A new piece for Prog magazine. Accompanying the lead review for a new album by Dream Theater, 'The Astonishing'.
The imagery was to be based on the main concept of the album:
'After a great calamity precipitated a gradual societal collapse, medieval-like feudalism has re-emerged. In the midst of this dystopia a lone voice heralds the arrival of a reawakening in human consciousness - to stir the hearts of the people and shake the very foundations of power.'
As usual, the band are required to be featured, so here they are in the swirls emanating from the guitar head.
Below you can see the progression of the image from the initial thought through to a more accurate pencil drawing. As usual colours are then developed while working at artwork stage.