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Fire Work With Me
Metastazis Art Retrospective

Metastazis is a well-known name in the metal art community. The French graphic design studio has done work for some of the best known and most loved names in the underground, including Watain, Morbid Angel, Tombs, Paradise Lost, Behemoth, King Dude, Mutilation Rites, Sunn O))) and many, many more. The artist behind the studio, Valnoir, is uncompromising in his approach to his art, accepting no modification or criticism of his work from his clients, stating in his studio motto that:

METASTAZIS IS ALWAYS RIGHT, BECAUSE OUR PROCESS AS A WHOLE IS LOGICAL, BECAUSE ALL OF OUR DECISIONS ARE JUSTIFIABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR OWN CRITERIA, AND BECAUSE WE OBSERVE A COHERENCE WITHIN OUR WORK…

COME FOR SOMETHING WHOLE, SOMETHING YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, SOMETHING YOU WILL EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT IN ITS ENTIRETY.

And while this may seem to some to be an extreme, even arrogant, approach to designing album artwork and posters, even a brief look at his new book, Fire Work With Me, a collection of his work spanning 15 years of dedication to the underground music community, will show that his vision is indeed coherent and powerful. Valnoir creates imagery that speaks to the depth of sound contained within its fibrous walls, the promise of pain and catharsis that the listener seeks therein.

 

POSTFire Walk With Me2

 

Flipping through the pages of Fire Work With Me, which was released yesterday via Timeless, it’s easy to get lost in the striking imagery that graces its pages. From clean, symmetrical patterning to detailed illustration to digital manipulation of photography, Metastazis is constantly exploring new visual territory with each project. Some highlights in the book are the detailing of his use of alternative home made inks in screen printing, such as his own blood, human bone dust and master tape spools. Another intriguing project was the cover he did for Glaciation’s 1994, where he sewed battle jacket patches into a human body – a visual representation of how deeply one can identify with music. When asked whether these works were meant to shock, Valnoir says: “‘Shocking’ is definitely not part of my strategy, since I work in a niche that is, sadly, more shocked by homosexuality than by necrophilia.” Instead, he says, the use of such materials is about making sure that “all the elements involved in the conception of a piece [are] related to the message/concept/universe of the given piece.”

 

Watain poster, printed with human blood

Watain poster, printed with human blood

 

Fire Work With Me also explores some of his more intriguing collaborations and exhibitions. Working with Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, he traveled to North Korea to design artwork and shoot a video for a local accordian band covering A-Ha’s “Take On Me.” He is participating in a two-week art academy spearheaded by Traavik called DMZ Academy this June and for 2017, and also helped to organize a show for Laibach in Pyongyang, making them the first western band to play a show in North Korea.

 

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All in all, Valnoir has already rattled quite a few cages in his short time on this planet. Fire Work With Me is a fascinating visual retrospective of the last 15 years of his often dark and disturbing design work, and is a book that any collector of underground metal artwork would be proud to own. You can pick it up from Timeless HERE, and flip through a few of its 276 pages below.

 

 

 

44 Comments

44 Comments

  1. Ryan Ashmore

    April 13, 2016 at 1:51 pm

  2. Aika Armanouch

    April 13, 2016 at 9:52 am

    Pierre Caillou

  3. Sean Spinelli-Skakel

    April 13, 2016 at 12:17 am

    Cole Sutton Quincy Venter Scott Martine

  4. Kenneth Steven James Ash

    April 12, 2016 at 9:11 pm

    Dylan Petula

  5. Ryan Danley

    April 12, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    What an overachiever.

  6. Laura Stephenson

    April 12, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    Agustin Segundo Lobos

  7. Grace Morton

    April 12, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    Zach Bucci

  8. ughh

    April 12, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Remember the part in Until the light takes us where the edgy “artist” oogles over that idiot frost and calls him a dark angel <3 <3? and the moment Fenriz realizes that they all have become chic cartoons and wont even shake his hand? Yeah, this is the part.

  9. Myles Gosmire

    April 12, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Cannon Harlan

  10. Israel Irvine

    April 12, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    So stupid. Lol

  11. Justin Dodd

    April 12, 2016 at 9:34 am

    Does that make him feel cool?

  12. Arthur Valente Arciniega

    April 12, 2016 at 9:04 am

    René Lopez

  13. Rhea Bird-Dog

    April 12, 2016 at 8:19 am

    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Chris Wood

    • Chris Wood

      April 12, 2016 at 8:21 am

      SO MUCH EDGE IT EXISTS ONLY IN TWO DIMENSIONS

  14. Tara Vanflower

    April 12, 2016 at 7:13 am

    Pain hurts, m’kay? Did I just lose points in some mythical cool kid contest by saying that? Ha!

  15. Tara Vanflower

    April 12, 2016 at 7:12 am

    Gross

  16. Christian Creek

    April 12, 2016 at 6:21 am

    kwlt lvl 900000000

  17. Artie Fufkin

    April 12, 2016 at 6:18 am

    Mike

    • Mike Hatch

      April 12, 2016 at 6:31 am

      That’s so fuckin metal dude xD

  18. Fred Groves

    April 12, 2016 at 4:55 am

  19. Michelle Doyle

    April 12, 2016 at 4:48 am

    lol Mega Lithic Katie CurleyLeigh Ak v fvcking cvlt

  20. James Sunderland

    April 12, 2016 at 4:43 am

    Mehhhh

  21. Joshua Our

    April 12, 2016 at 4:17 am

    Lynnatta Lightning

  22. Willeke Ekelliw

    April 12, 2016 at 3:52 am

    Alexia Gideon ook endgame

  23. Matt Carroll

    April 12, 2016 at 3:03 am

    Ashley skin isn’t just for buttons.

  24. Koen Ceuppens

    April 12, 2016 at 2:54 am

    Fuck Varg Vikernes, why would you let someone sow a neonazi onto your back, keep thinking please? So many good other bands to do support. fuck this shit!

    • Valnoir Artfield Lautrec

      April 12, 2016 at 3:13 am

      yawn

    • Koen Ceuppens

      April 12, 2016 at 3:29 am

      clever

    • Brian Dempsey

      April 12, 2016 at 3:44 am

      Irrespective of any so called neo nazi views Varg has made some excellent Black Metal albums , to censor is to play the mass market media game.

    • Koen Ceuppens

      April 12, 2016 at 3:52 am

      Brian Dempsey his albums are outstanding, I don’t censor, I just hate it seeing him glorified

    • Valnoir Artfield Lautrec

      April 12, 2016 at 9:14 am

      Koen Ceuppens No less clever than your stupid attack toward my work. Get a brain.

    • Koen Ceuppens

      April 12, 2016 at 9:39 am

      I like the concept, not the patch and the person depicted, but I guess that was the subject’s choice, so it’s his choice I’m “attacking”. Not your work. As an artwork I like it and being educated in arts myself, I shall very seldomly attack a piece of art on itself. It’s the choice of the person depicted. That’s all. And if it was your choice to take that specific patch then I think you made a lousy choice, but as an artwork this is quite strong. So don’t get me wrong here.

    • Will Collins

      April 12, 2016 at 1:19 pm

      Valnoir, way to miss the point. if you want to sew patches on to people, great, whatever – doesn’t mean all patches were created equal. Varg was a great musician – fact; Varg’s an asshole – fact. it’s not about you

  25. Arcadia Tamarind

    April 12, 2016 at 2:29 am

    Fairly metal. Fairly bald.

  26. Derek Charles Blunt

    April 12, 2016 at 2:17 am

    That Glaciation album is a fucking excellent album.

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