On Jos. A. Smith's illustrations for Witches + A statement from Black Mark Records

While preparing my interview with Averse Sefira, I decided to contact the person or persons still involved in maintaining the official Bathory website and, if unable to get them to correct or at least acknowledge certain information regarding the origin of the band’s debut LP cover - which features a portion of an illustration originally drawn by Jos A. Smith for Erica Jong’s book Witches, first published in 1981 - then at least get their side of the story.

In addition to Smith’s illustration of the he-goat (above, center), which was retouched for the release of the Bathory LP, left unaccredited and falsely described as a “collage” on the Bathory website, there is the familiar demon emblem which adorns the back sleeves of several Bathory albums. This too was taken and retouched from Smith’s illustration in Witches (above, left). One of Jong’s poems entitled “For All Those Who Died” (above, right) was also the model for the Bathory song of the same name, released four years later on the album Blood Fire Death.

Because the authorship of the “history archive” on Bathory.se is never explicitly stated (although said to be “cleared by Quorthon himself”), I thought it might still be possible to gain some clarification on this issue.

The information contained on the website has not only been distributed by fans throughout the Internet on resources like Wikipedia and Metal Archives, (where the entry is locked from further editing) but has also been reprinted in the In Memory of Quorthon boxed-set released by Black Mark Records. For this reason, I feel it is worth setting the record straight. In doing so, the purpose is not to cast blame or attempt to find a motive or reason behind the apparent oversite/error on the part of Quorthon (such a pursuit is, at any rate, now impossible), but to give credit where credit is due.

As these illustrations show, both Smith's drawings and the writings presented in Witches had an obvious impact on Quorthon and continued to inform the aesthetics of Bathory for several years (unbeknown even to some of his close friends). It is time that work be celebrated together with the music it helped to inspire.

Today, Smith’s illustrations from Witches continue to be used on underground records, most recently for self-titled album by Black Metal group Wolfe (2006). The pictures for this article were excerpted from the 1982 paperback edition, published by Granada Publishing. (larger versions here, here and here.) A more recent printing of Witches was released in 2004.

Below is a copy of my email to Black Mark Records and their reply.

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 10:19 AM, Todd DePalma <td.ex.person [at] gmail dot com> wrote:

Hello,

I'm looking to contact the person or persons responsible for editing Bathory's bio pages on the website. Specifically, I'm writing in hopes of correcting or receiving clarification on what is apparently an error regarding the creation and authorship of the well-known "goat" image used on Bathory's self-titled debut LP.

If you will please allow me, I'd like to present what I perceive as problems with the account as is currently written and featured on the Bathory website.

Written under the "History Archive" section, Chapter 5, is the following:

Next up was the album cover artwork. It had allready been decided that the main color for the album was going to be black. Not wanting to feature the classic Baphomet illustration on the front as first intended, a single monstrous goat like face was glued together from a collage of eyes, a nose and a mouth cut out from several horror comic magazines. Liberal amounts of tipex and black ink was used for masking and adding a few details such as the torso, fur, elongated ears and horns.

This account is repeated regarding the debut under the "Trivia" section of the Bathory site:

......working title for the debut album was Pentagrammaton, but this working title was discarded when several people read it out as Pentagon. The pentagram was moved to the back of the album cover and replaced with a monster face made up from several bits cut out from various horror comics.

In both entries no direct quote from Quorthon is given and no reference is made to any other artists/illustrators who worked on the image.

The information contained on the Bathory site is indeed valuable, presented as official, regarded as definitive and all material "cleared by Quorthon himself" and so is very influential as well. For this reason I feel it is important to confront this question.

I don't know if you are now aware, but an American Black Metal act, Averse Sefira, has for their new album worked with artist Jos A. Smith and have promoted Smith as the creator of the familiar "goat" image, which was apparently first published in 1981, illustrated for a book by Erica Jong, titled Witches. Smith himself confirms this on his blog:

Over a year ago I received an e-mail from a fellow in Austin TX. He was inquiring about a drawing of mine that was reproduced in an article about me in the July 1988 American Artist Magazine. We started a regular correspondence.

I learned the following: a) He is a member of a Texas Heavy Metal group named Avers Sefira. b) In the time I have known him, they are beginning to hit it big. c) They are composing a CD inspired by my drawing. d) It will be used for the album cover and posters. e) They have a two-year tour coming up. e) A piece of one of my illustrations from WITCHES by Erica Jong, was used for the logo for the group BATHOR which is regarded as the "father" of this particular sub genre of heavy metal. f) A west coast publisher of esoteric books has two of my drawings tatooed [sic] on his arm and leg.

http://www.drawger.com/jos/

Here is Candlelight Record's press release for the new album:

Philadelphia: Candlelight Records confirms February 12 as the American release date for Advent Parallax, the new full-length album from Texas-based Averse Sefira. Produced by Tore Stjerna (Watain, In Battle), the album features stunning artwork created by renowned artist/illustrator Jos A. Smith (cover artist for the first Bathory album). Averse Sefira is considered one of America's premiere black metal bands yet Advent Parallax is the trio's first in their already decade-long career to find proper international distribution.

http://candlelightrecordsusa.com/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=9

To date I have seen no one directly question the contradiction between these two accounts. Again, the influential nature of the Bathory site makes the accuracy of information related to Bathory even more important. Currently, both the Wikipedia entry for Bathory's debut album: ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathory_%28album%29 ) and the Metal Archives entry for the album: ( http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=754 ) contain the relevant text from the history archive copied word for word.

My goal here is not to cast Bathory or Quorthon in a bad light, but to finally give credit where credit is do and reach the truth of the cover's origin. In writing to you I represent neither Averse Sefira or Jos Smith, only myself. In my humble opinion, simply correcting this information would be enough to diffuse any arrant speculation that could arise from the different accounts.

Unfortunately, we no longer have Quorthon to ask as to his motives and inspirations, but it is obvious that the cover art is not a collage pieced together from comic books and monster pictures. It is a singular drawing, the labor of someone whose contribution and lasting connection to the iconography of Heavy Metal is just as deserving of recognition.

Any further information you could offer as to the source of your article (quotations, notes, journals etc.) would be greatly appreciated and most helpful regarding this issue.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best,

Todd DePalma

Reply from Black Mark Records [uncorrected]

blackmark [at] telia dot com <blackmark [at] telia dot com> Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Reply-To: blackmark [at] telia dot com
To: Todd DePalma <td.ex.person [at] gmail dot com>
Hello

the bathory site was made by Bathory/ Quorthon, he constructed the site, he updated the site he wrote the site.
He did have full controll over it and full reponse for it, it was his site and his souvereignty over it. We are a lable without any permission to enter other artists site for changes! Nevermind if they`re living or not living anylonger.
You guys have to accept that the constructer of the site is dead and the site comes to be for all time as the artist Quorthon left it. As said we`re a label, Quorthon Bathory surely was the greatest artist we had but we did not own him for that and his artistical freedom was his own only. Please respect that.
Please feel free to update other sides or your own side if you think the credits you are missing are such important for todays heavy metal world and their listeners.

All the best wishes
Klaudia

type: news    keywords: black metal, goats,   

• Posted by Jos. A. Smith on Apr 18, 2008 at 2:24 PM
  
  To Todd De Palma,
  
  Thank you for a very straight-forward accounting of the real creation of the devil's head that Bathory used without permission (after all, the artwork is copyrighted, and I did it for Erica's book).
  
  I worked on the illustrations for WITCHES for the two years before the publication of that book by Harry N. Abrams, publishers in 1981. Incidentally, the figure holding the long candle in the left-hand illus. at the top of your page is a self-portrait.
  
  I have undying respect for the three artists who make up Averse Sefira. They could have picked up my image that they wanted to use for their new album and run with it, hoping no-one would be the wiser. As real artists with a sense of ethics and respect for another artist's work, though, they contacted me and asked permission to use my work.
  
  As a result, I'm not only proud to be on their new album, but Wrath sent me an e-mail showing his latest "tats" - parts of my drawing that was used as the album cover - on his arms. Very classy.
  
  Quorthon may have been a fine musician. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing how much of his "creation" (including musical ideas, lyrics, etc.) was actually his and what percentage was lifted from more genuinely creative people since he went to such extremes to make up a story about how he "made" my image.
  
  Can't artists, whether composing, performing, drawing or painting, respect each other's work and give credit where credit is due?
  
  Again, thank you Mr. De Palma. We've never met, but I'll be happy to buy you a drink if our paths ever cross.
  
  Jos. A. Smith
  
  
  
  

 

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