Alt Press talked with Nicholas Prior, the photographer behind Brand New’s The Devil and God… artwork, to discuss the photo ten years later:
I don’t know specifically how the band first came to see the image. The band presumably first saw the image at my solo show at Yossi Milo Gallery in New York City. I assume there was one person who made the first suggestion to use it, though, and I don’t know who that person is. The band didn’t reach out to me directly; rather, Interscope Records (Universal Music Group) contacted my gallery, so there were several intermediaries involved. Originally, when Yossi first told me about the offer—and before I even knew which band was behind the request—I declined. The band was very committed to this image, though, which meant something to me, so I asked a few more questions—chiefly, about which band was behind the request, and their intended treatment of the image. Interscope sent me an advanced copy of the album, and listening to it clearly sealed the deal. I agreed to cropping the image to a square, but I didn’t want any text on the cover which, I think, makes the cover much more compelling and intriguing—though it did seem to confuse David Letterman.