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Cam Rackam was born in Huntington Beach, California. He grew up in the 90s punk rock/hardcore scene and has lived in almost every city in orange county. He attended high school with musicians like Throwdown, The Dirty Heads, HB Surround Sound, 18 Visions, Atreyu, Bleeding Through and Avenged Sevenfold. There he made his first album cover for M Shadows high school band Successful Failure. A troubled youth, Cam quietly re found his passion for the art. In 2001 he locked himself in his one-car garage for 6 months. "I had no electricity, so I worked by candle light. Just sealed myself off from the world, lite 100 candles, crank some metal, and paint the slide show to the Apocalypse. And I wonder why the neighbors didn't like me." When he emerged he brought his demons with him, on canvas. Six years later he hasn't slowed down. In 2003 his first commercial release for Avenged Sevenfold was the Heads Off painting. "It was a birthday gift for Matt. I didn't realize Id be seeing it at every record store across the country." From there he went on to work on their City of Evil record, The Confession's Requiem, and their new A7X self titled release, including countless merchandise applications. Represented by Freeze Management(The Used, Head Automatica), Cam appeared on the All Excess DVD discussing the early roots of the band. He has his own merchandise company. He is the chief designer at Darkride Skateboards. A contributor to the yellow ribbon fund. And still finds time to help small bands out. C. Rackam can be found at his art shows, which are more like party events, buying his fans drinks and pressing the flesh. "I only show with Hamhawk. Cant get shit done without him. We share the same vision that art shows are places for real people to have fun and enjoy art." "His art, an apocalyptic style that captures the ghosts of Hieronymus Bosch. Monsters and demons protrude the earth through his paint strokes. His fine detail displays a colorful hallucination of his dreams laid out on canvas. His loyalty to art is that of a classical and modern art that can create anything from a full scale composition of oil painting to album covers to fonts." Like the Zodiac killer hunts teenagers, Cam Rackam's scorched canvas is like a punch to the head. Screaming Bosch like demons, and apocalyptic visions of the afterlife, walking though his gallery is like being plunged into hell. Sixty's horror, medieval torture, and free masonry cake the walls like a crime scene. His content has captured the eyes of the music industry and most of his commissions stem from rock bands. "Rock Music Art is a genre I'm most comfortable with. Art for real people, music fans like myself." His art shows are here and gone in a matter of a few days, "Its like a big party celebrating artists, who celebrate death." Hand made merchandise, prints and even masterworks are given away at the shows. Blending sound into art, Cam creates the visual aids for bands like The Confession, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer, Unwritten Law, Last Revelation, The Leo Project and As I Lay Dying.

Editor in chief Justin DeBernardo, The Local