Brutal Carnage V was the fifth in a series of metal concerts that were organized by my dear friends at The Chennai Scene. As an avid fan of the various genres of metal, I was very enthusiastic when they reached out and asked me to design this poster.
CASE STUDIES
I took reference from posters of some of the biggest bands in metal. They all tended towards extremely grungy textures, a very contrasting color palette, and plenty of gore.
The Iron Maiden poster here is highlighted by an electrifying yellow, and the design is centered around Eddie (the mascot of Iron Maiden). Eddie's skeletal silhouette and cyborg head provide plenty of horror and shock value, a mainstay of almost all subgenres of metal. A dark, cosmic background carries an ethereal and fantastic atmosphere.
The next poster for The Decibel Tour goes for a somewhat coordinated approach, with multiple bands headlining and performing on different dates. All of these bands are death metal bands, and the archetypal art style for this genre prioritizes extreme gore and blood. This particular poster seems to have been designed on the conservative side, with readability being prioritized for once (it rarely is). The entire poster is shaded in a dull red that looks like copious amounts of dried blood.
The Metallica poster is very minimalist compared to the others, with very clear and bold text surrounding a beautiful central art piece. Metallica's logo is mutilated to provide a layered design element, but it still maintains its signature shape. The font used for the venue and date is extremely grungy, while managing to be legible.
The next poster for The Decibel Tour goes for a somewhat coordinated approach, with multiple bands headlining and performing on different dates. All of these bands are death metal bands, and the archetypal art style for this genre prioritizes extreme gore and blood. This particular poster seems to have been designed on the conservative side, with readability being prioritized for once (it rarely is). The entire poster is shaded in a dull red that looks like copious amounts of dried blood.
The Metallica poster is very minimalist compared to the others, with very clear and bold text surrounding a beautiful central art piece. Metallica's logo is mutilated to provide a layered design element, but it still maintains its signature shape. The font used for the venue and date is extremely grungy, while managing to be legible.
Last of all is the Blood of the Wolf poster. It has the most extreme design, with a jagged industrial border akin to barbed wire; this surrounds the title, bands, and central art piece. This art is meticulously drawn to be as gory and complicated as possible. This poster has the highest contrast of all, with pure black and pure white being the only colors. Extreme band metal poster, distilled into its purest form.
Learning from the imagery and the brutality of these posters, I combined the gore and grunge from them all and came up with a stunning and very detailed design. Various art pieces were arranged together to form an almightily distressing collage, but they were all set at a lower opacity to ensure the legibility of band names and other important details.
A beautifully layered poster, to capture the depth and unique sound of each of the bands that would play.
A beautifully layered poster, to capture the depth and unique sound of each of the bands that would play.
