Soundtrack of Our Lives explain Communion cover art

Published at 5:07 PM on March 10, 2009

By Austin L. Ray

Soundtrack of Our Lives explain <em>Communion</em> cover art

After (perhaps hastily) bestowing Album Cover of the Year honors upon Soundtrack of Our Lives' Communion, we decided to go straight to the heart of the matter and ask TSOOL frontman Ebbot Lundberg for an explanation behind the work of art above. Luckily, the hirsute Swede was a good sport and answered every one of our (perhaps superfluous) questions via e-mail. Enjoy:

Paste: How did you decide on this particular image as the cover for Communion?
Ebbot Lundberg: Because it is [one of] the images we're being fed every day.The perfect life that does not exist. Some sort of modern mass psychosis that people subconsciously get sucked into. The cancer of corporocracy which now has spread all over our planet. And everybody is happy.

Paste: Was there anything in particular about the couple on the cover that related to the music?

Lundberg: Yes. Their eyes in particular.

Paste: If not, were you maybe, just maybe, trying to mess with peoples' heads a little bit?

Lundberg: Most peoples heads are in a mess nowadays. And maybe these images are to blame.

Paste: If you had to give the two people names, what would they be? Something tells me they're retired now, but what do you think their jobs were before?

Lundberg: His name is Ted-Gerald Gordon III and is possibly a former pedophile priest. He met his wife on the golf course before she got divorced. Her name is Greta Zimmerman-Gordon and she's probably the head executive of some company dealing with pharmaceuticals of some sort.

Paste: What are they drinking?

Lundberg: Papaya coconut milk mixed with a heavy dose of absinthe.

Paste: Can you explain the watermark?

Lundberg: It is the borrowed TSOOL logo, which means, "As above, so below"/"Macro & Microcosmos"/the holistic universe we live in, basically. The symbol is a couple of thousand years old and is related to ancient Hermes Trismegistus/Thoth.

Paste: Have you had any interesting reactions to the cover from friends, loved ones, fans or business associates?

Lundberg: I've heard some people obviously refuse to buy it because of the cover, but it´s no irony. It is the unfortunate reality. But I must say most people I know just love the cover because it makes sense with the music, in my opinion.

Paste: What have you learned from this album cover and how do you think it will affect future Soundtrack of Our Lives album covers?

Lundberg: This was meant to be. I don't think it will affect our next expression at all.

Paste: What is your all time favorite album cover?

Lundberg: The cover of Black Flags "Jealous Again" 12-inch EP by Raymond Pettibone: