What effect do album aesthetics have on listening?

This is mainly a person to person question, because I feel it's definitely subjective.

I always try to listen to music free of bias. That is, without any preconceptions about how the music will sound. That being said, I think the album art inherently grasps onto what I'm listening to in my mind and influences how it sounds. For example, take these two Isis albums:





Whenever I listen to Panopticon, I can't help by thinking of a very moody atmosphere, with lots of dark clouds and mists, and plenty of blues. Likewise, whenever I listen to In the Absence of Truth, I feel awash in an abstract atmosphere of reds, oranges, and tinges of yellow. I can't help but think of the former as much, much more darker of an album, with the latter being mostly just atmospheric and haunting, even though looking at it more objectively they're both pretty dark albums.

I have to question whether this affects how I interpret the quality of the albums, because to be honest, I wonder if I'd think of things differently if neither albums had any visuals associated with them.

I feel this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if care has been taken to present it correctly. After all, album art should be a reflection of the music inside. So there really shouldn't be a problem if the art is on the right album, as it should definitely serve its purpose thoroughly.

What do y'all think? Do album aesthetics (covers, booklets included, and even band photos at the time) affect how you visualize or interpret? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Do you have anything interesting to say?

Yeah, album art is certainly important. I was listening to a track from Agalloch's Marrow of the Spirit earlier and that album art perfectly exemplifies and complements what is felt through the music. And look at Devin Townsend's Deconstruction, all of the album art helps to visualize the album as a great chaotic metal machine centered all around HevyDevy himself. 

A cover artwork that reflects the music inside is very important IMO. Many times you only have to look at the cover artwork to know what music style the artist plays, so it also signals to the buyer what it is they are purchasing.

Yeah those Maiden albums are mindblowing in the vinyl sleeve format. I spend hours as a young teen looking at those covers while listening to the albums.

We need bands like this in order to remind us that life sucks hard. Hate life (it's also a song of Life neglected. Happy days made a cover of that).

NorseGangsta wrote: Yeah, album art is certainly important. I was listening to a track from Agalloch's Marrow of the Spirit earlier and that album art perfectly exemplifies and complements what is felt through the music. And look at Devin Townsend's Deconstruction, all of the album art helps to visualize the album as a great chaotic metal machine centered all around HevyDevy himself.

I was going to mention Marrow of the Spirit myself

Definitely think it does.  99% if I adore the album, I will also adore the art it comes with.  Sure, there are exceptions (for example: Deconstruction), but for the most part I think it's true.  To keep the Devin Townsend comparison going, I definitely think the Terria album art enhances the experience considerably.

Edited by Xaxaar - 12 Aug 2011 at 9:03pm

^I've always felt that Dream Theater has mostly had very generic looking cover art, even in their classic era! I never liked the Dramatic Turn of Events Anyway.

That being said, I feel DT's latest coming out is a good example for this thread too. I'm already thinking of it as light and bright and airy, even thought I haven't heard it yet!

I'd have to say very little. LP covers, no question incitied my imagination but with the small and sometimes, depending on the cover art of the CD, barely recognisable artwork jammed in the jewel case is all but uninfluential. Album covers actually had a huge impact on me in my teens, not only as an creative thinking tool but also as a lure to purchase albums with not knowing what music was contained on the vinyl. That thinking changed when I was 18 as I purchased At War With Satan by Venom. Gawd awful, pun intended. The next weekened I tried to exchange it at the stereo/record shop, but to no avail. I got caught red-handed lying as I told the clerk that it skipped as he played it on the store turntable. It didn't skip of course.  So I gave it to my buddy. He always did have bad taste in music.

The Truth wrote: I tend to listen to music like that but honestly, I shouldn't. Oftentimes the feel I get looking at an album cover varies greatly from the feel I get listening to an album. It just works like that. Now when both are in sync with each other, it's kind of cool but that rarely happens.