensity and technical prowess. The perverse complexity
of his artwork and his attention to detail quickly led
to his being commissioned by numerous Black and Death
Metal bands such as Incantation, Beherit, Archgoat,
Goatlord, Blood, Naked Whipper, Necromantia, etc. Moyen’s
artwork appeared on many of the most significant extreme
metal releases of the 1990s. In 1998, Moyen turned his
attention away from the Metal scene and disappeared
for several years. In 2001, YK Insulter, who was just
beginning his NWN! Productions label, acquired a street
address for Moyen (although it was uncertain whether
or not Moyen still lived at that address) and mailed
him a letter. Moyen did reply, however, and he agreed
to contribute artwork to the label. First, Moyen allowed
his “Demoniac” piece from about 1990 to
be used for the cover of the Blasphemy “Live Ritual”
LP and, soon thereafter, he created the original artwork
for the Black Witchery “Desecration of the Holy
Kingdom” LP. The unassuming correspondence and
these isolated collaborations developed into a relationship
between NWN! and Chris Moyen that has persisted through
the years as both have continued to establish their
prominence in the scene. As interest in Black/Death
Metal surged in the mid-2000s, Moyen once again became
one of the most widely recognized artists in the field.
To honor Moyen’s contributions, NWN! Productions
is proud to announce the release of “Chris Moyen's
Thorncross: Black Ink & Metal,” a 208-page
book featuring a retrospective of Moyen’s pen
and ink (all black and white) artwork. This book, which
has been in the planning stages for over five years,
is the definitive collection of Moyen’s art and
is an essential document of the evolution of the Black/Death
underground. The 12” x 12” hardbound book
comes with a bonus LP featuring two of the bands for
which Moyen created some of his most highly regarded
pieces: Archgoat and Incantation. The Archgoat side
contains the band’s 1991 demo entitled, “Jesus
Spawn.” Incantation’s side of the LP consists
of the 1990 rehearsal demo from one of the band’s
earliest sessions as well as previously unreleased live
recordings from their first gig that same year.
http://www.nwnprod.com/?p=3419
-
208 pages
- 12"x12" (30x30 cm) Hardbound book
- Incantation / Archgoat split LP included with all
copies
-
1st press october 2013 : 1000 copies [ 400 die hard
versions with flag (transparent vinyl) + 600 regulars
(100 white LP & 500 black LP) ]
-
2nd press december 2013 : 500 copies [ 250 die hard
versions with flag (splatter black-white-transparent
vinyl + 250 regulars (black LP) ]
LP
included with all copies.