Cover Decoder

What does a shark, a manic handyman, and an alien in a trunk have in common? They're all Summer blockbusters! Well, at least our blockbusters anyway. It's the season two finale of Cover Decoder and the Decoders sign off with some great covers, stories and a glimpse at the future. Grab your bud light pistachio and join us!

In our second to last episode of the season the boice plug into the cyber synthscapes of Andrew and Justin, exploring the art and music of New Frontiers, Soma Free Institute and many more! Join us for a jaunt through a cover dimension of creative passion, artistic cohesion and synth mastery.  

Massive creatures emerge from the Cover Portals for an epic art battle of destructive magnificence! Who will be victorious? Listen as the boice champion their favorite Titans and then cast your vote for the Mightiest Monster!

In this Episode the Cover Decoders take the Bandcamp challenge and discover music based on the album Cover! Travel to distant worlds, dreamscapes, and places lost in time through the portal that is Bandcamp Covers.

Hear part one of the epic battle between the covers as the Decoders pit their coverbots against one another. Towering martians blow you away with their hot acrylic ray guns, Iron giants unleash an arsenal of atomic hell and a foreign cyber creation reboots the meaning of badass. Who wins? You choose!

Once again the Cover Decoders kneel before the magic cover box. What strange futuristic prehistoric sounds emanate from its folds? What furry creature peeks over its rim?? Who is yelling Burglekutt!? Join us to see for yourself, hear the art mysteries unfold and figure out what the hell is in the BOX!

What is a patch? What is so intriguing about these mini covers? Curiosity had struck the Decoders, lo and behold the gods of Coverdom sent an emissary to answer their questions and more! Join the boice as they sit with Mike Greylord for an evening of art, design, creative passion and fantastic stories. You may be new to the patch world, but after this episode you’ll be stitching them to every fiber of your being.

The Cover boice once again uncork the ceremonial art liquor and pour it on the ground in honor of the great Richard Corben. Witness the creative bust and brawn of this legendary artist and hear the stories behind some covers you may know and some you may not. This ones a twelve pounder folks, grab your sock and raise your glass, legendary art awaits behind this cover gate!

Join the Cover Decoders for an epic interview with legendary comic artist and creator of the series Mouse Guard, David Petersen. Venture forth with the Cover Guard into the wide world of artistic expression as they discuss his work past, present, and future. And discover what it takes to pick up the sword of creativity in a world that's so much bigger than you. 

Featuring: Seth Rubin, Cynthia Krupat, Corey Wolfe, Gary Meyer, Howard Terpning and David Paul Seymour  Fantasy February's sagas of cover legends ends with a journey as Tapes reveals a map of three cover realms. Taking you to the tower of epic metal, the land of ancient poems and of course, the VHS store. Monsters, warriors and awesome art await you in the final chapter of a truly mythic month.  

Featuring: Gerald Brom, Don Punchatz and John Shroades In this thrilling installment of the fantasy cover festivities the Brengineer takes you beyond the backroom of Egghead Software, into the dank darkness of his pixel dungeon! Explore the cryptic, cover caverns of Heretic and Hexen. Square off against demonic hoards and Minotaurs caught in the act of intimate self appreciation. Hold tight to your tome of power folks because this cover conquest is sure to get your staff's power crystal buzzing.

Featuring: Paul Wenzel, Evaline Ness, Don Maitz, Jean-Leon Huens, David Wyatt and Brian Froud In this chapter of the Fantasy February saga Inks throws the Decoder boice into a black cauldron and hauls them through the glorious cover world of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series. Horned kings, bad haircuts and strong smelling hominids await! To adventure!

Fantasy February has begun! And what could be more epic than riding into battle with a master of heavy metal and oil painting, the mighty Vidarr The Silent! Join the boice as they speak to this cover warrior about fantasy, heavy metal and the intricate process or art and creativity.

Featuring: Aleta Rafton and Bill Gold January is getting steamy as the boice dig into the sultry world of romance covers. Get ready to have your crotch ignited with beefy phoenix fire fighters and your curiosity moistened by mermaids, fish men and of course, Tom Hanks. Featuring a Q & A interview and some legendary artists this episode is sure to give those stiff jeans a run for their money.

Featuring: J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur Rankin jr., Ralph Bakshi and Tom Jung A New Year should be a time of epic beginnings and what could be more epic than a visual journey through the covers of some of the most influential fantasy books of all time written by none other than J.R.R. Tolkien! Join The Fellowship of decoders as they lead you through an astounding cover world inspired and sometimes created by Tolkien himself! Dodge the neon spandex wearing goblins of 80s book art, sing the ballads of middle earth with a host of hairy animated dwarves and prepare to throw the next hour of your life into the fires of Mount Doom, because the greatest art adventure is what lies ahead!

Featuring: Spectrum, Bill Garland, Rudy Obrero, Scott Johnson, Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman and Kevin Fales After a visit from Criff Holloway derails the Decoders plans, the boys get into the holiday spirit with some surprise covers! Join them as they unwrap this special episode filled with merry mutants, cheery art guilds and wonderful wasteland warriors. Filled with thrills, revelations, and fantastic art this episode is the epitome of good holiday fun.

Featuring: Kristian Wahlin, Regnault, Timothy Philips, Kris Verwhimp and an unholy horde of black metal covers! For many the winter means bundling up against the grim frostbitten cold, but to the Decoders it's a time to embrace that cold atmosphere like skin tight leather and scream into the howling winds! Join the Brengineer as he lights a torch and walks his fellows through a furious tundra of album covers, revealing the good, the bad and the ugly sides of one of Metal’s most notorious and interesting genres. Those of a sensitive disposition be warned. Not all darkness is fun to look at, but this episode will have you wanting to scream back at the void! 

It's time once again to open Meemaw’s oven and waft the sweet scent of fresh baked cover goodness. Inks starts things off with Papa Gurney's famous dino casserole, chock full of delicious prehistoric flavor and the Brengineer finishes it off with a piping hot cross section Biesty pie, complete with tanks and mutilated sailors. Now if that ain't comfort then these boys don't know what is, so take off your hats, grab a seat, and dig in Covers are served!

As October rots behind us and colder winds blow us further into November, the Decoders have once again entered the Dungeon Synth tavern to share a hot mug of inspiration with one of the genres biggest acts, Sombre Arcane! Join Naginah, Phranick and the Decoders as they discuss everything from cover art, Dungeon Synth and creative philosophy! Full of amazing stories this episode isn't just a good time, it's an inspiration overload, bound to get your creative juices pumping! Featuring the art of @Suture_and_Soil, @AvengedCreations, and Aaron White.

Part three of the Decoder Halloween special is about to get abducted out of our world and into a terrifying cover scape of cryptid beasts and probing aliens! Inks tells the true story of a young boy protecting his cows from an assault by the Legend of Boggy Creek and then jumps into his truck at full speed to escape the bondage horror of red neck aliens from Fire in the Sky! Skeptics beware, for the covers shall reveal the truth!

The horror trilogy continues with another Halloween Essential Special! This time Boogieman Brengineer emerges from The Fog carrying a tome of nightmare fuel for young book-fair goers everywhere. So as night falls, clutch your old books close and flee inland! Beware the Brengineer!

The Cover Decoder horror trilogy has begun! In this first terrifying Halloween installment, Tapes crawls from the cauldron with the terrifying VHS covers of Pumpkinhead and chases you screaming like a falsetto banshee into King Diamonds haunted gallery. Beware of murder! Betrayal! and Adult Gordes! Covers await and they are hungry!!

Cover Decoder is kicking off season two with tentacles and terrors! The Brengineer cracks open the necronomicon to show you a glimpse of true cover art horror inspired by the works of H.P Lovecraft. Tapes banishes Lovecraft's racist persona with Jarrod Taylor's mystically crafted Lovecraft Country Cover and after a Q & A interview gives the decoder take on what the Lovecraftian Legacy means. Full of eldritch covers and fresh takes this is a truly horrifying way to dive into the Halloween season!

The horn of fandom has been blown and five knights of Coverdom have answered its call! Season one of Cover Decoder has come to its end and as promised the Decoders are going out with an all fan cover episode!  Enter the ring with nazi punching Rocketmen, telepathic assassins, multi-eyed aliens, punk rock western shoots outs and discount hair rockers! Who will win the armor of Coverdom and claim their free shirt? Listen to find out! Featuring a Q & A interview with Andriy Dankovych, loads of great artists, a look at the past episodes and look to the episodes to come this is truly an epic end to the season!

It's hot outside but it’s about to get explosive in this blockbuster episode! Inks has excavated a prehistoric load of information for the iconic cover of Jurassic Park, Brengineer lurks in the shadows alongside the masked menace of Friday The Thirteenth and Tapes pumps up some 1986 muscle power with Predator. Teeth, promiscuous teenagers and firepower are all on the grill, so grab a bud light lime, kick back and enjoy.

Once again the morgue is filling up with amazing artists and visionaries. Never fear, the Decoders are here to immortalize them through the lens of the most important medium, Covers! Grab your fiddle and waltz with Inks in the swamps of Charlie Daniels albums, uncover the lesser known realms of TSR as Brengineer remembers a D&D legend, carry the burden of the ring as Tapes tours Ian Holms’ acting career and end in the colorful world of flavor molded by Joel Schumacher. Legends are waiting and they are thirsty, join us and pour a little out.

The box has called out to the Decoders once again and its contents are episode gold! Space shark surfing baseball players make a connection to the early roots of hip hop, sift through the scandalous past of a classical painter and fly to Nam on the back of a jamin astro pterodactyl! It's art, its music, its history and its all emanating from the legendary Box!    

This episode is an epic chapter in the Decoders tome, for lo and behold! They have reached out past the cold peaks of Winterstead and made contact with Master Ingsmith of Guild Of Lore! Throw a log on the hearth and grab a mug as the Decoders sit down with the talented Jason Shook for a discussion on art, inspiration, his live Dungeon Synth performance and some VERY intriguing future projects.

This here is a special bonus episode Cover Junkies because it contains two things. One: the Decoders unveil their very first shirt! Available now for purchase, learn about its creation from the source, our very own Inks. And Two: learn how you can win your very own Cover Decoder shirt this September for free!

In this home cooked episode the Decoders hit memory lane and pull some covers off the nostalgia shelf. Mercer Mayer, Jeff Easley, and Paul Simon dish out a hot heaping helping of childhood memories and creative nourishment. So grab your mug and kick up those feet because this episode is all about the warm fuzzies.

Digital art is the hot new craze but does it’s convenience come with a price? Join the decoders as they dive into a sea of sepia and poor hat wearing edicate to give their own thoughts on the matter. Starring the covers of The Black Company and Dresden Files book series, this is an episode art brawl you don't want to miss.  

Saddle your steed and grab your +10 sword of synthesizer, because the Decoders are entering the subterranean vaults to bring you covers from the mystical genre known as Dungeon Synth! Brenginer will guide you on a tour through the decaying halls of the genres history, Tapes will shed some torchlight on a classic artist and uncover the magical scrolls of free art domain and Inks will sail you to frostbitten shores created from chalk. A world of fantastic covers and soundscapes awaits you, sally forth!!!

Sadly more knights of Artdom have entered the cover morgue. Once again we tip our glasses to honor them and the art they inspired. Hear the story of Kenny Rogers family drama, taste the succulent tootie fruity droplets of Little Richards sweat and take a ride on the electric autobahn with one of synth pops progenitors, the great Florian Schneider. R.I.P, may you rest in the celestial halls of Coverhalla!  

It’s legacy time again folks! Join cover guru Inks as he takes Tapes and the Brengineer on a blood sucking journey through the covers inspired from Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend! Hear about Inks love of the blood sucker, learn the cautionary tale of the industry cover camel and see how one story helped to create the many faces of the modern vampire.

This episode discover sex swings, throbbing pineal glands, questionable medicine pouches and an intergalactic titan of watercolors. A whole slew of legendary artists have passed, but why mourn when you can celebrate! In this special double episode the decoders crack open a can of cover magic and celebrate some truly legendary artists.  Learn about them, discover them and pour a little liquor out for them!  

The book house is closed and the Decoders are sealed within their apocalypse abodes! forced to adapt to the changing environment they have gone... viral! Hear what the future has in store for our daring Decoders and enter the world of the infected with a series of modern plague posters, learn how to avoid an alien schlock contamination and squeeze your way out of Paul R. Brown's monster from the 2000’s “metal” scene.  

The Box is Back and its bursting with all kinds of oddities! Listen as the boys unleash Gigantic Robots, Friendly Zombies, Velvet Wizards, and Powerful Pinups from the reinforced cardboard flaps of THE BOX!

Things get heavy in the cover world as the Decoders pull out some controversial material and root out its creation. Suicide, balls and racism are the topics on this episode elevator, those of a sensitive nature take the stairs.