So the New Soulfly Album Art is Pretty Whack

This is the Paul Stottler-created cover of the new Soulfly album, Savages. It’s pretty crappy. I mean, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the idea of a (wooden?) skull with decayed teeth and tats n’ shit is pretty metal, but the execution is lacking, that’s for sure. The skull is just kinda… there. Okay. Whatever, dude.

Funny enough — and I admit this may be my overly-busy brain making connections that aren’t really there — the first thing I thought of when I saw the Savages cover was the cover of Sepultura’s Roots.

The angle is different, but in both instances, the face takes up the majority of the canvass, and is surrounded by another material of a contrasting color, creating a frame-with-a-frame. Both faces have tattoos and necklaces, too.

So whadda ya think? Am I imagining it, or is the Savages cover meant as a callback to the Roots art? Discuss in the comments section.

Savages comes out October 4 on Nuclear Blast.