While I was watching The Omen the other day, I remembered how as a teenager I used to dream about having my own darkroom one day, where I could hang row upon row of prints I manipulated and developed with my own hands. In the ensuing years, digital cameras made my dream obsolete, and I forgot about it until I watched the photographer develop his prints and squint at the supernatural unfolding before his eyes. The digital age of photography has made it in some ways easier and in others more difficult to come up with photography that feels like a work of art. I think the bar has been raised for true photographic innovation because of programs like Photoshop and Lightroom that do things that were nearly impossible with analog developing techniques. Jim Kazanjian has found a way to make digital photography reach it’s pinnacle of creativity and realism in his digital sculptures. He takes thousands of images and recomposes them to create fantastical buildings that would confound any real world architect. His use of photos to create his masterpieces makes them startlingly real, as if you could actually imagine such a building existing, hear it creak as the wind pushes it on its tilting foundation. After the jump, check out a gallery of Jim Kazanjian’s stunning photographic works.

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We have done a few of these DIY clothing posts now, but we keep coming back to them. The reason we re-visit this topic again and again is because we feel that it is an art form, one that communicates the passion and dedication of the wearer to the world. Not only is the wearer passionate about the bands he or she painstakingly sews or paint onto the garment, it shows their commitment to originality and craftsmanship. You can’t buy a battle jacket at Target or Walmart. You have to make it yourself, just like in the good old days. Below is the definition of “Battle Jacket” according to the Urban Dictionary, and I think it is an apt description:

Battle Jacket:
A denim or leather jacket worn by metalheads to show their devotion to the best musical genre on earth.

The denim kind are usually sleeveless. The leather kind are usually a converted biker jacket.

It is covered with sew-on patches with the names/logos of favorite bands. There is usually also a large backpatch covering the back of the jacket, with almost all the available space left taken up by smaller patches. Studs and/or spikes are optional, but they aren’t punk jackets so don’t go overboard.

Some may smell a bit due to being worn exclusively in moshpits where it can get sweaty at times.

Metalhead 1: Your battle jacket is awesome!
Metalhead 2: Yeah I know. I dare you to smell it though!

After the jump, check out our huge gallery of battle jackets! Much thanks again to T-shirtslayer for the images!
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Mark McCoy is a fascinating artist on so many levels. Many people might be familiar with his musical output and as the force behind Youth Attack Records. When you check out his artwork in several different mediums you can to see how fucking talented he is. The detailed pieces he drew for his “Hallow” series are mind-meltingly harsh, but at the same delicate. When you look at his piece “When I Die Bury Me In The Clothes Of My Youth,” the invisible people of his streets stare you right in the face with their dispair! His collage work in the “Wound” series is ugly and gross, but you can’t turn away, just like when you pass a car wreck. Mark’s work does go hand in hand with the music he creates, but can reach an audience that his music might not. What draws me to his art is his honesty and his commitment to doing what the fuck he wants to on his own terms. Youth Attack Records and McCoy’s art are an expression of a part of society that the status quo would like to keep hidden…FUCK YEAH Mark McCoy!

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Some of my favorite things to look at when I go to someone’s house are the little trinkets they deem worthy of placing on tables, shelves or mantlepieces. I especially like said trinkets when they are weird antiques, bones, teeth, feathers, bottles, jars, skulls, taxidermy, pickled parts or doll parts. The best way to display such things is obviously in a fucking amazing cabinet, thus creating a cabinet of curiosities. Today I wanted to compile some of the beautiful specimens of tribute to the Victorian era in a massive gallery of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Some are small and others are huge, but they all catch my eye in their careful, chaotic arrangement of curious items. In my researching for this post, I found people who dedicate their lives and livelihoods to creating these cabinets and the specimens that can be placed in them, and I have a feature or two in the works on them. However, I think that the act of collecting is just as pleasurable as displaying one’s collection. One of my life’s goals is to acquire my late grandparents’ china cabinet (from my sister…delicate negotiations) and fill it with whatever I can scavenge on my life’s travels, so that when people come over they can spend minutes or hours peering at weird things. After the jump, check out a gallery of inspiring takes on the cabinet of curiosities…

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Dead Congregation from Greece are destroyers. This was their first trip out to the West Coast and I was there front and center to circle headbang myself into a near coma and to capture the power of Dead Congregation. They did not disappoint and I can not think of a better band to kick off this edition of the Heavy Hour.

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I feel so inspired, and now I realize I’m not alone! I have just watched the new RM74 video for their song “Spineless” directed by Sera Timms . I really don’t want to give too much away but I will say that this visual is 100% aesthetically in tune with the music. Something about this video makes me want to watch it over and over again. RM74′s new album Two Angles of a Triangle, out now on Utech Records, is a soul-moving portrait that should be blasted around the universe. Just as much as RM74′s music is experimental, it is also very soulful! Utech Records, as usual, pulled out all of the stops when it comes to the packaging designed by Thomas Hooper. Check out some stellar product shots by Greg C and this awe-inspiring video after the jump…

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Last year our comrades in heavy Southern Lord joined forces with Scion AV and held an unreal showcase featuring Martyrdod, Black Breath, Burning Love, Pelican and Enabler. Not only was some superdelic live footage taken, some interesting interviews were also created. What I dig about these conversations is that you get to know things about the bands that you maybe would never find out. CVLT Nation is stoked to be premiering these Southern Lord//Scion AV visuals featuring some of our favorite bands! So after the jump, let’s get down to the nitty gritty!

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Being a child of the 70′s means that my mind was altered in 1977 after watching the first Star Wars film. I had never seen anything like it before, and I remember how the whole world was affected by this movie. Never before in my young life had I seen the public go crazy for a film like this. The characters in Star Wars spoke to different parts of all of our humanity. As the years have gone by and the series has continued, it seems that this movie has grown into a cult of it’s own. For sure Star Wars has helped shape pop culture over the past three decades. One thing that I find interesting is how it has inspired its’ fans to express themselves, inventing their own worlds inspired by these movies. They have created endless pieces of art dedicated to Star Wars. This is why CVLT Nation has decided to do a Fuck Yeah Star Wars ART post, celebrating the cult status of this film and how it has inspired artists from around the world. After the jump, check out some of our top pieces, and may the force be with you…

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This is going to be featuring Heavy bands I’ve had the privilege of seeing/hearing. Heavy as in Crushing, Loud, Abrasive, & Powerful bands not restricted to the confides of any one genre.

Bruxers, from San Jose, California, are (((Heavy as Fuck))). They play deathdoom drenched in filthy crust with tons of insane blasts. Half of the band shares roles in Mortuous whom along with Cerebrate – a new project featuring members of Ash Borer and Servile Sect, were playing this evening. Bruxers have a new cassette out that you can order from the band by sending an email here or here – They only pressed 100 – I highly recommend getting a copy of these cassettes as they will most definitely sell out. I’ve been listening and really digging the S/T Bruxers release over the past 2 years awaiting it’s official release. Bruxers Crush! You get the picture – now watch the video.

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Vastum is a killer band from The Bay Area that highlights the brooding brutalness of a very talented group of musicians – Dan(Vocals), Kyle(Lead Guitar) & Luca(Bass) also played together in Acephalix, Leila(Guitars/Vocals) played in Saros and Adam(Drums) spent time behind the kit with Enemy Soil.

This is an official statement from the band on current happenings: “Vastum will be playing at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland on FRIDAY DEC 14 with Pale Chalice, Scolex, Bruxers and Cardinal Wyrm. This will be Vastum’s last show with Kyle in the band. We are sad to see him go, but wish him the best with his other projects.

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