Here With Gargoyles As My Friends...: June 2020

Introduction

Being a blog dedicated to the use of gargoyles, grotesques, statues and carvings in album art, especially that of Doom Metal (and related genres). It may also include similar archaic images such as standing stones, monoliths, or mediaeval illustrations.

To my mind Doom Metal (when done correctly) evokes a feeling a great age, spirituality and contemplation, and this is enhanced by the imagery. I have a love of churches and other old buildings, and the two things go hand in hand for me; the images of gargoyles, statues and crosses used by Doom and Doom/Death bands, especially in the early 90s, seemed to perfectly fit the music. Also, the band names like Cathedral, Church Of Misery, Chapel Of Rest, and Castle; all these added to my imagined link between the music and churches and other old buildings.

Wednesday 24 June 2020

Now on Facebook!

I have decided to carry on this blog on a new Facebook page. Please go and give it a "Like". I am gradually transferring over the blog posts to the new page.

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Doomed - "Doomed to Death and Damned in Hell" 2010

I'm a sucker for ornate gothic stonework, and this is a great example, used on the 2010 collected work compilation of US band Doomed (a side-project of Autopsy).

The front cover features a pair of fine roof-bosses, one in an ornate 8-pointed floral style, plus another with a skull design, probably in the ceiling of a British or European cathedral. I'm currently trying to pinpoint the exact location.

The back cover displays an excellent bearded grotesque known as the Russell Head, which is located in Aberdeen, Scotland, on the corner of Provost Skene's House. It was originally located on a bakery in Ragg's Lane; the baker (George Russell 1810-1899) had a dispute with his neighbour, and carved the face so that his neighbour would always see it sneering at him. It was moved to its current location after Ragg's Lane was demolished in 1959.