Behind The Artworks: Hvalross - Running The Gauntlet (2024)

As a band we are heavily inspired by the NWOBHM of the early eighties. With the album artwork we want to honour those times. The link is easily made to the album covers of Iron Maiden, which are an inspiration. In that perspective, we also have a character/mascot that returns on our artwork, the mystical bearded seer that we call “The Druid”. He is first seen on the artwork of our debut album “Cold Dark Rain” and is now present on the cover of the Running the Gauntlet EP.

The picture is a interpretation of the song “Running the Gauntlet” which tells a story of a person that is running to escape his nightly pursuers. The pursuer in this case being “The Druid”. The artwork is done by our friend Nozzman, a well-known illustrator from Rotterdam.