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[Photo via Spotify]

Slayer album artist Larry Carroll dies at 65

If we ever get any new Slayer albums, they just won’t look the same.

The artist responsible for some of the band’s most iconic album covers, Larry Carroll, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 65.

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Carroll is credited with the art for four of Slayer’s 12 studio albums, including Reign In Blood (1986), South Of Heaven (1988), Seasons In The Abyss (1990) and Christ Illusion (2006).

Carroll was known for his unique style and gorey, but somehow beautiful composition. Carroll dove into his methods in an interview with Revolver.

“The materials I use are often acrylic, oil, and collaged photocopied drawings,” he says. “I often make drawings and then photocopy them on a Xerox machine, something I have been doing since the mid ’70s. I enlarge and multiply them if needed. Now they have Photoshop, [but] what I was doing was much more organic and physical. I still prefer this to the computer.”

Many possible employers were taken back by Carrolls one-of-a-kind style, but Slayer was a match made in heaven.

“Not many art directors were lining up to ask me to illustrate the next Aerosmith or Sting album,” Carroll says. “I think they were afraid of what they would get. I was always told my work was too dark for most folks. So Slayer was a good fit for me.”

Carroll took inspiration from the music before formulating his covers, looking to match the feel of the sound with his art.

“Nothing was planned or deliberate,” he says. “They each had their own vibe. The input [was] the songs and lyrics — I would comb through them and see what they triggered.”

Slayer are finishing the fifth leg of their final world tour. Tickets for the remaining shows are on sale now, with dates below.

Dates:
05/22 – Ottawa, Ontario @ Canadian Tire Centre
05/24 – Camden, N.J.@ BB&T Pavilion
05/25 – Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center

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