Philadelphia based artist Paul Romano has been deeply rooted in the music scene since his youth when he would sketch his favorite album covers.

Today, Romano has turned a childhood hobby into a profession, designing album covers for accomplished bands such as Mastodon, The Red Chord and Jedi Mind Tricks. His style can best be described as Salvador Dali meets Rob Zombie.

I attended the opening reception of the artist’s exhibit last Saturday night at the Toothless Cat Gallery (The Piazza, 1050 N. Hancock St.).

A nice stroll through the Piazza on a brisk autumn night was exactly what I needed to get myself into the Halloween spirit. The solo exhibit was the icing on the cake.

I maneuvered through a mob of hipsters and made my way into the gallery. The wall to my left was covered with sinister looking portraits. The images included an aviator who appeared to have just escaped from an insane asylum, a three-headed blue man with a melting face and a black-eyed dim-witted thug. Front and center hung a large painting of a whale capsizing an old ship; two godlike demons hovered above a bruised sky. I recognized the composition as the artwork for Mastodon’s second album, Leviathan.

Romano specializes in branding; coming up with a theme and getting bands involved for multiple projects. Mastodon is perhaps the best example of this. Recruiting Romano to design their last four albums, the band has maintained an elemental concept, Leviathan representing the water element.

There seemed to be a genuine buzz about the room. Romano, who is an introvert through and through, was preoccupied the entire evening with handshakes and chit chat.

The man has more stories than a roadie for Alice Cooper, and after revealing my favorite band to be the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Romano spoke nonchalantly about the time he played pick up basketball with Flea and Anthony Kiedis.

The exhibit runs through Nov. 10 and is the perfect outing for the Halloween season. Come out to the event on Oct. 24 and for a minimal fee collaborate with the artist as he screens small posters from your best nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in a mad libs type fashion.