Behind The Artworks: Theigns & Thralls - Theigns & Thralls (2022)

The artwork for Theigns & Thralls was done by the Brazilian artist, Renato Faccini. I have worked with Renato for nearly twenty years now, first with Skyclad (for the Jig-A-Jig EP and the ‘In The… All Together’ album), then on my solo album (check out the covers of ‘Flying In The Face Of Logic’) and finally on the Theigns & Thralls album. During the pandemic, in 2020, I noticed an illustration Renato had done of the medieval Plague Doctor. I really liked it and so I contacted him to discuss the possible artwork for Theigns & Thralls. We decided to incorporate lots of medieval symbols and to make the artwork up of layers of images that could be separated and put together using animation, a bit like a jigsaw. Renato also produced a piece of artwork for each song on the album (for the vinyl version) – see the cover for the single ‘Drinking’ as an example. He also produced a poster version of the artwork which will be available to buy at gigs or from the band.