Photos by Bruce Bettis & Jeremy Saffer

2013 is shaping up to be a very busy year for Mike D’Antonio. His band Killswitch Engage, having reunited with original vocalist Jesse Leach, is set to release possibly the most highly anticipated record of their career, Disarm The Descent, in April. Meanwhile, the newly formed Death Ray Vision, featuring D’Antonio on bass, Shadows Fall singer Brian Fair, guitarists Pete Cortese and Zach Wells, and drummer Colin Conway, have recorded their full-length debut. The as-of-yet untitled LP will be released early in the year courtesy of Bullet Tooth Records. While no dates have been set, heavy touring throughout the rest of the year will undoubtedly follow.

While working on two full length albums with two separate bands, Mike D continues to pursue his first passion, graphic design. On top of being a musician, Mike is a prolific designer, running the company DarkicoN since 1992 and creating designs for bands like Hatebreed and Crowbar, and companies like Harley Davidson and Tapout. His work has been greatly influential on the metal and hardcore scene for over a decade. Comb recently caught up with Mr. D’Antonio to talk about his career as a designer, his artistic process, and his back-up career in pro wrestling.

Which came first, your passion for design or for music? Do you see yourself being better at one over the other?

When I was a kid, I had a bunch of friends who had bands and needed design work. Since I was going to a technical high school at the time, I decided to go into the Graphic Arts Shop and help my friends out. It was easy to get stuff printed (posters, 7″ covers, demo tape covers, stickers) without the teachers knowing. I was into that.

I see myself, first and for most as a Graphic designer / artist and a musician second. I never thought I would be playing music as a full time gig… ever.

Who are your influences as a designer?

I loved old Transworld Skateboarding mags as a kid, so naturally David Carson was a huge influence on me. Travis Smith is another guy who I love.

How important is visual artwork in an industry that is placing less value on physical media?

It is important to me, but I am an old guy. I used to really enjoy gatefold vinyl and the size of the art inside.

Walk us through your creative process in creating a piece of artwork. What tools, programs, or resources do you use?

Since I travel the world, it was very easy for me to snap photos and accumulate a huge amount of stock photography. I primarily use these photos in conjunction with Photoshop to create everything I do. I also use Indesign as a layout program and Illustrator as my vector program.

When creating artwork for one of your own bands, whether it be Killswitch or Death Ray, are you given complete creative control or do the other members come to you with input and ideas?

I hate being a band Nazi. It happened to me in Overcast, and I swore it would never happen again. I like to have everyone’s input on all my projects. Ultimately I want everyone feeling satisfied with the work I have done. Sometimes this can be time consuming, but in the end, I feel like it is the best solution. All band members should have a say in artwork that reflects their musical vision.

Do you design while you’re out on the road? Do you find it difficult to find the time or resources?

Yes, I design on the road a lot. It is easy when riding on a tour bus. There tends to be a lot of down time on the road. Cracking open my laptop helps me lose myself (and waste lots of down time) in art. It is a much better solution then sitting around all day and missing home. I bring my resources with me, so everything is right at my finger tips.

How has your artistic style and process evolved since your early days in Overcast up to now?

I like to take long breaks during a project to reflect on the art and the direction it maybe going in. Nothing helps more then a fresh look at a project. I used to race through stuff, and get upset when errors would pop up. Now I am much more relaxed and take my time. I feel like my art is better for it.

What is one thing/trend you are tired of seeing in band’s album art/merchandise/promo items?

I fucking hate unreadable logos. It defeats the purpose of a logo if no one can read it.

Do you have a piece that you consider to be your strongest work to date?

The new KsE record is coming out pretty good. I also like the KsE DVD cover and the new Crowbar layout I did a lot.

How did Death Ray Vision come to be, and what can fans of your previous bands expect?

KsE had a long 2 year break, waiting around to see what was happening with the band. In this time I started writing some pretty pissed off music (I think I was upset that we were not on tour). When I looked back at the material I had written, it was much more old skool then KsE tends to be. It was more in the vain of 90’s Cro-Mags, Leeway, Agnostic Front, and Madball. All of a sudden I had 5 songs and nowhere to use them, so I got in touch with Brian Fair and sent him the stuff to see what he thought. He said he was really into it, and we decided to form a new band as a fun side thing where we could blow off steam and get back to our HC roots. To me DRV is just really fun and pissed music, something you can sing along to and get out some aggression.

What Photoshop tool best represents you as a person?

Haha, Burn and Dodge maybe? It definitely isn’t Clone!

Who would win in an arm wrestling contest, you or Brian Fair’s dreadlocks?

I think you underestimate the strength of BF’s dreads. Some of those knots are bigger then my thigh.

You have decided to give up your passions for art and music to pursue a career in professional wrestling. What is your wrestling name and what song will serve as your entrance music?

It would have to revolve around me being short compared to the rest of the wrestlers. Maybe I would be called Mike “Killer Dwarf” D. I think AC/DC’s Hells Bells is an awesome theme entrance, so heavy.

Who would be your dream client (musical or otherwise) to design a piece of art for? How would that art be used?

Crowbar was one of those bands for me, then I actually got to do their layout for “Sever The Wicked Hand”. It was amazing experience to get to know those guys and help them out with work. Other then that I would love to do a Misfits or Samhain cover (those bands really fit my style well), or maybe something for Howard Stern… I love his show so much it hurts.

Quick! Plug the new albums from Killswitch Engage and Death Ray Vision! How are they different and why should fans buy both?

Both bands new records are very aggressive. Any fan of either band will be stoked on the respective releases. The KsE is positive and very new sounding. The DRV is negative (yet fun) and sounds like something you would have heard 10 years ago. I am stoked as hell on both, and I suck at self promotion.

Thanks to Mike D for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our ridiculous questions!

Check in with Death Ray Vision over at their Facebook Page!