20 of the Sickest Metal Album CoversBy
Metal Marcy Share:
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Misogyny, death, torture, demons, blood, skulls, serpents, corpses, just some of the lovely imagery that grace heavy metal album covers of all genres. When writing this piece I was reminded of the classic scene in the metal parody, “This Is Spinal Tap,” where the band’s lead singer, David St. Hubbins, explains the concept behind the cover art for their soon to be released album, “Smell the Glove.” It features “a greased, naked woman on all fours with a dog collar around her neck and a leash…and a man’s arm holding on to the leash extended out to her shoving a black glove in her face to sniff it.” Unfortunately, Spinal Tap’s fictional record label, Polymer, refused to release it with this image, concerned that Sears and Kmart would boycott, so the boys in Tap ultimately settled on the solid black sleeve. The black cover prompted guitarist Nigel Tufnel to famously comment, “It’s like, ‘how much more black could this be?’ and the answer is none. None more black.” Well, needless to say, bands don’t seem to have the same problems as Spinal Tap when it comes to releasing album art with questionable taste. Indeed, “Smell the Glove” seems quite tame in comparison to a lot of metal artwork these days. I’m not easily shocked, but even I found a lot of the covers listed below to be pretty repulsive. But then again, isn’t that part of what makes metal so entrancing? Warning: what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart. A FEW OLD CLASSICS TO WARM YOU UP
 That’s one kick-ass bed. Do you think they sell that at Ikea?
 A brilliant f%$!ing design and a great use of color. Lemmy’s music matches the power of the cover image…in spades.
Eddie is introduced to the world along with the powerhouse pre-Dickinson Iron Maiden. “Killers” or “Number of the Beast” could have easily made this list, and although he would get meaner as time went on, I still prefer this early incarnation of Eddie.
 Just before Priest’s reign started to wane, they put out this great album with a killer title, a stunning cover with bright colors and nasty-looking mechanical hawk that looks like it could destroy Tokyo.
THINGS GET SICKER
 The detail on this cover is quite remarkable, but I think I’ll stay up North for the time being.
 There’s nothing that goes better with a little Brazilian thrash like blasphemy. Not to mention, those ghostly serpents freak me out.
 Clearly inspired by Eddie, but juiced up for the ’90s.
 This one gets my vote because of the eerie relevance to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
 This is really the reason the walls of Jericho fell in the 16th century BCE.
 Great logo, great title, and great image of the skeletons toasting evil in a chamber littered with skulls.
 I’m not sure what the heck this creature is supposed to be, but it’s freakin’ fantastic.
 Misogynistic, kitchy, and colorful. What more can you ask?
 This is a great image. Kind of reminds me of a skeletal version of the Silver Surfer.
 Lots of blood and waking skeletons, along with a metallic logo. This is pure metal imagery.
THE SICKEST!
 This is one of my absolute favorites. A zombie creature playing his victim like a cello, with his insides as strings and a leg bone as a bow. Brilliant!
 Snuff film imagery with a fat man sprawled on the bed, sliced open, blow-up dolls, and a woman bound and tied to a radiator. A romantic night gone awry.
 Great detailed drawing with vivid colors. Tortured existence pretty much sums it up.
 Music to capture your heart.
 I will never look at cow turd the same way again.
 This one takes the cake. The sickest metal album cover ever. Take a look at what’s hanging in the background. No need for any further descriptions.
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COMMENTS (87)
meghan said:
This list is complete. I have nothing to add here. Slayer & Obituary top mine for sure!!!! s8n666 said:
Cool list, I knew Cannibal Corpse would place near the top. Why is Obituary “Back from the Dead” listed twice? [...] Because Fridays are not meant to be working days, let me share this with you: 20 of the Sickest Metal Album Covers. [...] p said:
It is an bootleg, but still, what about Mayhem’s Dawn of the Black hearts? I mean, look at it! It has in it’s cover the band’s, well, ex-singer after he shot himself. And who took the photo? The band’s guitarist. Zone said:
Cannibal Corpse – The Wretched Spawn is pretty damn sick too. Good list, though. http://www.tomamusica.com/caratulas/C/Cannibal-Corpse-The-Wretched-Spawn-Del-2004-Delantera.jpg Grapfx said:
Nice list. I would add Kreator’s Terrible Certainty just for the kick ass hardcore demon. Andrew said:
By far, the top of any list must be Iron Maiden. The one thing they have over the others is consistent originality. They have always turned out albums with kick-ass covers, that is until Derek Riggs left the Maiden family. Some of the others is not really shocking, just more like “gore”. I’ve seen worse pictures of the covers of horror novels. The idea is that if you can’t scare the customer, you can gross them out. Sort of the difference between a true horror movie (Psycho) and a slasher movie (Friday the 13th). jeff said:
Excuse me? what about dawn of the black hearts from mayhem? it has their lead singer Dead on the front with his brains blown out….the actual picture of his suicide. Brian said:
Cheesy. All so Cheesy except for Judas Priest’s hawk. Its all cliche and goofy to me. Hey, we’re a metal band so lets put skulls on our album cover! Lame. Look at Metallica’s Black album. Now that’s a cover that lets the music do the talking. Cliche goofy cheese is what this list is. steve said:
Some of the Deicide album covers are pretty harsh too. robu said:
Those covers are weaksauce. All of these album covers are brilliantly, gloriously, stupid. Just incredibly good! Thanks! George Bezak said:
I would have included Dio’s “Holy Diver”. Erik said:
What,no Cradle Of Filth’s Cruelty And The Beast? lilydew said:
mayhem … dawn of the black hearts *shivers* jason said:
poor quality. i could barely make out some of the artwork you were describing RollTide said:
You forgot “Ethnic Cleansing” the most offensive/twisted album cover of all time il Bern said:
Well, what about Dawn of the black hearts by Mayhem?. God, it has a guy who committed suicide in the front… and no matter how sick a draw can get, that tops it all Evil One said:
You missed the album by Mayhem where the cover is the actual suicide of their (former) lead singer, wrists slashed and head blown off. Not a painting, the real thing. When they found his body they took pictures, and used em for the next album, KOri said:
This whole list should consist entirely of cannibal corpse covers. Check out the non-censored versions of Vile, Tomb of the mutilated, gallery of suicide, worm infested and the wretched spawn. Now thats a list. Douglas said:
I believe the Mayhem cover with the suicide pictures on the front is a bootleg, which doesn’t really count as it wasn’t sanctioned by a label. Although there’s no argument that it has to be the sickest of all. d34thw15h said:
Pig Destroyer – Prowler in the Yard FTW efcos said:
i was hoping to see Once Upon The Cross, by Deicide. Randy said:
Pungent Stench’s “Been Caught Buttering” should have been in the top three. (http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v256/Metallicakc/Pungent.jpg) Any Meat Shits album would have worked as well(http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/382586.jpg). You put Obituary’s “Back From The Dead” on your list twice. Brad said:
Why are the images all blurry and shite? Weak-ass list. slamaskin said:
this one is sickest it is called Funeral rape Chainsaw in the cunt slamaskin said:
sal said:
hah! good post txpunk said:
Makis said:
Carcass “reek of putrefaction” is missing pinay sexy said:
black sabbath’s was very nice jojopumpkin said:
Brian Said “…Look at Metallica’s Black album. Now that’s a cover that lets the music do the talking…” WTF? Metallica hasn’t had their music do any talking since “…and justice for all”. james savik said:
Skinny Puppy? Steve said:
Jesus Christ! If you’re going to call yourself “Metal Marcy” at least know what the fuck you are talking about. Bruce Dickinson wasn’t even IN Iron Maiden when Killers was released. That would be Paul Di’Anno dumbass poser. Geoff said:
No Venom ???? Dank Moe said:
Not to be a total dick, but if you’re going to do a list like this regarding album cover art, you should really have much larger images that aren’t blurry and useless. What’s the point, otherwise? To read your in depth analysis of said covers? Anomuumi said:
Doesn’t have Goblin Cock CarcassFan said:
Carcass, Symphonies of Sickness HAS THESE ALL BEAT!!! omfg said:
You fucking FAIL. Like. Hard. http://www.sonsofnero.com/protestthehero/PROTESTOFHERO_cover.jpg BG said:
Check out by Matando Güeros by Brujeria. http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=7363 Pretty hard core. JamConnect said:
What about these : LadyLucifer said:
Any Cannibal Corpse album takes the cake. Honestly, they also have the most graphic song names: Hatchet to the Head, Savage Butchery, and Sanded Faceless are the ones that come to mind atm. Metalhead said:
I think you missed a few of the best metal cover albums of all time… What about these : Not to mention there’s no GWAR or Cradle of Filth albums listed !!! Scurz said:
How about the original art on Scorpion’s Virgin Killer? No gore, but it’s sick alright. tompkins said:
i love that the blackhearts bootleg is listed so many times in the comments. That’s hands down the sickest, simply because it is real. You guys do know that Mayhem collected pieces of Dead’s (how appropriate a stage name) skull and made necklaces out of it, sending it to other Nordic/northern European bands like Samael? [...] http://biolog.jamsbio.com/2008/08/07/20-of-the-sickest-metal-album-covers/ _uacct = “UA-2148350-1″; urchinTracker(); [...] steven said:
This list is pathetic. It looks like it was put together by a 13 year old just getting started exploring metal. Do you even listen to metal? (and no, listening Bon Jovi doesn’t count as listening to metal.) Douglas said:
Hey Steve, take a minute to read the article before slamming the writer. When referring to the cover listed, she says “PRE-Dickinson” Iron Maiden. Efunk said:
Cannibal Corpse is my favorite… I used to work in a record store when that album came out, and I remember showing it to everyone at the store while always getting the same response “UGH YUCK! get that S**t out of my face” HA and it’s still great too see! Thanks for the memories… Corb said:
Brian, don’t be an idiot. The cover shouldn’t do the speaking. There are plenty of good albums with crappy covers, and plenty of crappy albums with good covers. The cover should reflect the music. I think an album cover such as Cannibal Corpse’s “Butchered At Birth” tells the listener “Hey, this album is about killing people, and there will be plenty of gore”. Whereas a STUPID album cover like Metallica’s self-titled or “The Black Album” as it’s called, does absolutely nothing for the music. It’s a decent album album at best, but it’s the beginning of the end for that band. Avisioncame said:
I thought this would be another “best of metal” thing with bands like whitesnake, and shit like that. But this is great, and I think you “nailed” it with butchered at birth; I think that album cover alone sparked my interested in metal music as a young punk kid. isa said:
LOL FAIL. There are much sicker… I would imagine you do not know your metal. Also, whoever said Protest the Hero’s album cover is ’sick’ needs to remove him or her self from the gene pool. First off they clearly do not know what the term fucking means; secondly Protest the Hero is a shitty band made up of pussy faggots. notstupid said:
Do yourself a favor and google to mega therion and then fix the list Keisha-Mae said:
hey, i think the cover to blooddrunk by children of bodom is pretty sick. Cow said:
The most offensive album cover ever is definitely Jihad by Slayer. In the UK, shops have to put a piece of blank card in the case so you can’t see the album cover. ManManMan said:
Impaled has some interesting covers. http://static.metal-archives.com/images/1/7/0/4/170457.jpg Jimmy J said:
Nice. We just did a similar list of the top 5 thrash metal band tees. Mad Cow said:
I think Cow (above) means Christ Illusion, the album that features the track ‘Jihad’. I’ve not seen the cover censored in the UK – I bought my copy, unusually, in a high street branch of a big chain (I know; the shame’s killing me) and they had the original cover artwork – so it must be down to the individual retailer rather than a blanket ban. Alejandro Munera said:
I would have loved seeing some Exodus, King Diamond and Celtic Frost cover art….. Nice list though… Devo said:
BRUJERIA – MATANDO GUEROS http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9673/matandogeros1zp2.jpg and Mayhem, definitly! Felicity said:
Unfortunately the images were so small and low-resolution that I couldn’t tell anything about the covers’ sickness or lack thereof. [...] Travis Smith debo reconocer. Para ver lo “tradicional” te recomendaría visitar “las 20 portadas más enfermas del Metal“, podrán comprobar que minimalismo no es con lo que mejor se llevan, incluyendo estas. Ah, [...] nightcomers said:
amico hai ragione! fanno davvero ridere quelle immagini… se viste in un certo modo! hai davvero del sano humor nero!! ron said:
mostly death metal and grindcore bands uses the sickest cover arts Derek said:
Cesspool of Vermin “Beastial Necrophilia” is THE sickest album cover ever made!! Here it is uncensored: http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=foldertg1.jpg Derek said:
Revolver Magazine voted Cesspool of Vermin in the top 12 Sickest Album Covers Ever! Check it out! jeffermetal said:
Necrophagia anyone? Adam Smith from RIAA said:
This is RIAA, remove this you filthy burglay. The children of the artists who produced this are starving, you monster! Philip Norton said:
You missed Sacred Reich – Heal, although some of the sicker ones beat it hands down. izzy rocks said:
I’ve got to include Megadeth’s Youthanasia album … It’s sick but it’s art.. Ryan said:
this would’ve been a little less stupid if the commentary was not included. chris said:
wheres lamb of god? McCow said:
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath was first, the best metal, the best cover, setting the stage for everybody & everything since the 70’s…..I Am Iron Man Kane said:
What about Megadeth’s Remastered Killing Is My Business? Granted its not as hardcore as some of the commented one, but it should have made this list none the less. http://www.galeon.com/allmusic/caratulas/m/megadeth_-_youthanasia-front.jpg cKHAVIKk said:
What? No Carcass? MFW said:
Seriously though it should have Carcass “Reek of Putrefaction” I’m sure there are plenty more grindcore, death metal etc album covers that are worse but this album is a well know classic B3lias said:
There is a metal band’s album which is not printed now I would think, where the cover is a picture of one of the band member’s after he committed suicide by shotgun. That takes the cake, for me. Kevin Healey said:
So Many More! weak list Endocannibalism said:
B3lias that would be Mayhem’s cd cover dont know which album though dont listen to them so.. bloodpool said:
nice list, i would add cradle of filth’s cruelty and the beast and belphegors lucifer incestus. im sure there are more horrific ones around but this is a nice list nonetheless babak said:
check the fucking covers of the band: Disgorge.then you’ll all change your minds. Crescent Shield said:
Great list – well done… I’m feeling a little queasy though zizo said:
mayhem have also an other scary album cover ( pure fucking armageddon ) Suzi Glass said:
Why are there no Deeds of Flesh albums? They have some of the sickest artwork out there. HOIK said:
no “Harvesting the Cunt Nectar” by XXX Maniak? cmon now… HOIK said:
oh, and “Prowler in the Yard” by Pig Destroyer… geez, and like a dozen others… this was the “sickest” right? (scratches head) |
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