In conclusion, albeit Medusa’s being mortal and unable to see herself, her physiological implications make her a Demiurge, or ‘faulty god’. Thus the parallelism with religion, another universal yet faultyconcept is appropriate as well as the connection with our music, which criticizes just that. The album cover also connotes that the key to spiritual independence is visually part of Medusa (on her head to be precise) and that is why the snakes are over-emphasized throughout the design.

The final implication is that one must remain at an objective distance from Medusa / religion in order not to be absorbed by convenience—otherwise there will be no more mental growth –or simply put --one might as well turn into stone.

The DEMIURGE DISCREPANCY: Given that a demiurge is a "faulty creator", Medusa doesn't fit the parameters perfectly. However Medusa's capacity to take life away, even unwillingly, makes her a demiurge of opposite proportions. I took the liberty of making the term, and the character assimilate each other.

--Isa Pilapil

criticizing ourselves. Yet, humans are also adept at pointing out the limitations of others and potentially learning from them. I therefore portrayed her with her back facing the viewer to suggest that: Medusa, a universal figure, like religion is a knowledge resource we can use to improve ourselves, but, at a distance.

By putting her on the cover of our CD, I esoterically suggest that one should not blindly follow religion’s lure of providing established guidelines for those who are too lazy to think for themselves. Rather, see beyond the limitations of religion and independently find one’s own way –like knowing one’s enemy. Thinking volitionally is also the utmost theme of all our songs.

On the other hand, the snake/serpent is my favorite symbol. I’ve always been fascinated by it on a Biblical perspective because I’ve always seen it as a liberator. The snake in Genesis was the entity that provided Eve with the definitive choice that corroborates with the entire Medusa-on-the-cover idea: the choice for all of humanity to break away from the established (perfection, innocence, immortality, religion!), and find one’s own way to enlightenment at all costs (becoming mortal). Isn’t it amusing how the Bible of all books, unintentionally suggests such spiritual independence?

RATIONALE:

The figure on the cover is Medusa.

Setting what already is known about her aside (being one of the Gorgons, having been killed by Perseus…etc.), she apparently has multiple manifestations, and is an archetypal figure in many cultures. However, the characteristic that these manifestations have in common is that Medusa is neither immortal nor human.

Because of this supreme characteristic, she “lingers in the zone between life and death” (Laurens de Vos). Therefore, she is a symbol of duality: Order-chaos, visible-invisible, man-woman (Freud says the snakes on her head are phallic; Orgasm is also said to bring one to the state between life and death), and being and not being. Hence, being faithful to written references, I made her as androgynous as possible.

Another aspect of hers is also being a symbol of introspection: “the self that cannot be looked at” (also de Vos) because of her incapacity to see her own reflection –otherwise she will turn herself into stone. This can be related to humanity on an individual level because we have the most difficulty when it comes to

The DEMIURGE CD DESIGN is innovative in the sense that the artwork itself was laid out with the cd components in mind. Working this way enabled the seamlessness in the final output. This also serves as a prototype for future designs. Upon scrolling right, Row 1= Final ; Row 2=Painting.