Words by David C. Obenour
One look at The Death Wheelers and you know what you’re in for. This Canadian gang of bikesploitation rockers are here for a good time but not a long time. Guitars rev, drum and bass pummel, and sound clips from some low budget and long forgotten b-movie thrill – and maybe frighten you – for what’s coming down the road. Circling back for their fourth menacing full-length ride, The Ecstasy of Möld exists in a post-apocalyptic world set to 80s chugging heavy metal. You feel like maybe you should buckle up but one look from the band makes you reconsider.
Bringing this vivid world to technicolor is Long Beach’s Jason “JCruz” Cruz. During the day he makes his living by selling graphics to dynamic brands like Quicksilver, Harley-Davidson, Hanes, and Hot Wheels. But when the sun goes down, the shades stay on and that’s when the real mayhem begins. His second album cover for these Homicycle Maniacs (track two of Möld – for those checking the liner notes), his art drips with grease and grime and something else it’s better not to look at too closely.
Off Shelf: What have been some of your strongest connections between an album and its cover? What about it made that connection so meaningful?
Jason “JCruz” Cruz: My strongest connections with cover art has definitely been with The Death Wheelers covers I’ve done. They allowed me to create the vintage pulp cover style illustrations I’ve always wanted to do. I loved the dark undertones in the bands music and their love of custom motorcycles. Being a motorcycle artist, and a metal fan, it was a perfect match to work with them!
Max “the Axe” Tremblay: Look, the cover is like the opening shot of a dirty, low-budget grindhouse flick—you see it, and you know exactly what you’re in for. We want the artwork to smack you right in the face, set the mood, and get your blood pumping before you even hit play. It’s gotta grab you by the throat and tell you that this record is gonna make you feel something—whether it’s the heat of the pavement beneath your bike tires or the smell of gasoline and sweat in the air. That’s the kind of raw connection we’re after, no holding back.
OS: How do those connections inform how you go about illustrating an album cover as opposed to other kinds of art?
JC: Well, I’ve done work for a huge spectrum of companies and brands, but quite a bit of it was very ‘safe” and geared for mass consumer products. Most of what I design ends up on apparel for brands like Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, and Under Armour and a lot of times it’s for youth clothing. That kind of stuff is great and pays the bills, but doesn’t typically allow me the room to create darker heavier toned art, which is more inline with my personal tastes. Doing an album cover is so much more exciting because you need to listen to all the nuances of the band and consider their art form as the context. It’s got so much more to do with the emotions the listener experiences versus what consumer trends are during a particular season.
OS: There’s such an undeniable connection particularly between metal music and the album art, why do you think that is?
MT: Metal’s all about excess. It’s loud, it’s fast, and it’s dangerous. The art has to match that—go big or go home, right? It’s like a wild night you know you shouldn’t have but you can’t resist. You need that sleazy, over-the-top visual to pull you into the dark side of the music. The cover art isn’t just decoration, it’s a warning: you’re about to dive into something filthy, gritty, and visceral!
JC: Agreed! For me personally, it brings back a nostalgic feeling of my youth and staring at the album cover for hours while listening to the music. I miss that part of the modern listening experience. Today it’s so easy to just listen online and never even see the cover art, which is a shame. There is so much value in album cover art because it’s a visual accompaniment to the music and helps set the stage for a musical adventure.
OS: Can you remember how you first became aware of J Cruz’s art?
MT: The first time we laid eyes on J Cruz’s work, it hit us like a shot of cheap whiskey—raw, dangerous, and unapologetic. We first became aware of his work through ETERNAL TRIP. The moment we saw his art, we knew this was the guy who could bring our vision to life. It’s got that perfect balance of sleaze and style—like it’s straight out of a seedy drive-in movie theater, with that mix of danger, sex, and a little bit of madness. J Cruz’s work wasn’t just art, it was an invitation to step into the gutter with us.
OS: How did it stand out from other artists of their style? What elevated it?
MT: J Cruz isn’t just painting; he’s crafting a world where the rules are bent and broken. It feels alive, like you could reach into the image and feel the grit on your skin. What really sets him apart is how well he marries that vintage biker aesthetic with something fresh and dirty. The way he distills that cinematic vibe into something just drips with atmosphere. It’s like he captures the whole damn essence of danger in one shot.
JC: Wow, that is very humbling and cool to hear! Every illustration I do has to be a good fit for the client, but working with The Death Wheelers has always been more rewarding for me because I’m able to really express myself in a way that feels a bit raunchy and evil.
OS: Did you immediately see the connection to the music you make?
MT: Oh hell yeah! The moment we saw his art, we knew it was a perfect match. It’s like he was reading our minds—the gritty vibe, the reckless abandon. His artwork felt like it was the perfect visual counterpart to the kind of high-octane audio filth we’re putting out there. It was like a film reel and our music had a dirty little love child.
JC: I knew it was right up my alley when they approached me. They’re a great band and Riding Easy is a great label for the type of music I like. I felt like doing these covers in a vintage pulp cover style would help illustrate a story of seediness. I wanted the cover art to look like something your parent’s wouldn’t allow you to buy.
OS: With The Death Wheelers, you have an additional element in that your music and the art are inspired by an era of cinema—both the films and how audiences experienced it in theaters. How does this add to your experience of playing in the band and how do you hope it adds to the experience for fans?
MT: We’re all about that bikesploitation cinema vibe—the kind of flicks you catch at 2 a.m. in some rundown theater, the seats all sticky from spilled beer and who-knows-what else, the air thick with the scent of stale popcorn and regret. When we’re making music, we’re thinking about soundtracking those late-night, dive-bar hangouts, or a rowdy biker rally where nobody gives a damn about the rules. It’s all about that raw, gritty energy. We’re not here to polish it up or sanitize it—we’re about embracing the filth.
When fans roll in to see us live, we want them to feel like they’ve just stepped into the backseat of some beat-up, chrome-coated muscle car, windows down, and the wind in their hair, flying down a highway of debauchery. It’s the kind of night where you lose track of time, where the music and the madness fuse together, and you’re left with nothing but that electric, almost violent, energy that comes from throwing yourself into the unknown—no seatbelts, no rules, just pure, unadulterated freedom.
OS: How much of the concept of a movie do you have thought up for these albums? Does the band work on that together?
MT: We work on that together, but it’s always more like we’re creating the soundtrack to a fever dream. Some albums are a little more structured, like a crazy grindhouse flick, while others are a wild mess of ideas and influences—kind of like a midnight movie marathon where you don’t know if you’re watching a zombie flick or a low-rent car chase movie, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all about that feeling of being lost in it. We all throw our dirty little ideas into the pot, and we stir up something nasty.
OS: Can you talk about how you started the collaborative process for The Ecstasy of Möld with J Cruz? Did you share music? The movie concept? Inspirations?
MT: The visual / narrative concept for this album is about a post-apocalyptic wasteland where the last remnants of humanity are rotting faster than the mold that’s taken over the world. The entire idea came from this sick, twisted vision of a dystopian future where a mold-based virus has wiped out most of the population, leaving chaos to run rampant in the streets. Civilization’s crumbled, the rules have been tossed aside, and survival’s not an option.
We didn’t just share music with J Cruz, we pulled him deep into the muck with us. This album’s all about that slow, squirming, gross feeling when things start falling apart but you can’t look away. So, we made sure he was in the right headspace to get that nasty, uncomfortable vibe we were after.
OS: Can you talk more about being in the muck with them, Jason?
JC: Well, all you have to do is listen to their music and it’s pretty obvious. They were looking for something gritty and full of energy. Honestly, I enjoyed creating the back of the cover more, because I felt it’s really where the story lies. The front of the cover has the post apocalyptic rider screaming towards you and gives the feeling of danger, but it’s the back of the cover that shows the violence of the scene. The burning church almost has to be looked for and could easily be missed, but it’s a powerful symbol that carries a lot of weight. As a kid who loved heavy metal album covers, it was always intriguing to look for the small details in the backgrounds of like an Iron Maiden, Dio, or Kiss cover. I wanted to do the same on this one.
OS: This is now the second cover J Cruz has done for you. Over all of this time, do you think the art has helped shape what you do as a band?
MT: Oh, one hundred percent! J Cruz’s art has contributed to our aesthetics. Every cover feels like a new chapter in the sleazy story we’re telling. His work has helped us build this world / lore that’s all our own. Each piece of art he’s done for us feels like it’s pulled us deeper into this dark, cinematic universe. It’s not just about having cool art, it’s about creating a complete experience. The art shapes how we see ourselves as a band and how we want our fans to experience what we’re doing.
OS: How has it been like having a sonic element to what you do in this collaboration, Jason?
JC: I’m still very new to album cover art, so it’s exciting to be able to illustrate something that has a second creative element to it. Collaborations are always more successful than something a single artist creates, and this was no exception. I’m anxious to do more with the band and help tell their next story. I appreciate them bringing me into their fold and giving me the opportunity to create a visual aspect to their filthy world!