Crustcake Interviews: Justin Bartlett aka vberkvlt

As part of our unfailing committment to champion the best parts of a culture we hold dear, we here at Crustcake are expanding our coverage ov Thee Metal Musick to metal culture, writ large. Metal's aesthetic – be it dreadlocked, corpsepainted, bullet-belted, Viking-horned or otherwise – is as integral to the scene as the metal itself. Over the upcoming months, look for articles, features and interviews with some of the artists, designers, filmmakers, writers, movers, shakers and scene-makers making waves in the metal milieu without music.

First up, Van Damned's interview with maniacal, detail-obsessed illustrator Justin Bartlett, aka vberkvlt. Hailing from the wicked, frostbitten hills of San Diego, this self-proclaimed Black Ink Warlock has spewed forth a blasphemous array of album layouts and covers, t-shirt designs, illustrations, skateboards and denim jeans(!) for a growing list of casualties that includes Gorgoroth, Aura Noir, SUNN O))), Intronaut and Watain. Bartlett is among the vanguard of new-school metal illustrators who are earning their place next to Pushead, Locke, Seagrave and Riggs as revolutionary, mold-breaking, insta-classic artists. Van caught up with Bartlett via e-mail to talk about sado-goats, Internet nerds and (of course) burnt Norwegian churches.





- You seem to apply a fairly tongue-in-cheek approach to an otherwise grimmm aesthetic. How important is humor to you? Does humor have a place in heavy metal?

I've always appreciated humor and the absurd, but I do take my work seriously ... most of the time, anyways. I don't try to add an overbearing sense of humor to my work or, more importantly, irony. For some, a deformed corpse-Jesus coming out of a giant, earthen vagina might be really "kvlt"-looking. For others, it's funny. I like to/try to create imagery that at least grabs someone's attention. I suppose, depending on their musical or artistic tastes or "metal backgrounds," they can draw whichever response is natural for them.

The world of Metal is so incredibly diverse. And of course humor has a place in it, intentional or otherwise. There are obviously some genres of metal where the use of humor wouldn't fit, such as Orthodox Black Metal. But if you need a good laugh just read or listen to any interview with Lemmy, go to a Manowar concert, or check out any recent Q & A with Fenriz.

- You’re fairly open about your artistic debt to Voivod’s Michel “Away” Langevin. Who else do you draw influence from? Edward Gorey? Shel Silverstein?

Well, I really only started doing hand-drawn illustrations a few years ago. I used to draw a lot when I was younger and drew in a similarly-detailed way. Mostly the subjects were animals like insects and reptiles. I had a huge interest in deep-sea creatures, monsters (Aliens and Predator) and, of course, occasionally some XXX stuff that got me in trouble from time to time. For the most part I stopped drawing during high school. I wanted to be a biological illustrator for a while and I went to college for a degree in biology, which went no where. So after years of just doing Photoshop and Illustrator stuff, I felt like I had really lost some part of my creative ability, or at least a way (in which) I really wanted to express myself. There seemed to be a huge resurgence in hand-drawn album artwork and a reaction against digital work in the graphic design world in general (which) really inspired me to start again, years later. I've never really tried to develop my technique into some sort of style or look. I didn't go to art school. I just draw how I want. There's nothing really profound to it, it just comes out like that.



Also, I never really had paid much attention to other established illustrators until after I started drawing again and some people had seen my work. A lot of responses were, "Hey, that looks sort of like Edward Gorey or Nick Blinko." So I had to check them out. Nick Blinko from Rudimentary Peni blows me away with his detail. His style (seems) to be very unrefined and primitive, like his music. I had a few of the newer Rudimentary releases, but none of the old stuff which had much more intense illustrations ("Death Church," "The EP's of RP"), so I went out and bought them. I also enjoy Edward Gorey's drawings, although I am only familiar with a small chunk of his extensive amount of work. (Coincidently I just bought my first Edward Gorey book today.) [Ed. note: This was received June 14, 2009.]

"Artistic debt" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I do really enjoy Away's work. Mostly because it is so 'metal' without relying on the standard iconography of upside-down crosses, sado-goats with huge boners raping nuns, etc... His style really compliments the music. It's unique and, just like Voivod, he's always done his own thing. I'd encourage any readers to order his new book, which is a compendium of decades of really awesome drawings.

I also really like a lot the hand-drawn/Xeroxed underground-metal and -punk demo tapes and albums that were (and still are) circulating back in the 1980s. It's just really honest and primitive.

- How does your approach to album layout and design differ from your approach to illustration? Is it as simple as the difference between Micron pens and Bristol pads vs. Wacom tablets?

Usually when I am doing an illustration for a t-shirt or poster, it's a bit easier because I'm only really creating one image that fits onto one area. But with an album, there are usually multiple illustrations and text, so I have to figure out how to fit it all together without it looking like someone just cut and pasted a bunch of crap together. I've never used a Wacom tablet, but I've used some found imagery for collage work.

- Can you describe your journey through heavy metal? Were there any significant “ah-hah” moments you remember? Were you always looking for faster, heavier (and more kvlt) bands?



I kind of got into metal in a reverse way: most people start out listening to more popular or accessible stuff like Judas Priest, Maiden or Sabbath when they're younger and gradually get into harder stuff like Slayer, Celtic Frost or Venom. When I was a kid I had heard all of the classic stuff through older friends, but I was more into electronic/ post-punk music.

Hmm... a strange journey indeed. I think it must have all started when I bought a Cure tape when I was in fourth grade. From there, I got into Depeche Mode, New Order and Joy Division and then naturally migrated to more angsty/heavy stuff in my early pre-teen years like Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, Pigface, Front 242, KMFDM and Ministry. From there I think I jumped into Helmet, Jesus Lizard, Sepultura and Neurosis, who had a huge influence on me. This was back in the early 1990s, when a lot of the underground metal scenes were starting to get more recognition. I (got) really into Morbid Angel, Cadaver, Carcass, Godflesh, Entombed -- all of the early Earache releases. Also about that same time, the whole Norwegian Black Metal scene "blew up" because of the arsons and murders. I remember reading about the church burnings and murders in some UK magazine then seeking out Emperor, Enslaved, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Darkthrone, Immortal and Burzum. I would buy anything with a grim, black-and-white cover, an illegible logo and corpsepainted faces. Naturally this lead to purchasing tons of crap (with) a few good albums here and there.

Keep in mind that this was before the Internet, so you really had to dig around for this stuff. That made it much more 'true' and special than it is today. actually finding something by surprise or, after months of trying to trade something, getting it in the mail, sitting down and listening to it with your friends. Now you can just click on MySpace, download a bunch of albums for free in five minutes, order a Mystifier shirt and the Master's Hammer Die Hard box set from Nuclear War Now! that's distributed by some guy in Chile and automatically claim yourself as "kvlt." Not that I am complaining, but I think music is a bit more disposable when it's so accessible.

- What prompted changing your name from wearetherobots to vberkvlt?

Mostly the subject matter of my work and the bands I work for. Also, back when I thought I needed a regular nine-to-five design job to make money, I had to have a website that sounded somewhat friendly. "We Are The Robots" is from Kraftwerk and was also some sort of personal, pseudo-social commentary. I just got sick of it and didn't see how it really represented my work. Originally I was going to start a line of t-shirts with the new name but figured that I wouldn't have time for that and also (be able to) freelance. I think VBERKVLT (Uber Cult) rolls off the tongue better. Plus, it's also an inside joke for internet metal nerds. It's funny, but not ironic. I like to say it's ironically ironic.

- Who have you been rocking out to lately?

I've really gotten into the Ramones' "End of the Century" lately after watching their documentary. The juxtaposition of their very simple style with freak-show producer Phil Spector's "wall of sound" really makes a great pop album.



I can't always be grim and frostbitten. But in that spectrum, I've been listening to the new Katharsis, Embrace of Thorns, Teitanblood, Funeral Mist, Altaar, Necrovation, Repugnant, Katalysator/Invidious, a bunch of Unholy Crucifix tapes and spoken word stories by DOOM DOM.

Please support real underground music by PURCHASING the releases, or people like me will be out on the streets sucking dick for food.

- Upcoming projects?

I just finished a pretty intensive project for The Observatory, a band from Singapore. The CD is a 32-page, fully-illustrated, hard-bound book. I think it's been my biggest project in terms of work. It's got five or six really big drawings. There will also be an LP version, prints and three shirts. It's completely devoid of any metal references, but still very much my style.

On a side-note, I've been wanting to do a children's book for a couple of years now and this was definitely my impetus for starting one.

Hmm, let's see. I have three shirts for Barnaby Black that I need to finish, some illustrations for SUNN O))), Wolves in the Throne Room, Dragged into Sunlight, Trap Them [Who Bartlett says has an upcoming release on Southern Lord, ed.], Altaar, Bohemian Grove and Vorkreist.



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Bartlett was adamant that we include the myriad links to artists, bands and other sundry scenemakers he included in his responses.

Martin Popoff's World's Away: Voivod and the Art of Michel Langevin http://www.voivodbook.com/

Other recommended artists:
Uwe Bremer
Franciszek Starowieyski
Theodor Kittelsen
Wayne Barlowe
Austin Osman Spare

Recommended bands:
Katharsis (http://www.noevdia.com)
Embrace of Thorns (http://www.myspace.com/embraceofthorns)
Teitanblood (http://www.teitanblood.com)
Funeral Mist (http://www.funeralmist.se)
Altaar (http://www.myspace.com/altaarnorway)
Necrovation (http://www.necrovation.com)
Repugnant (http://www.myspace.com/epitomeofdarkness)
Katalysator/Invidious (http://myspace.com/invidiousdeathmetal)
Unholy Crucifix (http://www.last.fm/music/Unholy+Crucifix)