Tale of Two Brothers: Comic Art Meets Heavy Metal
Its not unusual to have creative and artistic ability run in families, especially among siblings. Generally though, the talent is geared towards the same type of art form. Families full of actors or families of musicians, for example.
But what happens when one brother is a famous D.C. Comics artist known for his work on BATMAN, SWAMP THING and DEADMAN, while the other is a world recognized heavy metal guitarist and BILLBOARD songwriter award winner?
The answer is: “HAMMER”, a track on the upcoming ST. ELMO’S FIRE worldwide release “EVIL NEVER SLEEPS” on PURE STEEL RECORDS.
Based on a series of graphic novels released by Dark Horse Comics, “The HAMMER” was created and drawn by artist KELLEY JONES. The song was written and performed by his older brother JEFF JONES, founding member of the heavy metal band ST. ELMO’S FIRE.
Asked to describe the song Jeff says, “I would say “HAMMER” has a old school metal sound and feel to it but updated production. If you liked JUDAS PRIEST you’ll love this!”
JONES continues, “Most music in superhero movies are just a collection of classic rock songs thrown in by lazy music supervisors having absolutely nothing to do with the character. And those cheesy TV show themes don’t count by the way.”
“There’s always been a symbiotic relationship between comic art and music. Remember a comic art movie in the ’80’s with a hard rock soundtrack? It was even called “Heavy Metal”. But a combination where art meets music from one brother to another is rare.”
The JONES Brothers have joined forces a few times before. Kelley did the cover art for the ST. ELMO’S FIRE album “DESPERATE YEARS” in 1992. It was re-released in 2015 by PURE STEEL RECORDS. He also created the bands logo. Kelley put together the cover for VAMP LE STAT’S “BLOODLINE” Cd, Jeff’s previous band in 1994.
According to Jeff, “I always wanted to write a metal song based specifically on a superhero. BLACK SABBATH had “Ironman” and QUEEN had “Flash” so why not “HAMMER?
Besides I love and respect Kelley very much. And hopefully I can help him out with his career. OK, just kidding brother! “
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