Behind The Artworks: Decimator - The Gap (Single) (2026)

From Tyrastafr, our young Norwegian artist:

For me, the meaning and intent of a piece is something that develops as work goes on. I like that feeling of a piece's meaning evolving as I spend time with it, and this was very much the case for the Gap's cover.

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to go in a gentler direction for this cover – the themes of The Gap are sensitive, and it feels more right to go for something more surreal with that. This is likewise why I wanted to go for portraiture; I wanted to prioritise the idea of the people we lose to suicide in a place like the Gap. The Gap has its reputation because people struggle with life and their health, and this humanity is important to remember. I find far too many people forget the people behind the statistics of things like suicide.

Visually, the concept is the mix of someone's body on the shore and the Gap itself. Waves lapping against the Gap's shores become water against the body; the Gap is a fracture in the head as much as it is the cliff face.

Details from the Gap are focused on the left side of the piece, whilst the right side is untouched by it. In languages that read from left-to-right, movement towards the right usually signifies progress, development, or something good, with the left as the opposite. Here, this splits the image; this person might choose the Gap on the left, or choose continuing on with life to the right, and it's currently unclear which will be chosen.

The face itself took reference from death masks, both in expression and lighting. Death masks, to me, evoke ideas of missing people, unsolved cases, and a certain sense of anonymity; this person was someone, but in unsolved cases, death masks are made because they might be anyone, and people don't know yet who they were.

Support independent metal journalism — Visit the official BTC store