Photo by Thanasis Karatzas
greece
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / sound engineer
GEORGE BOKOS
Grindhouse Studios Athens Let’s start with a fact. Costin Chioreanu is an exceptional human being and a extraordinary Artist by all means. Costin’s Art is a multidimensional and endless trip to a universe full of deep, emotional, dark and lightful images in a “non stop esoteric search and research” starship - submarine ! This is exactly how I feel about his work . You can recognise his unique style by miles away and this is what makes him stand apart in my honest opinion. I always enjoy checking out his new work and love that he keeps evolving himself like he did in the latest cover for the new single from almighty Dødheimsgard “Det Tomme Kalde Mørke” or the cover of Adrian’s Tabacaru album “Dissonance” for example. He is an incredible painter! I truly love his acrylic paintings on canvas. They are simply magical. We met back in 2014 when I approached him to do the artwork for the debut album of my Band Stone Cold Dead “Lava Flows” . After that, we organised his first Exhibition in Athens / Greece and since then we have worked together numerous times and it’s always great working with him. He is a fantastic person which gives to all of his art creations a priceless value! I am grateful that our lives crossed paths and proud to call him a true friend even though we live miles away. I wish Costin Chioreanu a happy and joyful 20th anniversary and wish him only the best from the bottom of my heart and to continue creating beautiful art that will remain eternal.
S W EDEN
musician / composer / lyrcist
Leif Edling Candlemass
I’ve been very fortunate to have Costin Chioreanu as the mastermind behind the wonderful videos to several Candlemass videos. And I have to say that at first it’s a little bit scary since Costin is no big fan of telling you exactly what the video will contain. I’m a bit of a control freak, and hearing things like “Leif, I know you gonna love it” doesn’t really work for me. But I’ve learned to trust him. Most of the time have I no idea how the outcome will be, but you just know it will be amazing! One other thing I think is great with the collaboration we had on “Sweet Evil Sun”, is that not only have the videos in a perfect way reflected the spirit of the songs, interpreted them spot on. Costins work have also enhanced the songs!! Goddamn! I didn’t expect that. But it’s the gods honest truth! The songs come out even better with those brilliant/ bizarr/epic animations that only one person on the planet can create. I’m sure there are more ways than one to depict epic, doom metal, I find it very mind-boggling though, that somebody can be so spot on. “Sweet Evil Sun” certainly grew and became something even bigger with Costin Chioreanu’s fantastic art.
Photo by Agnete
n o r wa y
Vocalist / composer / lyricist
Agnete M. Kirkevaag Madder Mortem
As musicians who carry our hearts in our music, it is always slightly nerve-wrecking to leave the visual aspect of our songs to someone else. Costin has always been able to not only understand and interpret the emotional content of the music, but to also expand on it by creating visual art that interacts with the music and lyrics and opens it up to new ways of understanding it. Our collaboration with Costin began with the artwork for “Marrow”. There he had to work with illustrations from one of our favourite authors, creating a coherent design from many individual pieces. After shooting the filmed video for “Liberator”, Costin created the art for the “Far From Home” video, where we felt he brought out a dimension of the music we hadn’t realized was there – one of the instances where the symbiosis of visual and auditive art creates a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Our partnership then continued with the cover art for our 2019 “Mercury” re-issue, where Costin created an original painting inspired by the original artwork, connecting our beginning with our future. But to us, the pinnacle of our collaboration this far was the 2019 anniversary concert, where Costin created individual paintings inspired by our music, as well as filming the painting process and exhibiting the artworks at the concert. This was a dream come true for us, a rare possibility to give the audience access to a visual companionship to the songs. Costin is a very talented and extremely hard-working artist. But the main reason we have loved working with him, is that he too puts his heart into his art.
Photo by JEAN-MICHEL MONIN
united kingdom
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricst / vocalist
Shane Embury Napalm death
Costin’s animation videos for Napalm Death’s one and only appearance at roadburn festival a few years ago were amazing to say the least ! each one of the nine videos he created told a small part of the story of our album at the time “Utilitarian” an album in concept that spoke against social isolation - filthy slum landlords and our hopes for a more forgiving world. For me the entire show our choice of songs was finally something different and especially costin’s captivating visuals elevated the band far above anything we had achieved before in a live setting for me personally - a spellbinding visionary who i very much hope to work with more in the days to come...
Photo by Nima Taheri
NOR W A Y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer
Teloch
MAYHEM / Bergeton I have been working with Costin for about 8 - 9 years now for Mayhem and Bergeton. Over the years he has stuck to his own unique style and never seems stopping amazing me by the quality of work he delivers. One key attribute achieving this is his dedication to his art and bands.
Photo by J.S. Carpenter
g e r ma n y
MANAGING DIRECTOR / AGENT
Jörg Düsedau dragon productions
I met Costin for the first time on September 21st 2013. Lake of Tears recorded their ‘By the Black Sea’ Live Album & DVD that day at the Arenale Romane in Bucharest. The promoter suggested Costin and his team for the recordings. We got introduced, had a brief chat about everything, where he explained right away what kind of vision he had for the filming. I didn’t understand what he meant until I saw the first edits… he delivered pictures, that I have never seen in that style before or after. A kind of shaky camerawork, which blew me away. Very alive, uncommon camera moves, very arty. I had no idea who he was. It took me a while, until I realized through his FB posts, that this Costin is that Costin. Ups, nice! Shortly after we needed the artwork for the first 7” single of my band Fire. I thought asking doesn’t hurt. I sent him the music and a vague idea about a kind of mascot for the band. In return I got a mind blowing sketch, which perfectly delivered what I had in mind, plus it contained the key content of the song ‘Save me’ in that picture. It’s probably one of his most simple works, but that much to the spot, that we adopted this figure as John Doe right away. Costin also made the artwork for our ‘Walking on Bones’ 10”. Again, here are the lyrics, this is the music, rough idea – and in return he came up with something much better, than we could ever have dreamt of! I don’t have much art on my wall. 3 framed pictures in total. All by Costin. ‘With strength I burn’ and ‘The Wanderer’ from his Emperor ‘Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk’ album cycle are so powerful and mean so much to me.. I just haven’t found out yet, what it is. But in my eyes they have been made for me and not for Emperor. What I love most about Costin is his endless devotion to whatever it is. Being born under the same zodiac, actually only 1 day (and a couple of years) away from each other, I totally feel and understand him as person. I’m not religious in any form or believe in whatever – but Pisces are the best. Just look at him!
Photo by Jørgen Freim
NOR W A Y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
frode glesnes EINHERJER
I find Costin to have a very deep connection with us as a band. He has next level understanding for where we want to go and what we want to achieve. He has gently pushed the boundaries for what you’d expect Einherjers visual expression to be. He is simply a brilliant artist... and a very good friend.
Photo by Sebastian Freitag
g e r ma n y
Multi-instrumentalist/ composer
Jens Basten NIGHT IN GALES
I appreciate very much in his way of working that he can first be guided and inspired by the music and the lyrics, and takes it seriously - only in this way can music and artwork become a real unity, a total work of art. I only really became aware of this during our collaboration on ‘Dawnlight Garden’,which I think is one of his most outstanding works.
Photo by Ole Halvorsen. Pudder agency
n o r wa y
Multi-instrumentalist / vocalist / composer / lyrcist
VICOTNIK DØDHEIMSGARD
Years ago, when I started watching Costin’s videos for other artist, beyond the scope of beauty, tastefulness and creation, what struck me was his fantastic sense of timing. Presenting images, and tweaking how they appear ever so slightly to empower and highlight and contrast particular musical scenes and transitions. My greatest appreciation for Costin’s work is his innate process of consciously putting different elements together to solicit reactions from the senses and emotions. It always left me with a grand sense that the artist in question not only having a aeasthetic, but also communicative purpose behind his art. A dual transmission of sorts, for one what you actually see/hear, but the underlying property is the undercurrent transmission which enduce your emotions to the degree that your brain create responses by forming thoughts and ideas. Another thing that impressed me working with Costin was his abillity to draw out a vasy array of content from rather scarse communication. We had the initial talk, I sent the song, the lyric and and a basic explaination of “Abyss Perihelion Transit”, and off he went. Hands down, I have never worked with anyone, that needed so little help in the process of defining and framing the narrative. For me Costin, even though his art is modern, represent the thinning line of true, pure artists.
Photo by Thor Brødreskift
NOR W A Y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Ivar Bjørnson Enslaved / Skuggsjá
Like with the best bands and solo artists; you immediately know whose art you are experiencing. He also has the ability to effortlessly slip through the barriers between genres and scenes. His work for me and Einar’s debut album “Skuggsjá (A Piece for Mind & Mirror)” mirrored (pun intended) the concept of the album perfectly - it instantly became an integrated part of the very identity of that album and that period of our history. Costin’s work for Enslaved’s 25th anniversary concerts is another example where his art masterfully absorbs musical and conceptual work to recreate the quintessences through his visual magic. When I saw his interpretations of the band’s three phases (which was the parameter by which we created three setlists for three performances), it was both an experience of seeing the band’s history in new light - and like those visuals had always been attached to the music.
Photo by NICK HARRiSON
united kingdom
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
IAN ANDERSON jethro tull
Costin tackles the tricky subject of the creation myth with delightful abstracted imagery and clear references to the lyrical content of the song. His brief included the avoidance of the dungeons, dragons and Viking helmet stereotypes so often associated with Norse mythology. The later sections of the video relate to the last two stanzas of lyrics where the creation of earthly beauty is seen as if from an airplane trip looking down on our fragile planet, gin and tonic in hand…. Well done, Costin, and we hope to work with you again before too long!
Photo by Kirsten Lerche
g e r ma n y
A&R
Jens Prueter
Nuclear Blast Records Happy 20th Anniversary of Twilight Media! Time flies and I can’t fully remember when I first met Costin, but it I guess it was around 2012 at the Roadburn Festival when one of our favorite bands, Voivod, played two sets. I was impressed by his passion and dedication for art – from visual art to music and the pure urge for expression: the way he started from hand painted cassette covers, because he couldn’t get hold of original copies behind the iron curtain, to his visionary and unique style of a surrealistic world. And Roadburn is the perfect place to meet likeminded people (thanks Walter!). We immediately became good friends. Maybe because I was the same – but less skilled on the visual art. I grew up on punk, psychedelia and underground comic art, and was fortunate working for the Germany edition of the Heavy Metal comic magazine during the mid-90s before I entered the metal music industry. I love the concept to complete music with a visual concept – and our beloved Voivod was of course an early inspiration. In 2014 he created a perfect visual concept for the At The Gates album “At War With Reality” and I was happy to organize an exhibition at my wife’s old Bewitch Café. It was a pleasure to welcome him to my hometown Dortmund and introduce him to like-minded artist like Axel Hermann who created many of the classic Century Media Records artwork, Björn Gooßes (Killustration) from Essen and many more. A gathering of art lovers and creators. It was the same year Michael Amott decided to go for this art on the Arch Enemy album “War Eternal”. Michael showed me an early black & white sketch and I knew it was perfect. Two years later his artwork was used for the stage production of Arch Enemy’s first Wacken headline show. The story continued over the years and there’s many other great stories to share: from hand-painting Hexvessel cassette covers live at my own Leafmeal Festival (Voivod was there too) to recently creating a video for Tobi Sammet’s Avantasia – and of course many evenings talking about our passion for music and art. Costin already had a name in the underground scene, both for his artworks as well as for his music projects, but it’s important to point out that his passion and vision has no boundaries, neither on an artistic nor on a commercial level. Always rooted in the deepest and darkest ground of extreme metal, but there’s leaves in treetop reaching for the unlimited sky. There’s no limitation and who knows, maybe one day he’s working with the next Lady Gaga, because he is a kind of Mister Gaga. Love you, Costin. All the best for the next 20 or 50 years, and thank you for being such an inspiration and good friend!
Photo by manuel vargas lepiz
Sw i t z e r l a n d
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Anna Murphy Cellar darling
I’ve been a fan of Costin’s work for over ten years. I first encountered his designs at a Ulver concert in Switzerland in 2010. I loved his shirt design so much that I decided to get it tattooed. We’ve worked together regularly since, and he has always managed to visualize my music and lyrics perfectly. A highlight of our collaboration was the animated video of “Insomnia” for my progressive rock band “Cellar Darling,” which won a Progressive Music Award in 2019.
Photo by Heidi S. Tveitan
n o r wa y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / vocalist
Heidi S. Tveitan Starofash
Costin is one of these rare, gifted people who’s a wonderful combination of pure talent and craftsmanship. You don’t find many like him in this industry. A true artist and so easy to convey your visions to. He always understands on a deeper level, and his work is so emotionally honest. You’re just a gem, Costin!
n o r wa y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / Lyricist / vocalist
IHSAHN
EMPEROR / IHSAHN Costin has been a trusted partner and friend for many years. His creativity and distinctive style has been a valuable asset to so many of our releases, merch and live show visuals and I hope to still rely on his collaboration in many years to come.
Photo by Anne Schlösser
Fa r o e I s l a n d s
Lyricist / vocalist
Jón Aldará
Hamferð / IOTUNN / Barren Earth To me, it feels as if Costin is standing at some precipice, beyond which is an unseen metaworld with indescribable beings and concepts. But rather than falling off the edge, he somehow manages to reach out into this ethereal realm and seize the unseizable, manifesting them in our worldly colorations and geometry. It is magic if ever there were any: to conjure up worlds from near-nothing to invoke such strong emotions in others, and there are very few who master it in this way. I have had the opportunity to work with Costin on a few occasions; to have his art accompany the music I had a part in making. And each time he finds the golden path to realizing whatever visions were conjured up by us musicians without ever sacrificing his remarkable soul. Whether invoking the sombreness of Hamferð’s mythical “nykur” haunting Faroese fjords under brooding skies, or giving glorious life to Iotunn’s utopian Weaver System, there is no doubt that these visions – however disparate - are uniquely Costin Chioreanu.
Photo by Giorgia Figliuzzi
i ta ly
Label founder / music journalist
Luciano Gaglio I, Voidhanger Records
Between 2014 and 2017 I had the pleasure and honor of releasing the albums of Costin Chioreanu’s band, Bloodway, including the sensational “A Fragile Riddle Crypting Clues.” Innervated by black metal, Bloodway’s music writhes in progressive rock spasms, under the pressure of Costin’s tortured and unique voice, which has nothing to envy to those of certain masters of depressive black metal. In some respects, Bloodway reflects the pictorial art of Chioreanu, transferring onto a music pentagram an iridescent magma of shapes and colors which - contrary to what one might think - do not describe a fantastic universe, but the human frailties, the doubts existentials, the darkness of the soul and that certain mal de vivre in which the artist drags us gently. Well, what has always struck me about Costin Chioreanu’s poetics is precisely his sweetness, and I’m not just referring to a gentle character and humility that always distinguish true artists. I’m referring to the ability to capture in poetic images the essence of a music, metal, which one would like to be violent and brutal by definition. Instead, even when he paints terrifying subjects and nightmarish landscapes, Chioreanu injects his poetic and painful vision of life, a vague sense of psychedelic vertigo that overwhelms the senses of the beholder. The same that grips those who listen to Bloodway’s music. There is no malice in his art and music, no easy concession to a codified, superficial and stagnant metal imagery. Rather, there is the expressive tension and sophisticated taste of a noble soul, the constant amazement at the beauty of the creative act capable of sublimating even the darkest impulses and inner labor. Art is the key to the meaning of existence, and Costin Chioreanu is its perfect keeper: An artist who paints his music and plays his paintings.
Photo by olivia chioreanu
THE MUSICIAN Costin Chioreanu
“The amount of music Costin has put out in all this time is beyond impressive, but not just due to the volume, but due to the unfathomable uniqueness, excellence and creativity that is found throughout. Tough to label, always peeking beyond the fences of established norms and always deep with metaphor, this is a body of work that demands the total focus of the listener. A lot of these works become even more rewarding in time since you can always find something new, that perhaps you didn’t hear before, or simply didn’t understand the meaning behind. If creativity is a well, Costin’s seems to be endless.” Octav Medis (Akral Necrosis)
Photo by Iñaki Marconi
sweden
drummer / composer / lyricist
Martin Lopez SOEN
I personally see Costin as an intellectual of the avant-garde and metal world. His eye for identifying a certain emotion and enhancing that emotion through his art is something I haven’t seen before in our scene. A very humble person that makes working together with him very enjoyable. I remember the first time I saw the video he did for our song “Lotus”, how he made the lyrical context and the music gain a deeper meaning through his imagery, I’m still blown away by it to this day. His level is very high disregarding what he is doing, painting, music or filming, he is a very inspiring artist and someone I appreciate very much.
Photo by DAVID HALL
ja p a n
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Mirai Kawashima SIGH
I’m 100% sure that all of you already know how great Costin as an artist is. If you look at his works, you can easily tell that it was done by him. His art does not need a credit as the art itself is a credit! I love his video works as much as the artworks. He did the videos for “The Transfiguration Fear” and “Mayonaka No Kaii” by Sigh, and what was great was I didn’t have to explain much to him. If I just tell him what it is about, he comes up with a perfect result. I believe we share the same nightmarish visions. Horror does not always have to be obvious or direct, and Costin has a perfect understanding about this.
Photo by Ester Segarra
sweden
lyricist / vocalist
Johanna Sadonis LUCIFER
Costin sensitively captured the essence of the song and intelligently visualized the symbolism, the cosmic connection and the ultimate devastating loneliness of people. We are born alone, we meet briefly in life but then we must pass on alone again, into death. Love is caught right in between us tumbling through the universe and Costin knew instinctively how to animate this tragedy beautifully. To see our music, my lyrics and thoughts transformed into images is like magic to me.
Photo by Sarah V Martinez
united states
Project Manager
Oscar Martinez NUCLEAR BLAST USA
I have been very fortunate to have worked with Costin on various projects ranging from merchandise to music videos for Killer Be Killed, Go Ahead And Die, Soulfly, and Carcass and working alongside him is always a pleasure because he’s a fan of the music and understands each band’s vision and is respectful to how they want to be represented. His art is never the same, but like the true artist he is, you instantly know when you’re looking at something created by him. That’s the signature of a true artist! Experience and expertise are hard to come by this day in age, so congratulations to Twilight13media for being a force throughout the years! Here’s to many more years and projects to come in the future!
Photo by Tina Korhonen
n o r wa y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer
RUNE ERIKSEN
Vltimas / RUÏM / earth electric True artistry and visionary work is something that comes around rather seldom. But it does happen,every once in a while, and for me, Costin is one of those artists that always carried this aspect with him. The sensation of purity, of something intangible that is rooted in an alternate reality or an imaginary sphere, masterfully pulled out and brought into our own perceptibility without losing the essence and the touch of magic from where it originated, that is a special thing and furthermore, what true artistry is to me. Costin’s work embodies all of this. True magic in form and vision.
finland
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Juho Vanhanen Oranssi Pazuzu
Art, at its best, can make your brain create new worlds and cross over from one sense to another. Through Costin’s work, I have learned to realize that it is possible to capture music into a canvas and vice versa. To me, his style is sharp and colorful and the works have a strong sense of direction, and yet they give you the freedom to explore and find your personal meanings from each form. I have had a few of his works upon my wall for years, and I still find new interpretations within them. They seem to shift with each phase in my life and the thought patterns I have connected to them earlier are branching into new mutations.
sweden
Manager / Production & Tour manager / booking agent
Erin Lynch FlyingFox AB
I basically fell in love with Costin’s art at first sight. His style spoke to me in ways I wasn’t able to conceive previously. There were pieces that immediately struck a nerve with me, causing me to feel new emotions that few artists have been able to conjure in me previously. When I introduced myself to him, I was immediately impressed by his humble demeanour, fun personality and his creative mind. When the time came for us to be able to work on projects together for my bands, I was ecstatic. He was always able to perfectly capture in his art, what I was trying to convey through words, yet always with his very unique twist on things. Things added to the images and videos that I hadn’t thought of before, but ultimately, made perfect sense and seemed so obvious when he presented the final project. During the pandemic, we began discussions on where he wanted to take his career moving forward. Whether through his art, videos and/or music, I was immediately intrigued and knew I wanted to be a part of this world he was envisioning. I consider it an absolute honour to be able to work with and represent Costin. Some artists have a tendency to burn out or get stuck in a loop, producing the same “industry standard” designs. Costin continues to expand his visions and his creativity, as well as his style which I find incredibly exciting to be able to witness. Whatever you think you know about Costin’s beautiful, artistic, other-worldly mind, I can promise you, he’s just getting started.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL VR EXPERIENCE HERE:
the VIRTUAL REALITY of music step into the new dimesnion of experiencing a record! In 2019 Costin Chioreanu joined forces with Adrian Tabacaru, in order to create a virtual reality experience version of the album “Afterlife Romance” which to combine the music, the artwork and lyrics in a new dimensional manifestation. Entitled “Midnight Cemetery”, it is a virtual reality tour which offers a new way to experience music and art in the current digital domain. A premiere for the music industry, it gives a new dimension to a recording, by giving life not just to the music, but also to all the illustrations created for booklets, in one fascinating virtual experience, as the user can step and walk inside the world designed by Costin. The user can interact with the characters, can fly above this world and activate secret manifestations of some of the elements around. “Midnight Cemetery” is available world-wide as a free download App.
Photo by Jens Rydén
sweden
guitarist / composer
Sebastian Ramstedt necrophobic
For me creating art is a very intimate thing. I rarely write music or sketch album cover ideas with other people. The visions I have are on an astral plane and I have a hard time manifesting my ideas while communicating with others. Therefore the colaboration between me, Necrophobic Costin was both rare and surprising. I had a feeling that he would understand my vision though. The song “The infernal depths of eternity” that I was writing was about my own experiences of opening the alseeing eye and devils crown through meditation. About waking the energy of the red serpent. Without giving away to much of information costin said he was interested in bringing my melodies into vivid artwork. But first he had to meditate over it. I was quite stunned over his answer as a lot of my own creativity comes from meditation rather than hands on activity. Finally when I got to see the final result of the video I felt the real world disapear. It was like a seamless force going from the very first moment when the embryo of the song was concieved till the final result where Costins creations brought the atmosphere of the song into pictures. At that moment I knew that this could never have been if the both of us had not shared the same energy in the same astral sanctum at the same moment in time. This is what separates products brought to the table for commercial reasons from art created to open up the mind!
Photo by John Nikolopoulos
greece
guitarist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Sakis Tolis rotting christ
Constin Chioreanu is one of the mst hard working and dedicated artist designers I have ever met in my career and in a combination with its talent make him one of the most important artist nowadays. Keep your spirit alive!
Photo by Jarle Hovda Moe
n o r wa y
Multi-instrumentalist / composer / lyricist / vocalist
Bjørnar Erevik Nilsen vulture industries
In Costin I found a kindred spirit, someone who can instantly grasp my ideas and turn them into pictures. If this ability is caused by a shared view of ther world or a unique empatical sence on Costins end, I am not sure. But in him I also found a person I consider one of my best friends. A uniquely creative and talented yet humble spirit which is a as lovable as he is productive.
Photo by janicalönn
Sw i t z e r l a n d
CEO / Founder / Owner
Simon Füllemann AISAmusic / BYNORSE
We have had the pleasure working with Costin on many efforts for the past decade. Including bands like Enslaved, Ivar Bjornson & Einar Aale ok or for our label label By Norse Music. Being it Enslaved s 25years look & feel or a showcase poster, Costin always finds the meaning of what we want to express and makes it speak through his distinct and outstanding art. Same for his media approach, seen in his Enslaved 25 documentary. It’s a relevant and always modern look at what we wanted express. A fresh look. What was most appreciated was they way Costin works. Always friendly, open and welcoming. No attitude or ego attached. That personal trade made him always perfect for our little family to join in temporarily. Skuggsja gives you a little peak into what Costin is capable to do, but think 10 times bigger looking at the whole project. I am fan and like whatever he does for any artist or simply for himself.
Photo by Catherine Deslauriers
canada
Musician / songwriter
michel langevin voïvod
When Voïvod played the 2011 Roadburn Festival in Holland, I noticed some really fantastic otherworldly poster art on the walls by an artist named Costin Chioreanu. We met him and became good friends. A few years later we commissioned Costin to create an insane video for the song ‘Iconspiracy’, from our LP ‘The Wake’. When we played Romania while touring the album, he gave me all the amazing art he had drawn by hand for the animated video. I was just astonished that it wasn’t computer generated. Over the years, I’ve seen countless drawings he has done for other bands. Posters, shirts, album covers, videos, the list is infinite. In fact, his creative output is so incredible that I suspect Costin to have a secret knowledge of either cloning, quantum physics or maybe time travel! To many more light years of friendship!
H.P. Doomcraft is the collaboration between storyteller/visual artist Kim Diaz Holm and musician Costin Chioreanu, translating four of the least known tales of the father of cosmic horror, H.P. Lovecraft, into an unique and transcendental audio-visual experience. The prose-poems “Nyarlathotep”, “What the Moon Brings”, “Memory”, and “Ex-Oblivione” were all directly inspired by Lovecraft’s powerful dreams, and Holms haunting narration and art combined with Chioreanu’s otherworldly music will bring it to nightmarish new life. Known to Inferno fans for headbanging while drawing the concerts from the photopit, Kim Diaz Holm / Den Unge Herr Holm has worked with bands like Solstafir, Abbath, and 1349. He has worked a lot with horror art, and 2012 he released his graphic novel adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model. Holm releases all his art for free use, and under the moniker Den Unge Herr Holm he tells stories and draws for his sizable audience on TikTok and YouTube and more. As a visual artist, Costin Chioreanu is an expert at translating the power of music into images, for bands like At The Gates, Enslaved, Ghost, and many, many more. But Chioreanu is also a very complex and unique musician, bringing into our dimension lots of sublime releases in the last 20 years, no matter if we are talking about the bands he composed and recorded music with, or about his solo records. He has collaborated with artists like Attila Csihar (Mayhem), David Tibet (Current 93), Mirai Kawashima (Sigh), Sofia Sarri, Rune Eriksen (Vltimas, Ex-Mayhem), and many others. Those who know his musical endeavour know to expect that his live musical channellings to bring wildly, on the spot, messages from the unseen. The collaboration with Holm will present, as a worldwide première, a new dimension of his alien music work.
the netherlands
artistic director
Walter Hoeijmakers roadburn festival
For a decade, Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13media has played a very important role in defining the visual language of Roadburn. Costin has helped shape the image of the festival with his artwork and through it he has inspired us to find new bands and go into different directions. His art for the official posters, the video shows for many bands that performed at the festival (Warning, Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, My Dying Bride among others), the many backdrops, the exhibitions, premiering his first steps in animation… Costin’s strong presence at Roadburn helped us realise how important the connection between underground music and its related artwork is. We are very thankful to Costin for guiding us every step of the way when it comes to visual language. Over the decade that he was involved with Roadburn, we saw him rise to become a significant artist of our generation for metal and the musical underground – we are intensely grateful for having had him work with us.
G e r ma n y
MANAGING DIRECTOR / AGENT
Leif Jensen Clandestine Music
Costin Chioreanu is an artist in the truest sense of the definition and one that I have seen grow incredibly with the creative tasks throughout all these long years! As an integral and much respected part of our beloved metallic microcosm, I have had the pleasure to cross paths on several occasions with Costin in the turn of the years, with slightly different projects and roles. Some of those I have been involved with that come to mind first would be At The Gates, Spiritual Beggars, Necrophobic, Borknagar or Morgoth. But there were many more, and I have the feeling that intriguing co-operations will continue to happen, as Costin has been a guaranty for eclectic and outstanding results for a wild variety of bands in the rock/metal segment. He always understood how to capture the band’s individual nature and vibe in a suitable way in order to extend their expression. His extremely personal approach and ability to “become part of the whole” has been a key to achieving results that left both the commissioning artists as well as the consuming viewer entranced, oftentimes even speechless. Not only has Costin developed an own, very unique and unparalleled trademark style since he first shook up the scene, but also remains a constant source of magnetic inspiration with his high level of dedication to the art. In short: I have great respect for his craft and achievements!
Photo by Jim Louvau
B R A ZIL
MUSICIAN / COMPOSER
MAX CAVALERA
SOULFLY / CAVALERA / GO AHEAD AND DIE
United Kingdom
Founder / MANAGING DIRECTOR
Andy Farrow Northern Music Co.
I have know Costin for many years and firstly met him face to face at The Prog Awards when Cellars darlings’ video that he directed won best video award , As CEO of Northern Music Group representing over 40 acts , we are often in need of album artwork , merchandise artwork and videos , Costin is one of my go to people because he responds in a timely manner and delivers on time also in a cost efficient way something that is increasingly important these days . He has worked on visuals for Opeth , Paradise lost , Katatonia and Bloodbath for us , his style is unique and you can certainly tell its Costin but i feel that he is open to interpreting the artists vision for a visual and i think the most exciting project we worked on was when Paradise lost performed their influential Gothic album at Roadburn Festival , whist a genre defining album a live performance alone maybe would have been lackluster but what he brought to the project in terms of handmade illustrations / animations for each song , made for a festival highlight performance , combined with the artwork for the accompanying Live at Roadburn album .
united states
photographer / writer / promoter
Stefan raduta stardust nyc
Someone once said that you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. Truer words were never spoken. He was also wrong. For a true art lover, I see it as a responsibility to connect the dots looking forward. Here’s a story you might like. Ever the space cadet, I have forgotten really important events in my life. But I will never forget one particular day, when fifteen years ago in the good ol’ MySpace days, Grave’s Dominion VIII cover suddenly popped on my screen. It’s really weird how it’s frozen in my head still like a goddamn screenshot, the way I felt when I noticed a name underneath, completely by accident. I often think about that very Moment because I could have easily missed it. It was only a split second, but Everything started changing in that moment, something unknown to both of us. The name looked strangely familiar, it felt as if I had always known it. Even if by that time I had left home in hope for a better life and we were thus separated by an ocean and most of Europe, it turned out Mr. Costin Chioreanu was indeed a Romanian artist, my assumption wasn’t wrong. And that’s when the most beautiful adventure started, one that continues to this day. I hope it will never end. I had never met the guy mind you, but strange ‘coincidences’ started popping up suddenly. It turns out my best friend in high school had moved to Bucharest and was his best friend at the time, they were even playing in a band togethe. We both thought Grave’s Hating Life is their best record ever. It still is, deal with it. We both utterly worshipped the same artists and bands, from Dan Swano, to Silencer, to Dead Can Dance, to Norway’s Crzal, and Vicotnik, you name it. Too many to mention, across the board, things that didn’t even make sense. A genuine friendship would slowly develop. In 2011 at Dark Bombastic Evening I witnessed the debut of Costin’s Where Purgatory Ends exhibition. By then I had introduced him to my idol turned close friend over the years, Mr. Blasphemer himself of legendary Mayhem, whom of course, big surprise, was Costin’s teenage idol too. We both saw him as the most visionary and surgically precise Black Metal shredder alive. He still is, also deal with it. Heard Ruim’s debut? Doesn’t Mayhem post-Blasphemer era suddenly feel like…beyond obvious, ehh? Nevermind that now, back to our sheep. So they now became best friends, and Rune actually participated in the exhibition’s three song soundtrack. I thought that was amazing.
Where Purgatory Ends was a very unique experience, multi-dimensional. Costin had created twelve stunning drawings which he printed on large canvases. They resonated with me on a deeply personal level. I loved their vulnerability, they felt disarmingly honest, innocent even - as if drawn by an unnaturally talented child, untouched yet by the world’s malice. Maybe they were? “Who was really drawing these things?”, I was wondering…the child or the adult? His trademark leitmotifs were present all around and throughout these canvases, like an evolving journey inside an ever floating dream: the birds, the eyes, the keyholes, the shadows. They were all there, everything Costin is and has always been, past lives or not, is still in those canvases. Very Special. What took it next level however, was the presentation. Turns out his grandmother had made these sugar coated cookies, which Costin molded into birds. Red wine was served at the entry. It was a personal Eucharist. As you entered the room, the sound of what you were looking at was filling the space, created by the same soul. You’re literally hearing the art as it’s gently unfolding in front of your eyes. As this is happening, you’re drinking the wine and eating the bird-shaped sugar cookies, connecting both on a physical and metaphysical level with the same birds you’re seeing. I really loved it. I didn’t know it at the time (or maybe I did?) that soon after I would borrow one of those birds as insignia to follow one of my own personal obsessions, photography. While getting tipsy and hearing the soundtrack on loop, I remember thinking “I wish more people could see this! Man, these cookies are delicious, bummer grandma couldn’t come. Why isn’t Rune here? More wine please. More people have see this!” I was slowly starting to become seriously obsessed with the idea. And that’s when it hit me: Of course! Roadburn! This is worthy of Roadburn! Costin has got to be there so people can see it! Pause. Just a few months earlier, I was participating in my first Roadburn experience, warmly invited by the ever incredible Mr. Walter Hoeijmakers. Planet Roadburn at the time was going through its most incredible artistic years, sailing completely unknown waters and mapping new terrain. It felt that I was living inside my own utopia, never mind dream. The experience was surreal. Something I never thought could possibly exist was in fact very real, and had been going for quite some time. This event was something unnamed and always playing in my mind. I was in fact attending it on a regular basis, haha. I thought Walter and Jurgen were a true Godsends, for actually getting it done. Once back across the Atlantic I began emailing Walter about Costin and his great talents, how he would really help the festival grow visually. I was convinced Costin had everything it took (and so much unexplored potential!) to become the new visual artist of this great festival. Walter and I liked each other a lot (we still do, what sweet man!) I was convinced he would love Costin. However, sadly at the time Costin didn’t have an international recognition. So I thought, if we brought Where Purgatory Ends to New York City and got some international press, that would sway my beloved Dutch friend. Now, I always rooted for the underdog: Mustaine over Hetfield, Priest over Maiden, and so on. So the goal of getting a young and promising Romanian artist to become the visual mastermind behind Europe’s most exciting music festival slowly became a Thing. So that’s how the first Stardust NYC platform was born. Costin loved the idea, as foolish as it sounded. I had a big fire up my ass. We’ve always been hungrier than most you see, for obvious reasons that involve geography and historic circumstances, how our cards were dealt. So we got to work. Applied for visas, got the Romanian consulate in NY involved while I boldly booked in advance an array of very talented musicians for November 3rd at Saint Vitus in Brook-
lyn. Costin’s exhibition would be at the center of it all. Then something literally insane happened. Something that to this day, I can not explain, because I’m really terrified (just like I was then) of the implications. About a month before our exhibition, the venue booker calls me and he’s got some crazy news. He insisted I sat down first. I will never ever forget these exact words. He said: “Stefan, Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath will launch his official biography book the same day you and Costin have your event!!” I had to pinch myself. I nearly fainted. I couldn’t really process that information. It seemed surreal, even months later with Costin at Saint Vitus bar next to me, looking at one another completely dumbfounded. We had just met Tony Iommi, shook his hand and exchanged pleasantries while Costin’s artwork was all over the walls, beautifully lit, with hundreds and hundreds of people waiting in line to meet the Hand of God Himself. We seemed to live inside a dream. I knew there was no way once the press was out, Walter could say no. And he didn’t. The craziest most obsessive idea I ever had not only worked, but Roadburn literally transformed under Costin’s supervision and guidance over the following years. Costin did everything from video projections, festival programs, official artwork, exclusive band posters, I mean it was just a phenomenal collaboration, and they loved one another just like I knew they would. Everybody won. The festival was basically freshened up and started kicking ass visually more than ever. Costin stepped up his game and ended up doing his most beautiful artworks yet for big artists he always loved, truly becoming the international icon I knew he deserved to be. On my end I continued booking bands under the Stardust NYC banner for many years to come, turning it into a veritable festival that’s very much active - and I still use one of those sugar coated birds as a logo for my photography. Now ain’t that something! This story is neither about Costin, myself, Walter, or Black Sabbath. It’s about you, the reader. It’s about us all, as One. We’re a part of something very strange down here, a subculture made of so many intersecting bubbles that most people alive will never be able to understand. Maybe they’re blessed or cursed not to, I don’t know. But we have no choice over it, over the weird music we love, strange art we devour. We know we’re different though. Each of us possess so much power and potential, capable of influencing this beautiful scene in a positive way, helping it expand into unmapped terrains. Life can be full of synchronicities, if you allow it. Connect the dots looking forward. Help great minds and great talents fall into their righteous place. Introduce people that you know live inside the same frequencies. Start a fanzine, a blog, if you know you have something to say. Then start a small festival. Spend your money not just consuming, but creating. If you’re reading this, there’s an artist inside of you too, because how else could you possibly have this book in your hands? You’re weird man, just like we are! So speed things up, raise some pulses. We’re only here for a little while, after all. Be as virulent as you can be, and listen to Virus whenever nothing makes sense! Thank you Costin for what you’ve done with your Life. Keep it up my dear friend!