Behind The Artworks: GLDN - First Blood (Deluxe Edition) (2023)

The artwork for First Blood is pretty simple at first glance. The album title has the word "blood" in it, and there is someone covered in blood. However, in making it, there was a bit more thought put into it than that. The cover and booklet images were all shot in October 2021, quite a while before the EP actually came out. When I was working with the photographer to put the concept together, I knew I wanted to make it something that represented the suffocating feeling that often follows traumatic experiences.

The original cover of the EP featured my full face. However, when I was approaching the concept of a remaster, I knew I wanted there to be a more frenetic feeling to whatever photo I used for the album art. It needed to come from the same photoshoot, as I still wanted the album to be very reminiscent of the original EP. I looked through the selects from the photoshoot and eventually settled on one that I felt really conveyed the suffocating feeling I mentioned.

I decided to crop the image right above my mouth to accentuate that part of the face while the plastic shines in the light just below. Not only does this better communicate the feeling and the vibe, it also feels like there is quite a bit more movement. The original album art felt very static, and that's not something I wanted to repeat on the deluxe edition. It was very difficult to choose between the last few photos, but something about this one felt right. It's simple but effective.