working with Earache Records

One of the most important projects I’ve worked on so far was getting the chance to be involved with the creation of Massive Wagons’ sixth album Triggered!, released through Earache Records.

When Earache got in touch to bring me on board, the cover artwork had already been finished as I’d worked on that directly with the band before the label even came into the picture. I’ll never forget the call I got from the band’s manager, Terri, just as I was leaving college for the day. She asked if I’d like to design the cover for the next record, and of course, I jumped at the chance. That alone was a pretty involved process, with a lot of back and forth and different iterations before we landed on the final version.

Once Earache were involved, their initial ask was for me to handle the formatting for all the physical versions of the album, vinyl, CD, cassette. The goal was to keep the whole package cohesive and visually consistent with the cover I’d already created. I’d done a few CD layouts before, but seeing my artwork printed on a 12” vinyl sleeve for the first time? That was something else entirely. I was 18 at the time, working with a major label and it felt completely surreal. Easily one of the most exciting work experiences I’d had up to that point.

But things didn’t quite stop there. After a few initial conversations, I was told we’d be doing something a bit different and much more ambitious for this release. The plan was to create six differently themed back covers for the vinyl edition, with six matching front covers to go with each theme. Each version would feature a different colour eyeshadow on the cover, tying in with the vibe of the corresponding back image; Pink for the standard edition, blue for the water shot, green for the bike, orange for fire, purple for the toy box, and rainbow with leopard print. We even made sure the top-right corner of each front cover was distressed or patterned differently to tie it all together and make each version feel unique and collectible.

It was a massive challenge, and even more so considering where I was at in my career. I knew this would push me out of my comfort zone, but I was excited to take it on…