LOTD! dedicated to H.R. GIGER

H.R. GIGER
5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014

  I remember the first time I saw the monster from the Aliens movie. As a kid maybe 9 or 10 years old it was disturbing, horrific and very intriguing. From the first moment I could hold a pencil or crayon in my hand I had been drawing on any scrap of paper I could find. My subjects many times were

Giger working on an Alien

superheroes and monsters I summoned from memory and imagination. Science Fiction shows like Star Trek and the Creature Double Feature movies on Saturday afternoons had a big influence on me. Giger's depictions of the future were much different than the clunky robots, costumes and face paint I saw on tv. Giger's monsters were much more real. Aliens weren't just funny green men in suits that looked like they were constructed out of an old vacuum cleaner and aluminum foil. Giger's monsters drooled spit and gelatinous membranes covered their sleek forms.

Danzig

Davis with "THE BITCH"

   Giger's work has not only been featured in movies and in magazines. Bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Danzig and Celtic Frost are just a few that have used his work on their album covers.

   I can't honestly listen to Danzig III without thinking of the erotic figure on the How The Gods Kill cover. In later years, Giger was commissioned to create sculptures that would be made into instruments and even mic stands. Johnathan Davis performs with his Giger mic stand called "The Bitch".

   So today at the news of his passing, I'd like to dedicate today's Listen of the Day! to H.R. with a few songs from ELP, DANZIG CELTIC FROST and CARCASS. All of the songs can be found on the albums that have Giger's work featured on it's covers.