Pity is Treason is a book by artist Jake Chapman and philosopher Robin Mackay, published by Urbanomic.

The artwork uses the symbols of the British royal family, such as the portraits of Elizabeth II on banknotes and so on. The cover puts them in front of this aristocratic representation. We find a background with royal motives and a blackletter typeface – Sabbath Black – which can convey a motif of royalty in the Middle Ages.

We see this intention in the design of the letters as a representation of royalty with the addition of extra-typographic embellishments on certain letters, notably the capital letters P/T, the i in “is”, and the n at the end. These additions mark the intention to recall the socio-historical context of the works represented in the book.

From Urbanomic:

This commemorative limited edition volume documents Jake Chapman’s series of rectified £10 notes produced in 2022, the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s demise, and also features a theory-fictional tract by Robin Mackay which combines a twisted dramatisation of the divorce of currency from faciality with gonzoid reportage from the longest queue in British history.

Pyroclasts front cover [More info on Discogs]

Life Metal (April 2019) and Pyroclasts (October 2019) are two Sunn O))) albums with related cover designs. Both covers feature a Samantha Keely Smith painting and a tongue design with the band logo. The album titles and the tracklists are set in Sabbath Black. Some information like the credits is in Helvetica.

Sabbath Black is a typeface designed by Miles Newlyn and released by Emigre in 1992. The name obviously is inspired by the rock band Black Sabbath. Sunn O))) and Black Sabbath are both groups playing metal music. The style of Old English (a.k.a. textura) is quite common in rock and heavy metal, see e.g. the album art for Bathory’s self-titled debut from 1984.

Art direction by Stephen O’Malley.

See the Sunn O))) website for more info about Life Metal and Pyroclasts.

Pyroclasts record label

Pyroclasts back cover

Artwork for Pyroclast by Samantha Keely Smith

Life Metal front cover [More info on Discogs]

Artwork for Life Metal by Samantha Keely Smith

I'm a graphic and UX designer based in New York City, and I was commissioned to create album art for Sage’s first EP. Sage wanted something natural with a little edge, and wanted a collage feel to her art. I used Bradley DJR because it has an elegant old-time feel while still being a little edgy and bold. The Ashley Sage logo is in Sabbath Black and was made by another designer.

Glitchin youth is the combination of the words glitch (malfunction, dysfunction, functional disorder) and youth. It's based on the idea that people are becoming more and more connected to the digital world.

How will future generations act, will this intertwining with the digital world eventually cause a functional disorder, a glitch?