Image via Complex Original
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Written by Steven Vogel.
Making a list about something subjective, such as art, is somewhat of a futile attempt. Squeezing your own personal likes into something objective is not going to work, unless of course you explain a few things before hand.
First and foremost, this here list is very subjective. Any list that tries to quantify art has to be. I truly believe that any form of art is not about competition. However, and for the sake of this list I have tried to do base my choices on the following:
1. I gave up trying to define the borders for Heavy Metal here, but let’s not get into the typical knuckle dragging genre defining metal nerdness here. Simply put, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Mastodon are Heavy Metal. Guns N’Roses is not. Cool?
2. Does the artwork, or has the artwork had, a cultural impact on heavy metal fans and possibly beyond that?
3.. Do I like the artwork and additionally, how does it co-relate to the actual album?
Again, art is a question of personal taste. I am sure some of you might miss the obvious ones in here, but I’ll try and give a reason for it. If not, then it should be obvious or I just couldn’t be bothered.
That said, here are The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Album Covers.
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50
50. Earth Pentastar: In the Style of Demons (1996)
There is no doubt to the musical importance of Earth — I know Sunn O is the hipsters choice for stating their interest in real music, but Earth is where it is at. Pentastar was their 3rd album and marked an introduction to a more rock orientated sound. Their “abstract” or totally non-traditional metal/drone cover is great- hinting at the Plymouth ‘Cuda and all they imply is what spoke to me when I picked this up. Alice Wheeler took the photo for this cover.
49
49. Clutch Strange Cousins From the West (2009)
This was one of the instances where I almost pulled the nerd gun out and screamed: “But Clutch isn’t heavy metal!!” Well, like fuck it is. It’s actually heavier than most of the other stuff on this list, but Clutch have their own way of doing things. I have no clue who did this cover, but it is by far my favorite one from this great band.
48
48. Queens of the Stone Age Rated R (2000)
A great example of excellent graphic design hiding one of the finest examples of super stoned out rock n’roll. Yeah you read right, I think calling QOTSA metal is marginal — there are certainly elements of it, not so much on this album but later in their life, but I could not, not put this up in this list. There is a red version out there on vinyl that I have seen, but I prefer Francesca Restrepo’s blue version.
47
47. EYEHATE GOD 10 Years of Abuse (and still broke) (2001)
Photography can be art, at least in my book, and especially when one photo sums up 20 years of being a fan and particularly, 10 years of being in one of the most uncompromising bands in heavy metal. This photo is about as awesome of a cover as you can get.
46
46. Sunn O))) Flight of the Behemoth (2002)
Oddly enough, and as popular as Sunn O))) is with everyone that thinks Metal needs some sort of artistic relevance beyond the music, this is my favorite cover that they used. From a musical point of view, this album is excellent. Stephen O’Malley was responsible for artwork, he is obviously also known as their bass player, as well as the art dude that bands like Boris have gone to in the past.
45
45. Lard 70s Rock Must Die (2000)
Anything involving Jello Biafra is going to make some sort of statement, whether you like it or not. Obviously, and as great as the Dead Kennedy’s album covers were, they have no place here — so LARD was the next obvious choice. This came out in 2000, and I picked it up mainly because of the artwork. I hate 70s power pop rock as much as the next guy and this really spoke to me.
Jason Rosenberg and Biafra were responsible for this spoof.
44
44. Samhain Initium (1984)
Mr. Danzig’s first album after leaving Misfits, it is also the best work he has done before starting the band Danzig as far as I am concerned. Like the album itself, the cover speaks volumes, continuing into the horror theme show mixed with Satanism- it also marks the reappearance of the infamous “Danzig” skull. Classic shit.
43
43. Kyuss And the Circus Leaves Town (1995)
This cover continues to trip me out even today. It is one of those great photographs where, initially you think you know what up and down is and the longer you look at it the more confusing it gets. Which is a prefect way to describe this monster of an album in itself.
42
42. Helmet Meantime (1992)
I remember a journalist in 1993 comparing Helmet to Ministry with this analogy:” Helmet are a precise knock to the jaw, whereas Ministry is a tidal wave of noise fucking you up.” Granted, I went to that show, purely based on that note, and I have always thought that this album cover really embodies that. It’s mechanic, it’s precise and it hits you where it hurts. There was a red cover, with a blue logo (shown as album cover), but there was also a blue cover with a red logo. I much prefer this one.
41
41. Fu Manchu The Action Is Go (1997)
Not only the best Fu Manchu album, but also the best cover. Just that much better than the first couple tries of materializing southern California culture and THAT much better than anything that followed. Urethane Jams!
The photo is a classic Tony Alva shot by Glen E.Friedman from 1977.
40
40. Corrosion of Conformity America's Volume Dealer (2000)
This is definitely a case of the cover being better than the product. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some COC as much as the next fan but I just never warmed to this album. The artwork for it though is incredible. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to figure out who did the artwork, but it should be a case study at art school.
39
39. Boris Akuma No Uta (2003)
A great play on the infamous Nick Drake “Bryter Layter” cover, Akuma No Uta or “The Devil’s Song” is the fith album by Boris. The most notable difference between the covers is the obvious change from Nick Drake’s acoustic 6 string to Takeshi’s double–neck Ibanez. I am not entirely sure who shot this photo, but I am assuming it comes directly from the Boris camp.
38
38. Black Tusk The Fallen Kingdom (2007)
Another great piece of artwork by Baroness frontman John Baizley. A lot of his work for other bands in a round about way remind me of Frank Frazetta, which is a good thing. Again, I’ve been trying to track down at least a print of this, but no luck.
37
37. Fear Factory Demanufacture (1995)
Granted, Fear Factory’s 2nd album is not as good as their first one, but the cover art is infinitely better in comparison. Fear Factory were ground breaking when it came to bringing their vision of man vs. machine to light, through their live shows and obviously through their music. This cover by Dave McKean really gets to the point of their vision brilliantly.
36
36. Isis In The Absense of Truth (2006)
Again, not the greatest album by one of heavy metal’s greatest bands, which still puts it way and above 99% of the shit you’ll ever make or listen to. Aaron Turner, on the other delivered a master piece of artwork for it. So much so, that I have trying to buy the original for a long time.
35
35. The Sword Warp Riders (2010)
The Sword are like a musical version of all the 70s science fiction pulp artwork combined, awesome beyond metal. Their roots obviously lie much more in the Doom part of heavy metal, but it is with their last two releases and the accompanying art direction that they have come whole. The incredibly talented Dan McPharlin is responsible for this beauty.
34
34. Sleep Dopesmoker (2003)
There are so many legends in the annals of heavy metal surrounding this album it by default had to make it on this list. There is even a documentary about it, which if you haven’t by now, need to watch. Again, the artwork is by Arik Roper and this is where the artist's ability really shines.
33
33. Fudge Tunnel Hate Songs In E Minor (1991)
Just perfect, one picture not only sums up this album but everything Fudge Tunnel were about and any fan will now exactly what I am talking about. This was about as anti-91 Sub Pop as you could imagine.
32
32. 35007 Liquid (2002)
35007 (or Loose, depending how you look at it) are one of those amazing sound-scape stoner rock bands that you have over here in Europe. At a first, badly educated glance there isn’t a whole lot of “metal” about this, but trust me, this is one of the most beautifully designed packaging for a serious metal band. Released in 2002, this instrumental album is metal’s answer to Pink Floyd after Syd Barrett left and before Animals came out. The CD packaging was incredible, thick cardboard and beautifully printed. The artwork was done by Luk Sponselee.
31
31. Boris Heavy Rocks (2011)
Great album, great band and one of my favorite covers of all time. I’ve been trying to get this done as a wallpaper actually - without the name Boris on it- just because I really do like the color arrangement. Again, this purple version is the 2011 re-issue of the original, but I never did like the orange of the original.
30
30. Ministry In Case You Don't Feel Like Showing Up (Live) (1990)
This is one of those cases where the album is almost more important than the artwork on this list. I mean, how could I not include the best Ministry album on this list. The artwork itself isn’t all that groundbreaking, but it is instantly recognizable for what it is. At any given time you could give this to any serious fan of the rock and they’d know what they would be in for.
29
29. EyeHateGod Dopesick (1996)
This is the “other” cover to this 1996 release. The “normal” cover, was deemed less offending by the record industry, which always struck me as odd, considering the name of the band. Again, it is a waste of time to say how great and influential this album and band are, again, it is one of those albums that you pick up based on the artwork and you know what you are in for. Serious Bower Power. The artwork for this version was done by Tom Bejgrowicz.
28
28. Electric Wizard Dopethrone (2000)
Electric Wizard get bonus points for one of the baddest album names of all times, but I can assure you that at least half of the people that bought this groundbreaking piece of sludge metal picked it up because of the dope smoking Devil. Artwork by Hugh Gilmor.
27
27. Melvins / Lustmord Pigs of The Roman Empire (2004)
There are a ton of recognizable and good covers for, and from, the Melvins, but I have always liked this non-traditional Melvins approach for this split album. The album is a question of taste, I agree, but hell, they decided to release a 300 page coffee table art book, "Neither Here nor There" earlier that year to accompany this release. Take that art world.
26
26. Kreator Coma Of Souls (1990)
Again, Andreas Marschall at work for this classic Thrash Metal album. I would wager that this is exactly the type of album that most thrash bands like Exodus wish they had written.
25
25. Neurosis Times of Grace (1999)
I have a copy of this lino carving somewhere, which would explain why this is album is on this list. Aside from the fact that I have always dug Neurosis, no matter what type of music they played. I do think that this is by far the best piece of artwork they have ever used for their work. Bob McDonald did the original lino cut and some of you might have been lucky enough to have picked up some of the prints from the original.
24
24. Baroness A Horse Called Golgotha (2010)
John Baizley is what most people would probably call the heavy metal proto man. Seriously, this guy knocks out riffs and songs that most of us have unknowingly been waiting for ever since we were born, and to top it all off, he does all of Baroness’ own artwork. I’ve compared him to my generations Pushead. But saying that, I actually think he may be better.
23
23. Down Nola (1995)
The mother ship of all heavy metal super groups, this, their first album still to date sets the standard of modern real stoner metal. Next to Kyuss, obviously. The world certainly wasn’t ready in 1995 for this album and I don’t think people have grasped the importance and genius of it to date.
David Manteau was responsible for this great piece of artwork and Jim de Barros worked on it also.
22
22. Superjoint Ritual A Leathal Dose of American Hatred (2003)
Another one of Anselmo's off shoot bands, personally I always got a kick out of this band. I mean, Hank Williams III playing bass in a pretty out there jam band adds that much more weight to the already killer team. As far as the cover is concerned- well, what do you want? A Pentagram, Weed, and then some nice color combinations? They had me sold. Keith Nelter and Joe Fazzio dreamt this beauty up.
21
21. Obituary The End Complete (1992)
By this point, surely, some of you are surprised that there aren’t more obvious Black and Death Metal covers in this list. Mostly because I think they are all pretty crap to be honest and whilst some, like Cannibal Corpse have really gone out of their way to shock the hell out of everyone I don’t really rate the artwork for arts sake. Anyhow, this on the other hand is amazing. Aside from the fact that this album sold more records than all of your favourite mixtape hip-hoppers of the last ten years put together, the logo is instantly recognizable and readable and well, it’s SO Obituary it’s not even funny. Released in 1992 this was every parent’s nightmare — pure stoner devil worshiping death metal. Rob Mayworth designed the logo, and Andreas Marschall designed the cover for this beauty.
20
20. Corrosion of Conformity Eye For An Eye (1984)
Way before COC were known for their own take of the NOLA stoner rock version they played some serious hardcore/punk meets sludge. I guess that's what you would call it. Fact is though, and whilst “Eye for an Eye” certainly isn’t heavy metal per se. This is one of the first times their now iconic nuclear iron spike skull shows up, which, next to the Danzig/Crystar skull, was my favourite for a long time.
19
19. Rollins Band The End of Silence (1992)
Most people will probably recognize this piece of artwork by tattooist Rick Spellman as just that, Henry Rollins’ massive back tattoo — you are kind of right, that’s where it is taken from, question is though what came first? I don’t know either, but if someone does, please let me know.
18
18. High On Fire Death Is This Communion (2007)
Next to John Baizley comes Arik Roper. And, in my mind I cannot come to the conclusion as to which artist I prefer more. It’s almost like coffee, there are days when I like a straight espresso and then there are days when I need a double espresso, you figure out which one is which. Arik Roper is a genius though and whilst I think that this cover for High On Fire isn’t his greatest work, it ranks high on this list for a reason.
17
17. Kyuss Welcome To Sky Valley (1994)
Easily one of the best albums from the 90s, Welcome to Sky Valley is still to this day in my top 5 five all of heavy metal albums ever. At first glance it’s really only a picture, but in reality it is so much more. This simple picture sums up so much of my generations essentials, the late nights/early morning drug infused road trips to parties that are now only marketing gigs.
16
16. Slayer World Painted Blood (2009)
I can already hear the screams of “Sacrilege!!” but hear me out. As much as I am a fan of the classic Slayer albums, when it comes to the cover art I do believe that this is far superior to “those” other Slayer albums. Four different covers were made for this release, and when you put them all together you had the entire world map made up of human skulls and bones. I still haven’t been able to find out who did the artwork though.
15
15. Monster Magnet Spine Of God (1992)
Monster Magnet kind of ticked off all the cliché points in heavy metal design and music throughout their career. But, their early work, reminiscent of their drug excesses translates into better artwork also. I chose the 2006 re-issue over the original artwork simply due to personal taste. Rob Leecock was responsible for the bull god design and Alexander von Wieding worked on this re-issue.
14
14. Megadeth Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying (1986)
Similar to Iron Maiden, Megadeth have always had a 5th band member — the infamous Ed Repka is the obvious master mind behind most of their artwork. This is another case where you have to ask yourself the question, is this actually a good piece of art? Well, hell yes it is, as far as I am concerned Megadeth’s artwork is just as iconic as anything Iron Maiden have ever done. Truth be told, as a kid, I was scared witless by it.
13
13. Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral (1994)
This cover is as challenging as the album, and especially in retrospect, indicative of what you were about to listen to. The Downward Spiral is an absolute masterpiece. The artwork was done by renowned British artist Russell Mills, and this work, not just for the album but for the entire “Downward” story, is amazing.
12
12. Saint Vitus Heavier Than Thou (1991)
There is no point to talk about how awesome Saint Vitus were and are. You should just know. Obviously, this being their “compilation” album, the title is apt, more so, it’s as on-point as anything can be. I still haven’t figured out who drew the logo in the first place, but that shouldn’t diminish it’s place on this list. That logo was etched into many school desks by yours truly.
11
11. S.O.D. Speak English Or Die (1985)
One of the greatest albums in heavy metal history, there is or was enough controversy surrounding this to pale even Body Count. Essentially, S.O.D is Scott Ian’s creation, and as much as I love Billy Milano, this is all about Scott Ian — the Anthrax guitarist and head honcho. Scott was also the one that came up with Sergeant D., seen here on the ever exquisite cover, and hence the entire output of S.O.D.
10
10. Baroness Red Album (2007)
Baroness’ first full length album sets the bar on many levels, musically and especially aesthetically. One always does have to be a bit wary of calling out greatness when it comes to newish bands. But damn, if this doesn’t touch you, then you need to stop reading this story. Again, all artwork by John Baizley.
9
9. Metallica "One" (1988)
I know, I know.. I am sure everyone was waiting for Mastersor at least …justice, but truth be told, I never thought those album covers were THAT great. Sure, they are good, but the work Metallica did with none other than Pushead was the best. Now there is a ton of material that Pushead did for Metallica, but the 1988 single for “One” is my favourite one.
8
8. Venom Welcome To Hell (1981)
No list even mentioning the words “Heavy Metal” would be complete without Venom, musically and artistically. Without Venom, we wouldn’t have a lot of nothing these days. Really, if you get down to it, this album is an influential to heavy metal as anything Black Sabbath ever released, just not as well known outside of their fan base. I remember picking up a vinyl copy of this when I was a kid and automatically went, “damn it, this is what has been missing from my badly drawn Pentagram’s all this time.” I think I went on to adorn every school desk for years to come with this logo. Conrad Lant is the genius behind all the artwork.
7
7. Danzig Danzig (1988)
I know, I know, we all read the story how Mr. Danzig ripped his infamous skull logo off from Marvel’s “Crystar,” but if this wasn’t the baddest piece of artwork you could possibly own as a teenager in the 90s, then obviously I missed something. This was by far my favorite logo to etch into anything from the day I picked up my first Danzig album. I had countless t-shirts, belt buckles and god knows what else of this growing up- and as matter of fact I still wear the t-shirts. One of the greatest, despite the knock off.
6
6. Mastodon Leviathan (2004)
I could have easily picked every single Mastodon album for this list, as all of their cover art/packaging is amazing, but Leviathan has always been my favorite. I mean, come on, how many bands do you know that can write an entire concept album based on the greatest American novel ever written and continue that story visually into their album packaging. Paul Romano was responsible for this masterpiece.
5
5. Judas Priest British Steel (1980)
Choosing the best Judas Priest cover was a tough one, simply because they are so many iconic and excellent pieces of artwork to choose from. British Steel claims first place in my book though. The cover by Roslav Szaybo and photographed by R. Elsdale is so on point, it hurts. No pun intended. As metal as you will ever get.
4
4. Iron Maiden Killers (1981)
Not only their best album, but also the best version of “Eddie.” Derek Riggs has probably gone down in history for creating one of the most recognizable “logos” if that’s what you want to call “Eddie”- he is as much a part of the band as anyone else. I don’t even know how many brands, people and what not have ripped this off, but this is as great as you can get.
3
3. Pantera Vulger Display of Power (1992)
One of, the most influential heavy metal albums of my generation, the stories surrounding the making of this cover are legendary. For the longest time I was convinced it was Dimbag’s ( RIP )face being punched by Anselmo — but in one of the last interviews I found with Dimebag, in a side note he mentions that it was “just a fan” that they paid — and subsequently punched him in the face around 80 times to get this photo. Talk about dedication, I know how big Anselmo is, and that is last thing any one in their right mind would want is to get in a fight with that monster.
It is, however, one of the most recognizable and amazing covers in the history of heavy metal in my book — it speaks volumes about everything this album stands for, the music, lyrics, power and influence.
2
2. Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (1972)
As groundbreaking and essential Black Sabbath are to heavy metal, their artwork, well, it wasn’t all that great. Except for Vol.4. This monochrome photo of Ozzy during of their gigs has “inspired” countless other metal covers, most notably, Sleep’s Volume Two EP and so forth. The original release on vinyl, features a gatefold sleeve with a page glued into the middle. Each band member is given their own photo page, with the band on-stage (and photographed from behind) at the very center.
1
1. Motörhead Motörhead (1977)
Their first ever full length album, this 1977 release isn’t the greatest ever Motörhead release, but it is the first time the infamous Snaggletooth made it’s appearance. Joe Petagno is the artist behind it, and for this specific album he worked with designer Phil Smee who turned it into a negative and did the lettering to complete the logo.
In all seriousness, this is best damn cover art ever produced in heavy metal. The fact that Motörhead used this for every single album ( except two ) says it all, and it has become an institution in itself. It stands for everything Lemmy and his merry band of bastards are — heavier than any of us can ever aspire to be. All hail Lemmy.