When we first encountered Marald’s art, we were immediately struck by his incredible attention to detail, his expert sense of composition, and his ability to tell a story through every piece. He harmoniously blends dark imagery with an emotional beauty that makes his work both haunting and captivating. His exceptional use of color adds depth and emotion, elevating each piece to something truly unique. 

We couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with him on a project for one of the world’s most iconic metal bands, Black Sabbath.Marald was kind enough to answer some questions about the project, and we’re thrilled to share some of his creative insights and the inspiration behind his work with you.

What drew you to Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." as your song choice?

Marald: My first choice was to use “Children of the Grave” because it would be a good way to let out my anger & frustration about the Gaza genocide but since I already expressed some of that in my last Metallica poster & had experienced the discomfort it caused with the band/management, resulting in using diplomatic, non conflicting words ( agreed by us both, I’m not complaining just explaining) in the interview accompanying the release, I decided it wise to opt for a different song choice. I decided to go for a song from the debut LP, hoping to get to do art of their discography in chronological order in the future. “N.I.B.” just clicked & was also a way to kinda take a jab at my mother in law, who was really impressed, when I told her about this project. She’s a devote christian & practicing pastor: I love you Lia but couldn’t resist myself to use this Luciferian love song. 

What was your initial inspiration for creating the poster for Black Sabbath's "N.I.B."? Were there specific elements of the song or the band’s history that influenced the design?

Marald: Like state above, it started as a small tease to my mother in law but of course the song clicks with me, the intro, the main riff & when Ozzy let’s out the ‘Oh yeah!”, you’re hooked. It also seemed natural to me to use an “occult” song for my debut art for the band; I mean they’re called Black Sabbath, their interest & use of occult themes are well known. The fact that “NIB” (Nibby, Nibber) was a nickname for Bill because of the shape of his beard resembling a nib pen, fit my idea of using a devil’s contract as the main concept. I regard this song as a love song, which kinda refers to my love & deep respect I have for Black Sabbath.

The imagery in your Black Sabbath poster feels very detailed and symbolic. How do you decide which symbols or metaphors to incorporate into a piece like this?

Marald: The main figures (the androgynous child & Lucifer) are a homage, tribute to a piece by Alphonse Mucha. Besides the beautiful flow of the figures, they always struck me as sinister, so I emphasized that part & tried my best to make them my own.

I went all in with N.I.B. as in Name In Blood: selling your soul. So I researched some genuine pacts with the devil & used one to base the handwriting on the parchment on. I like to use archetypical (Jungian) figures in my work. I used 3 figures mirroring the holy trinity: the father, the son & the (un)holy goat. The goat is also a great symbol for Black Sabbath as being the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), plus it hints to Bill’s beard. The poppy flowers of course stand for drug use/addiction & temptation. The tree stands for BS being the trunk of Heavy music with its many branches. The Mill fitted perfectly in the composition.

Having this as my first work with/for Collectionzz, using the devil’s pact, also expresses my desire to see this as the start of a long collaboration & no, not as selling my soul (although the adolescent punk rocker in me probably sees it that way)

Were there any challenges you faced while creating the poster, whether technical or conceptual? How did you overcome them?

Marald: I think the first challenge was just to maintain focused & not get overwhelmed by the fact that this was for a such an iconic band. I guess most artists have imposter syndrome & have to deal with that annoying inner voice, that tells you you’re a failure, etc. The real problem was the final layout & adding the text, logo. I thought I had kept enough room to make it all work but I had to remove a “floating soul” from the top of the tree & redraw that part by hand, to not disturb the textures, flow of the art. In the end I asked the help of a good friend of mine, Remi Juliebø to help out with the layout. I told him my ideas & he executed them perfectly, I can’t thank him enough for his help.

There’s a special connection between music and visual art. Has the music or art of Black Sabbath influenced your artwork?

Marald: for sure: I mainly work with bands from the “Heavy” side of music, who all wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t for Black Sabbath.

Are there any behind-the-scenes stories or memories of Black Sabbath that you can share with us?

Marald: I have to admit, that I came to appreciate Black Sabbath pretty late. In the mid 80’s, early 90’s I was fully immersed in the DIY punk scene & foolishly avoided any other music. It took me decades to just sit down & connect with so many artists, I use to avoid like the plague. I do regret never to have seen them live… I’m not a person who can easily deal with huge crowds, so alas it never happened that a BS concert date would find me in could mental strength to be in an arena sized crowd. 

One thing that recently struck me, was when I played BS to my son, who was curious about who the poster was for. I saw how he got hooked by the riff & we got to talk about how revolutionary & vital BS was. So I’m glad it doesn’t take him 30 years to appreciate them.

How did you get started as an artist, and what led you to the world of poster design and album art?

Marald: I made my first EP cover in ’89. I did a fanzine & interviewed bands I loved. One them, Swedish Kang masters No Security, I asked, if I could do some art for them, which resulted in the EP cover. Although I kept doing work for bands. Mainly underground DIY bands, it took me decades to go professional, see next question for more on that. 

Can you tell us about a turning point or pivotal moment in your career that shaped your artistic direction?

Marald: I guess the first was discovering the fact that my father had made record covers, it just struck me as outride bizarre, that this was possible & probably planted the seed. Next big turning point was having my good friend Richard Postma pointing out to me, that I should take the next step & use my network to go professional, which resulted in me asking my dear friend John Dyer Baizley to help me. This led to me doing the art for Baroness’s Purple album with him & exposed my art to a whole new audience. 

Do you see yourself exploring new mediums or styles in the future, or do you plan to stick with the aesthetic that has defined your work so far?

Marald: I will probably never give up my beloved color pencils & acrylics but do want to make more free work in the near future & start painting on larger formats. I also have plans of reincorporating the use of an airbrush in my work, of course avoiding the tackiness trap that comes with it & would love to learn 3D modeling, to use as reference for my art. Plenty of room for improvement & playing around.