Behind The Artworks: Sybreed - Slave Design (20th Anniversary) (2024)

 

Drop (guitars & electronics): For the original edition of Slave Design, released in 2004, we reached out to a French artist named Eikasia to create the album's cover art. The concept of a man controlled by a machine was symbolized by a human face connected to a machine through cables, emphasizing the idea of a person being dominated and controlled by technology. Over the years, many people have asked about the identity of the face depicted on the cover, a mystery that has remained unsolved to this day. Even Eikasia himself may not have known whose face it was, it was simply a representation of the overarching theme. Now, for the 20th anniversary edition, we wanted to honor that original concept while also bringing a fresh perspective to it. This time, we reached out to our long- time friend and talented artist, Erik Kirchner, to reimagine the artwork. Erik has been closely connected to the band and its evolution, and we felt that he was the perfect choice to capture the essence of Slave Design two decades later. His reinterpretation adds new depth and layers to the original vision while staying true to its core themes of cybernetic control and dehumanization. Here’s what Erik had to say about his approach to this new design: “Drop honored me with the opportunity to reimagine the iconic album’s entire artwork. His only request was for the original cover concept to remain the same and for the new cover to appear modern and void of human features. The interior album art panels illustrate the potentially bleak future of a human civilization enslaved by its own biomechanical creations.” 

Erik Kirchner Art : www.erikkirchner.com