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H.R. Giger’s Greatest Hits: A Legacy of Surreal Album Art

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In preparation for Alien Day, you can expect a surge of H.R. Giger’s surrealistic Xenomorph artwork to be celebrated along with the legacy of the 1979 film. But Giger had done more than just Ridley Scott’s film. He also worked very closely with another genre very close to my heart: Rock and roll.

While many of these fall into the category of more extreme heavy metal, you’d be surprised at the true span of the relationship between H.R. Giger and music. The artist would retain a very close working relationship with legendary guitarist and singer Tom G. Warrior, who would use Giger’s art in numerous projects of his, but not everything has been so dark and distorted. Progressive rock band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer would feature his artwork as well on an album that traded electric guitars for synthesizers.

metalinjection.net

Giger and Warrior.

While this is just a sample of what I personally find to be his best and most enduring artwork, a deeper search will reveal even more of his powerful and surrealistic art. Read on for my picks of his six best pieces of album art.

Carcass – Heartwork (1993)

Courtesy of Metal-Archives.com

“Heartwork” differs from most of the albums on this list due to the fact that it featured one of H.R. Giger’s sculptures as opposed to his paintings. There is a cold, ambiguous feeling to this specific piece. The juxtaposition between the peace sign and the open, spiked arms creates something that is highly unsettling yet unusually simple for the artist.

Steve Stevens – Atomic Playboys (1989)

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Definitely his most tame, I chose to include this one simply for the fact that I loved how it contained an electric guitar. This is highly unusual for Giger and is one of his least controversial paintings. While many would depict reproductive organs and explicit sex acts, the art for “Atomic Playboys” depicts a fretboard instead. A more mainstream approach without a doubt.

Danzig III: How The Gods Kill (1992)

Courtesy of Escapistmagazine.com

The influence of the Xenomorph is strong here. I find this to be one of Giger’s most appealing works – and that undoubtedly has to do with my love and appreciation for the music on what is my favorite album by Glenn Danzig. There seems to be a relationship between the woman’s mouth, the serpent, and the two creatures approaching from the side; one that feels unsettling and sexual being committed by four members of the same being. But isn’t that exactly what you’d expect from something from Giger?

Tryptykon – Eparistera Daimones (2010)

Courtesy of Tryptykon.com

The first album by the Tom G. Warrior-fronted Tryptykon features on of the artist’s most hellish depictions. Giger and Warrior, as stated above, would collaborate often. Though this is not the most popular of their partnerships – that can be found as the next one down on this list – it’s certainly one of his more extreme and aesthetically involved.

Celtic Frost – To Mega Therion (1985)

Courtesy of Discogs.com

And here, we have an immortal album cover by one of the most legendary heavy metal bands of all time: Celtic Frost. Offensive and sacrilegious, this is one of the most enduring album covers in all of heavy metal. Despite this, the phrase I most commonly attach to this piece of art is something very un-metal – a quote from one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time, A Christmas Story. “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery (1973)

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Anyone who has ever turned on a classic rock radio station has encountered a song by this group. With swirling keyboards, frenetic drums, and some of the most phenomenal synthesizer playing of all time, “Brain Salad Surgery” is nothing short of a masterpiece. The dark and brooding album cover is synthetic and mechanical, inorganic and indifferent to the emotions integral to the human condition.

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.

28 Days Later

The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.

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