Record shop to showcase local heavy metal female artists

The upcoming Mothering Sunday is expected to bring together some of the proverbial mothers of the city’s heavy metal art scene under one roof.

The South West’s only specialised heavy metal record shop, Black City Records, will host the event.

Heavy metal may conjure up sights and sounds of distorted guitars and abrasive noise, but that is only one aspect of a genre – it is as much a lifestyle and artistic experience as it is music.

Heavy metal art is also the indecipherable logos, album covers, posters and interior decor – and many other forms of artistic expressions.

Ellie Beckett, a local artist who explores themes of gothic, folklore and nature, will showcase her works on Sunday – photo: Ellie Beckett

Artist Howie Ridgeon, who works at Black City Records, is no stranger to the city’s heavy metal art scene through his contributions to comic book collective Thunderchair.

Ridgeon founded a new quarterly art event celebrating heavy metal culture in Bristol to showcase emerging artists from the scene.

The series of events, called The Dark Arts, is held at Black City Records on Trenchard Street behind Bristol Beacon.

Artist Howie Ridgeon, who works at Black City Records, organises the quarterly events – photo: Black City Records

The event aims to give dark, gothic and metal visual artists a space to display their work, network and share ideas.

The first event in December featured stalls, talks and exhibitions from both emerging creatives and established artists such as Jack Welch and Luke Oram, who have worked with a range of metal bands.

“We decided that we really wanted to give artists a space where they could gather and share ideas, promote and sell their work and network with like-minded people in the scene,” Ridgeon said.

The upcoming Mothering Sunday is expected to bring together some of the proverbial mothers of the city’s heavy metal art scene under one roof

“Our first event was stacked and we couldn’t have been happier with the turnout. We had new upcoming artists, designers and photographers with their own stalls giving talks alongside already established artists like Jack Welch, who has worked with metal bands such as Hellripper, Marduk, Orange Goblin and Blood Incantation, and Luke Oram, who has worked with Wallowing, Slugdge and Warpstormer.”

“I’m really excited to meet like minded artists and celebrate women in Bristol’s metal art scene,” said Janey Mary Jean – photo: Janey Mary Jean

The next event will focus on celebrating women in the metal art scene, featuring tattooists, mural artists and logo designers.

Artists exhibiting work include Ellie Beckett, Marta Dias, Janey Mary Jean, Elen Morgan, Aimee Whitlow and Kro.

On promoting female creatives, Ridgeon said: “We continually strive to raise the profile of women in the scene in every way possible.

“There are so many fantastic female artists out there right now doing incredible things using all different forms of media. We want the next Dark Arts to be a celebration of that.”

Speaking to Bristol24/7, Janey Mary Jean, who has built up a strong following for her intricate tattoo designs, said: “I’m really excited to meet like minded artists and celebrate women in Bristol’s metal art scene.”

Black City Records was founded in 2020 by lifelong record collector David Savage and opened in 2021, becoming the region’s only independent shop dedicated entirely to heavy metal.

The shop has since become something of a mecca for death metal and heavy metal fans around the country as the only specialised heavy metal record shop outside London.

The backstory of Black City Records is as fascinating as its vast collection of metal records.

Savage, a lifelong heavy metal record collector, previously worked in a high-flying job finance in London. But a Damascene moment came during the pandemic when he nearly died.

After that experience, Savage left his career in finance and found his metier as a purveyor of heavy metal, choosing Bristol as the home for his shop.

Savage opened the record store in 2021 to huge interest, with queues stretching as far as Christmas Steps.

Black City Records was founded by David Savage in 2020 after a deeply personal experience – photo: Milan Perera

The shop, tucked between Trenchard Street and Lodge Street, was shortlisted for a ‘Love Your High Street’ award celebrating the high street in the UK by the British Independent Retailers Association.

For more information on the event, visit www.blackcityrecords.co.uk/the-dark-arts

Main image: Elen Morgan

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