Very Metal by Weston Frizzell

Limited Edition Screenprint

Image size in millimetres: 330 x 430 (Overall print size 380 x 560mm)
Edition of 50 full colour screenprints. Signed, numbered and titled by the artists in pencil.

Fans of heavy metal music won’t need an explanation of the symbolism of the hand gesture that is the subject of Weston Frizzell’s latest print “Very Metal”.

Originally representing the horned goat (the raised index and little fingers symbolise the horns and the closed middle fingers and thumb represent the mouth of the goat) according to humanhand.com “It is quite difficult to predict who has brought about this evil sign to make the acquaintance of American heavy metal ecstasy. In 1969 Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band Coven released their album “Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls” where they used an image on their back album cover showing their members giving the sign of “mano cornuto.” They are known to use this “devil’s sign” always at the beginning and end of each concert.

Heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio of Black Sabbath band was known to share the primal credit for popularising this hand sign among the metal fans for the first time across the world. Dio, in his childhood, saw his Italian grandmother to make this sign to parry evil eye and got attracted to the magical incantation and the irresistible devilish attitude of raising horn sign. In 1978 before joining Black Sabbath he took up this hand gesture in an attempt to connect the fans with a declaration of high testosterone and sending out a jolt of love, hence making them crazy in front of their metal-god.Irrespective of origin and purpose of the Horned Hand gesture metal fans all over the world have embraced this hand sign as a mystique metallic evil symbol which soon cast its overwhelming spell over millions of fans of the Rock world. This omnipresent hand sign is widely used by the rock music lovers to signify that the concert has won their enthusiastic plaudits.”