The Gathering Album Cover?

[TheFarter]

Does anyone understand The Gathering's album cover? Did Chuck or Eric ever explain it?

[High Priest Of Evil]

Well, some of the details obviously have clear relation to the lyrics- snakes/needles to drug abuse, the burning city- to the fall of sipledome and 3 days in darkness, the angels that are riding the snake could symbolise the loss of faith in these dark times that are to come or the fall of a man (drugs, hate, environment, inner struggle?)- who once was like an angel and now is decayed with eyes sewn shut. Just some elements. I doubt it has a bigger symbolic meaning- probably just the impression the artist got from the lyrics. That's my opinion anyway. Never heard Eric or Chuck explain it (as opposed to the Demonic cover)

[SlayerNPG]

What did they say about the Demonic cover?

[High Priest Of Evil]

Some Eric quotes:

About the Gathering cover:

It was an idea that I had. It changed a lot. I explained it to the artist who did our last two covers, he did "Demonic" and "Low." He had a couple of ideas. Usually we just tell him the title with some lyrics and boom he's got something. But he sent us a couple of things and we were unsure. So I just starting talking off the top of my head about some ideas that I had and we went with that and it came back a little different then what I thought but fuck it, it just blew me away....like fucking phallic!!

About Demonic:

Metal Rules:
He did the cover for "Demonic" as well you were saying...that was a really twisted cover I loved it.
Eric:
Yeah he says it's actually an exorcism performance and that's what the album is about. The title track is "Demonic Refusal." It's an African ritual where they carve a wooden figure face of the person who is possessed and they would hammer nails into it and say these incantations, whatever. That fit perfect.
Metal Rules:
So even though the CD was called "Demonic" it wasn't really demonic (or satanic?)
Eric:
Well we didn't want to call the record Demonic Refusal just "Demonic for short. It kinda sums up the whole record, the singing and just the sound of it had that demonic sound.

SR: The contemporary part for me is the lyrics, the guitar and some sound surprises. I love the opening music and countdown in that evil sounding voice--10, 9, 8, 7, ...666. Sounds like the devil himself.
EP: It seems like it's that way, but it's going against that. That's the whole ironic part of it.
SR: Is this new logo really new? It's very much in keeping with your native Indian roots.
EP: The skull and pentigram is from our Legacy years. We used that as the cover on our first demo as Legacy. We brought it back because it just suits us still. It's sort of an Indian gargoyle, demon look. The cover actually has a cool meaning. It's a pin head, but the actual meaning of this particular piece of art is an African ritual voodoo thing they do when they think someone is possessed. They make a wood carving of that person and hammer in the nails on the whole body. They believe that this releases the evil spirits. We didn't come up with that. The guy who did our cover had the lyrics and title of the record. We just told him to go nuts and that's what he came up with.

SR: I'm as impressed with the back cover as I am the front.
EP: It is trippy.

[SlayerNPG]

thanks for the info dude!

[metalizer]

I saw an interview where Eric said the cover for the gathering was done in referance to the song riding the snake.

[I-TEND-TO-DIE]

Interesting!
I also didn´t know the meaning of the covers..
btw. I made a drawing of "The Gathering" cover..