H.R. Giger also produced art for the music world. He made his first album cover for a group called The Shiver in 1969, but his big break did not come until 1973, when Emerson, Lake & Palmer asked him to design the sleeve for Brain Salad Surgery, which would become one of their most successful LPs. A reproduction of it can be seen in the exhibition, because the original was stolen in Prague in 2005.
There are two parts to the cover of Brain Salad Surgery: on the outside is a skull with mechanical doors that provide a glimpse of a celestial glow, while inside there is a woman’s face. Her eyes are closed and there is a peaceful feeling that contrasts starkly with the image of death on the outside. Both pictures were created especially for the album, with acrylic on heavyweight paper.
Giger continued to collaborate with the music world and went on to produce classic works of art such as the cover of 1981’s KooKoo, the debut solo album by Debbie Harry. The design for the record by the lead singer of the American band Blondie is one of the finest examples of his creativity.
When he met Debbie Harry, Giger was instantly struck by her beauty. Even though he had never listened to her songs, he found her so attractive that he immediately agreed to paint pictures of her face. One significant feature of the cutting-edge artwork is the perfect blend of punk and science fiction. It caused such a stir that large posters promoting the album were banned from the London Underground. The collaboration between Hans Ruedi and Debbie continued when Harry asked Giger to direct two short films.
Giger worked with numerous artists from a vast range of genres – from punk to metal – and never failed to have a powerful visual impact. One collaboration that stands out in particular – partly because it lasted so long – is that with Thomas Fischer, the founding member of groups such as Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Triptykon. There was much more than a simple, professional artistic relationship between the pair. They first joined forces in 1985 and renewed their ties so many times that it is fair to describe them as friends.
Without taking it too seriously or expecting anything to come of it, the young Swiss musician wrote to Giger to ask if he would be interested in working together. Hans Ruedi said that he would be willing to collaborate and gave Fischer the 1977 painting Satan I to use on the front of To Mega Therion. It became one of the most famous and successful album covers in the history of metal. There is an ingenious depiction of Christ crucified being used as a catapult by a giant Devil maliciously looking at viewers, planning to kill every living creature he can see. It is shocking, impactful and heretical enough to earn its iconic status.
When Fischer recorded a new album called Eparistera Daimones with his group Triptykon in 2010, Giger once again allowed him to use one of his works: Vlad Tepes, produced in 1978 on paper and wood, appeared on the cover of the album. Parts are played in the warped image by a crown of nails, a cross carried by two dark figures, female figures with clear sexual desires and subliminal messages. Rather than giving a faithful depiction of Vlad the Impaler, the aim was to portray the fears and deranged visions that might be experienced after meeting him.
Giger died on 14 May 2014, four years after this last cover was made. Fischer celebrated his genius and remembered him by saying “There is now a whole world between us.” Ten years after his death, there is still a whole world between us and Hans Ruedi Giger.