On the eve of the release of MANOWAR's Warriors Of The World, legendary Sword & Sorcery/Heroic artist Ken Kelly, who has painted many of the band's album covers, was interview by France's prestigious Hard-Rock Magazine. Not only does he discuss his long, rewarding working relationship with MANOWAR, he also talks about painting the cover for the latest crown in the MANOWAR crown: Warriors Of The World.

Hard Rock: Recall how you first met the members of MANOWAR.

Ken Kelly: While on an English tour, MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio came across the noticed the "Guardsman of Gor" cover I painted for a paperback book. He was so blown away by what he saw that he immediately decided that he had to "work with that artist." He tracked me down through an English publisher. The rest is history.

Hard Rock: Your artwork perfectly suits MANOWAR.

Ken Kelly: Sword & Sorcery/Heroic Fantasy has been my fort for more than thirty years. It blends well with the MANOWAR philosophy.

Hard Rock: Describe your working relationship with the members of MANOWAR? Have you had disagreements? Do they offer advice or do they let you work alone?

Ken Kelly: Sometimes it is easy to create album covers for MANOWAR; other times it is not. I call Joey around midnight [the magic hour] and we hash out his concept for the painting. I work on a large canvas of at least 30" x 40", so it is frustrating when he has a creative brainstorm and asks me to start over from scratch when I have nearly finished the painting. This is the normal process we go through, however, to achieve the final results. I trust that he knows exactly where we should be going and, so far, he has been right on target.

Hard Rock: The artwork for the single " Warriors of the World United " is different from the recent MANOWAR album covers, which features the big muscular warrior. Can you describe the artwork for the full-length album, Warriors Of The World?

Ken Kelly: The cover art for the single was intentionally made to look different from the album cover art. The flags depicted on the cover of the single will appear on the back of the full-length Warriors Of The World. The members of MANOWAR did not want to give away the album cover art until its release date and, from the numbers of e-mails I've received asking what it will look like, it was a smart move. I will not describe how it looks; you will have to ask Joey.

Hard Rock: What other metal bands would you like to work with?

Ken Kelly: I already work with the greatest heavy metal band in the world. Why would I want to look further?!?!

Hard Rock: Thank you.

Ken Kelly: Once again, thank you and remember to visit my website [www.kenkellyart.com] to view more of my Sword & Sorcery/Heroic Fantasy artwork.