Human figures -- especially the headish part of the anatomy -- are a big part of metal album art. Graphic designer Joachim Luetke puts the dome of the human body on display for Dimmu Borgir's newest release, 'Abrahadabra,' out on Nuclear Blast.

But the nightmarish visage on the cover is not a head -- it's more like a mask. Luetke talked about the significance of the mask in a press release, saying, "Since the whole 'setting' is located in an icy, bleak, wintery, post-industrial era, we're pretty close to H.P. Lovecraft's nameless elder gods."

He continued, "They're represented by the mask's tentacles. In short: the mask/face personifies dominion of powers far beyond mankind. The nameless gods witnessed the birth of our universe and they'll watch it implode. To them, the age of mankind is but a blink of an eye."

Luetke, who has done design work for Kreator and Marilyn Manson, now lives in Austria. Born in Germany, he went to Vienna's Acadamy of Fine Arts in the 1980s.

Dimmu Borgir will embark on a European tour with Enslaved and Sahg in September to support 'Abrahadabra.'

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