Interview: Eliran Kantor

Interview: 8th April 2025

Hotel Hobbies was lucky enough to spend some time in the company of the incredibly talented artist Eliran Kantor. It was an extremely enjoyable and informative interview.

Hotel Hobbies: If I can take you back to the start of your story, where did your interest in art first come from?

Eliran Kantor: As a kid, I was always drawing and making pictures like everybody else did. I was always given paper and a couple of crayons otherwise I would have probably drawn on the walls. I remember drawing on the wall in my grandpa’s apartment. I was just like everybody else’s kids. I was making patterns, then stick figures, then colourising them. I just never moved on! (laughing)

Hotel Hobbies: Moving on from those stick figures, when did you start to think you were actually becoming a good artist?

Eliran Kantor: I never critiqued myself in a way that assessed how I thought I was doing. I never thought if I was good, getting better or how I compared to my peers. I always had support. My family was always encouraging me. At school, I would draw with pencils on the desks and even the more violent thugs in the class would sit next to me to watch. I would get requests to draw their favourite cartoons or football players. I was a shy, quiet kid but we would get along great because they would ask to sit down next to me and just look at me drawing and ask me for requests. So I always had general feeling of support. The feedback was the only thing that mattered in regard to moving forwards. You wake up the next day and do it all over again. I didn’t overthink if it would become a career. I still operate from that childish point of view. Wake up in the morning and do the same thing I have always enjoyed doing. It has been working fine so far.

Hotel Hobbies: When you started to become interested in album artwork, which ones caught your imagination early on?

Eliran Kantor: Early on, I remember being very like enchanted by this combination of art and music when my dad showed me Pink Floyd's The Wall movie. The imagery on that film is so stark, memorable and impactful. It was actually my first introduction to horror as I was five years old and some scenes are very scary. It was my introduction to horror, music videos and the combination of visuals and music.

Later, I remember buying Dangerous by Michael Jackson with the album cover by Mark Ryden. I remember seeing it and to this day, it is the standard to which I’m looking at. You could ask if you need all those details because you don’t want to fall into the trap of having details for the sake of it. But on that album cover, I remember thinking those details are used to take you into this imaginary enchanted world and transport you to another place that that only exists in your imagination.

Afterwards, it was a couple of Iron Maiden covers. The first time I saw an Iron Maiden cover, it was when they were playing a show in Israel. An advert in the paper had Eddie and he has Steve Harris’ bass and he has his foot up on the monitor. I went to the record shop and they had a poster on the ceiling of the new Iron Maiden album, which at that time was The X Factor. It made a big impression on me. It connected with me because my friends and I were getting into the Nightmare on Elm Street films and it seemed like something from that realm. When I got into hard rock, the first album I bought was Iron Maiden’s Killers because of the cover. I was looking at this album cover and I was thinking there's no way that this is not a good album. With that cover, it has to be a good album! To this day, it is my favourite Maiden album.

Hotel Hobbies: Talking about your own work now, you have mentioned in the past that the album Trail of Omission by Solitary was the first cover that you ever did.

Eliran Kantor: I have said that but I’m not actually totally sure if it was the Solitary album or one for another local band called Armilos. I need to check my old files! The Solitary one was definitely around the same time as the Armilos cover. Some of that band now are playing in Orphaned Land. Thinking of the Solitary cover though, it was very exciting. To start from the beginning, I was known in the local area as the guy who painted murals on people’s walls. I was doing it for a couple of my friends on their bedroom walls. I was just basically doing reproductions of their favourite album covers. There was an active message board in Israel at the time, which were mainly fighting over which was the best Slayer album (laughing). 

Solitary reached out to me because I was one of the only people in our age group in our local scene who was doing graphics. I had to learn the entire thing on the fly! I had never sent anything to a printing press. I had no idea what bleeds were. In order for you to not see like the white frame around it, you need your artwork to extend beyond the crop lines. I had to think about all those things and learn while I was doing it. Thinking about how big the text should be on so on. I remember we went to a show and one of the band members just gave me the CD out of his car!  They even got it shrink wrapped as well and even opening the shrink wrap on an album that I had been part of was just exhilarating. I remember holding the CD. I went to the show and I showed it to everybody. It's like, look, look, I did that!

Hotel Hobbies: There are some bands such as Testament and Venom Prison where you have done several pieces for them. When you work with a band over time, how does your relationship with them develop?

Eliran Kantor: The usual arc tends to be that when a band first reaches out to me, they more or less have a specific theme in mind and then I develop my personal interpretation of that. I come up with the concept to fit their general theme and then I make it into a composition. Over time with bands, you establish a relationship, then trust is also established and their initial thoughts become more and more vague. They reach out to you in the very beginning of the creative process. They might not even share lyrics with you. Sometimes it might be what they’re going through in their personal lives and you have to build off that. So with time, there’s more creative freedom because of that trust.  

I get more involved with some bands which may even include helping with album titles. Dark Roots Of Earth by Testament was done before there were any lyrics. With Titans of Creation, we came up with the album title based on the album cover. There was nothing when we started on that one. My kid was really into space so I knew I wanted something with space on that one. Some bands, even if we have done a few albums together, have a specific vision in mind and it’s my job to put my ego aside and say I didn’t come up with this concept. But if the work is good enough, it will be the best representation of the album because I see it as a collaboration anyway.

Hotel Hobbies: Thinking of just a few specific examples of your work and some of my favourites, you have mentioned one already, Dark Roots Of Earth by Testament. Not only is the picture itself brilliant, but I also love the colours of the cover. There’s plenty to look at with that one.

Hotel Hobbies: Eric Peterson was in the UK demoing some stuff with Andy Sneap and I think he went to a local flea market and saw a figurine of a forest god - a generic type of deity with antlers and maybe some leaves. He told me he had seen a figurine of a forest god; I can’t remember the name. So, I looked it up and saw all these depictions of various types of antler. I remember thinking it would be cool if we had antlers, leaves and trees but also extra antler with different kinds of animals. I remember I didn’t want to show his full body. But in order to create a sense of scale, I wanted to have a scene in foreground of the people setting up a campfire and holding a ritual or incantation to call upon the forest god.

I also remember the first sketches I did; Eric wanted autumn colours so the first sketches were oranges and yellows and earth tones. I said to him I thought it might be too close to the last album cover. I wanted to mix it up and go with an entirely different palette. The album title came afterwards and I think it was Eric who came up with the original title The Dark Roots Of The Earth. When I was working on the sketch I made it Dark Roots Of Earth because it looked better when it was shortened. I suggested to Eric to drop the two ‘Thes’ from the title. So it became Dark Roots Of Earth. A similar thing happened with The Formation of Damnation which was almost called The Evil Has Landed. I was given those two choices and I said, okay, if my vote counts, I’m voting for The Formation of Damnation. 

Hotel Hobbies: A more recent cover that I think is excellent is Hate Über Alles by Kreator. That's quite an intense cover.

Eliran Kantor: Mille Petrozza and I came up with it sitting drinking coffee. He was telling me about the title because he had the title in advance. The word hate reflects back at the already established visual history of Kreator with the flag of hate. I knew that I wanted to have the monster on the cover to represent the flags in some way. If you look at the cover, you can see the flags are being used as the excuse and the method of oppression. One of the people is being suffocated by the flag, one is being hanged and the third one is being impaled right though the throat, which was basically about propaganda and how systematic information can be shoved down your throat.

Hotel Hobbies: Last year, I interviewed Øystein from Borknagar just as Fall was being released. He was extremely complimentary about what you had come up with for the cover. He said that all he had mentioned to you was something natural that was harsh or untamed. He was blown away because with the mountain and the waterfall you came up with, it reminded him of something he used to do as a child. You must have been pleased with that response.

Eliran Kantor: Yeah, because that wasn't planned. There was no album title. We just spent an hour on the phone talking about music and our relationship with it and also with nature. We did talk about it being something expansive. Borknagar’s music is vast and has a range of dynamics. We both have an appreciation of Pink Floyd and the way they handle dynamics and creating atmosphere. He said he didn’t want people on the cover but maybe it could have a hint of man’s involvement. I was left with the task of thinking how I could represent their music. I was reminded of a waterfall because the closer you get the more intense it becomes. They are empowering and constant but can also be meditative because you hear the patterns. I thought it would make sense for this band. I had to think about how to show man’s connection to the waterfall. I thought there could be a broken down hut or the remains of a tiny boat. It’s open for interpretation. I did this so you could see that it is not just a bunch of lumber but that the lumber had been used by man in some way.

Hotel Hobbies: To come right up to date, you (and the band) very recently posted the artwork for Heaven Can Burn’s upcoming album Heimat.  Another incredible piece.

Eliran Kantor: Thank you! That was a very personal one. It also has the connection to nature but also is an allegory for man’s connection to his brother and people around him. Mike from the band and myself spoke about the title Heimat which is like home country or home nation. When it came to the discussion about homelands, we were talking about the positive things that come with the camaraderie between man and his environment: feeling like you belong, like you have some sort of accountability to people around you. We talked about war and we talked about history. He told me in advance that he really wanted to have a forest scene with a deer in the middle of it but have a twist on it. He thought maybe the deer could be on fire. I remember saying to him that we didn’t want to be too close to other album covers such as the Mastodon one with the horse on fire, the Bad Religion cover with the boy on fire in the suburbs or the Accept cover with the Flying Vs on fire. I asked him to let me think about it.

When I was trying to figure it out, my wife told me I was going round in circles in the apartment trying to figure it out. She packed me a picnic basket, picnic blanket, gave me the dog and told me to go to the forest! So I had a picnic with myself and the dog in the forest (laughing). I remember laying back listening to the sound of nature, the birds chirping etc. When I was looking at the sky, I watched the branches of the trees and that reminded me of a deer’s’ antlers. I came up with the concept of a fallen piece of the forest and how the deer sees himself in it. The fallen piece of wood could have been struck down by fire, by war but certainly by some sort of outside destabilising element. That object was strange to him just moments ago but he sees himself in it because I made the branches look just like his antlers. That created some empathy.

Hotel Hobbies: It is a very interesting one. It makes for a great cover.

Eliran Kantor: Yeah. So the moral of the story is having more picnics if you want cooler heavy metal album covers! (laughing).

Hotel Hobbies: Although I know it must vary, when you are working on different pieces, how long do they tend to take and how many are you working on at any one time?

Eliran Kantor: I always have a few lined up for the next few months but at any given point, I’m switching between about three different ones. Otherwise, I could be in the situation of finishing a sketch or colour sketch and waiting for the band to review and then have nothing to do for the next four or five days, which doesn’t make any sense. I am not good at keeping track of how long things take. The Borknagar one for example, we didn’t have a lot of time. I think from the conversation we had to the cover going to press was maybe a month in total. It varies with others because some take more time to get right. Sometimes, bands have a lot of time because they plan in advance so we can allow ourselves the luxury of taking things a bit slower and making sure everything is fine. Testament is usually like that.

Hotel Hobbies: It might be a difficult question but looking back at all the pieces you have done, are there one or two that stand out as particular favourites?

Eliran Kantor: I think it is the ones that are more original and more representative of the idea I had in my mind. I always have a concept in my mind and then I end up chasing this perfect version that I had in my imagination. At some point, you have to say close enough. Ones I think of are Live Ceremony by Loudblast and a piece called The Hangman that I did for a band called Artisan. Also Erebos by Venom Prison; I have more of an emotional connection to that one. I just try to judge them based on originality and impact. I think when I look at those three, they have a special place in my heart.

Hotel Hobbies: What advice would you give to younger, budding artists?

Eliran Kantor: When I give advice to anyone starting up, I say don’t put too much emphasis on the stuff you get right because otherwise, they will only be able to aspire to that level. I try to give out lessons I learned the hard way about what not to do - things that will save them time. When people write to me asking for advice, I tend to put an emphasis on more technical things. Sometimes, I see they have tonnes of sketches, concepts designs, character designs and photography and its all very scattered. I tell them that if their website has maybe fifty different things, most of them are not related to the skill set you need to convince a band that you posses the skills in order to create an album cover. It would be much more efficient if your website had only five pieces but each and every one of them demonstrated your ability to create a memorable stand alone, impactful album cover. This would be advice to someone who wants to be an illustrator. When it comes to art, I would say I had to learn how to harness the negative aspects of being an artist. Don’t be too harsh on yourself.

Some people complain they can’t fall asleep because their mind is racing and they are being haunted by unsettling visions and ideas. So this is a negative situation. The positive way is to use the crazy ideas that come into your mind the next day. Most people discard those ideas and never try to make the best of them. Artists like musicians or visual artists sometimes seem self-obsessed or come across as bad listeners. It’s because we are never there. People might be talking to us and we are thinking about any idea we just figured out or looking at the light hitting the face of the person who is speaking to us. We are already thinking about how it could be used the next time we are doing a portrait. You can be harsh on yourself and think you’re a bad person but you have to use those moments in order to grow. It has some disadvantages as a father, a partner or friend but life is about give and take.

Hotel Hobbies: Without giving away anything you shouldn’t, is there anything you are working on or about to work on that you’re particularly excited about?

Eliran Kantor: There is always some talking going on. I’m working on a new Moonspell album. I spoke with Sakis from Rotting Christ a couple of days ago and we were talking about maybe doing something together. I did something for Behemoth that will be released in the future. There is always tonnes of cool stuff. I’m lucky to be in the position where I get to choose and I can be part of records by bands that I really appreciate.

Hotel Hobbies: I am seeing Behemoth and Rotting Christ in London on Saturday so I am looking forward to that.

Eliran Kantor: That’s such a good show. That’s where I saw Sakis. They sounded amazing. Satyricon too. I came back from that show thinking, wow, I need to get back on listening to Satyricon because every song on the setlist was just so good. Such a great band. The new Behemoth live show is fantastic as well. A great three band package.

Hotel Hobbies: Definitely! My last question is, if you could have designed any album cover in history, which one would it have been?

Eliran Kantor: I wish I could have re-done Dance of Death by Iron Maiden because nobody likes the original and it would be a low pressure job! The original idea was by a really great artist called David Patchett who did all those brilliant Cathedral album covers. Eventually, he asked for his name to be removed from the artwork because it wasn’t what he intended it to be.

Hotel Hobbies: Talking of Iron Maiden covers, one of recent interview was with Mark Wilkinson who did The Book of Souls and Senjustu which are far superior. I think every Maiden fan would agree that Dance of Death could do with an update!

Eliran Kantor: I love Mark. I met him when we were both part of the Bloodstock exhibition. We were both in the same hotel so we were having breakfast together, exchanging war stories about different album covers. We have similar stories about dealing with musicians and their concepts. He is a great guy. We talked for hours each day.

Hotel Hobbies: That is all my questions! Thank you so much for giving up your time and talking with me. I look forward to seeing much more of your work in the future.

Eliran Kantor: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad we finally had the chance to talk.

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All the artwork featured above is by Eliran Kantor with the exception of Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Iron Maiden's Killers.