IOANNIS - More Than Meets The I Page 7
by Martin Popoff

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.
"Monte Conner from Roadrunner had me called in. They had a painting from Michael Whelan for the cover. I talked to Max who was very cool and started putting it together, I designed a whole bunch of different stuff (digipaks, vinyl, CDs. singles, posters, CD singles etc.). My cousin was the model for a lot of the photos. I was bummed when it was decided for budget reasons to go black and white for the booklet. Max loved the retouched photo of the band that I did for the back cover. The snake logo that I did is still used today. It's one of my favourite metal albums and I was glad to be a part of it."

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Twenty
"I met with their manager in New York. The album commemorated the time since the tragic accident the band had suffered. The album was ready for delivery so they were in a great rush. I flipped through my portfolio with their manager and nothing clicked. 'Do you have anything else?' I showed him my book of paintings that I had been compiling in recent months. He stopped at my painting 'Solitary Canyon.' 'That's it!' he said. There was some digital enhancements done and it was delivered. The band was thrilled. They sent me thank you notes and signed posters. The art was used in all sorts of ways including a large backdrop for the tour. It remains one of my most treasured possessions."

Hallow's Eve - Monument
"I got the commission from Brian Slagel after finishing Fates Warning. I flew down to Atlanta where the band lived and put the concept together with Stacy, the band leader. Mick Rock was amused by the idea and agreed to shoot the cover photos. The model was the girlfriend of the bass player from Fates Warning. The photos were in black and white that I airbrushed. I also did a small painting for the back. I give it an A for effort but a B- for execution; I think I could have done a better airbrush job if I had to do it again, but these were the salad days!"