20 of the Sickest Metal Album Covers

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


“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
That’s one kick-ass bed. Do you think they sell that at Ikea?



“Overkill” by Motorhead
Motorhead
A brilliant f%$!ing design and a great use of color. Lemmy’s music matches the power of the cover image…in spades.



“Iron Maiden” by Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
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.



“Screaming For Vengeance” by Judas Priest
Judas Priest
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


“South of Heaven” by Slayer
Slayer
The detail on this cover is quite remarkable, but I think I’ll stay up North for the time being.



“Morbid Visions” by Sepultura
Sepultura
There’s nothing that goes better with a little Brazilian thrash like blasphemy. Not to mention, those ghostly serpents freak me out.



“Return to the Apocalyptic City” by Testament
Testament
Clearly inspired by Eddie, but juiced up for the ’90s.



“The Blueprints For Madness” by Deceased
Deceased
This one gets my vote because of the eerie relevance to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.



“Walls of Jericho” by Helloween
Helloween
This is really the reason the walls of Jericho fell in the 16th century BCE.



“Scream Bloody Gore” by Death
Death
Great logo, great title, and great image of the skeletons toasting evil in a chamber littered with skulls.



“Release From Agony” by Destruction
Destruction
I’m not sure what the heck this creature is supposed to be, but it’s freakin’ fantastic.



“Evil in the Night” by Merciless Death
Merciless Death
Misogynistic, kitchy, and colorful. What more can you ask?



“Swallowed In Black” by Sadus
Sadus
This is a great image. Kind of reminds me of a skeletal version of the Silver Surfer.



“Back From the Dead” by Obituary
Obituary
Lots of blood and waking skeletons, along with a metallic logo. This is pure metal imagery.


THE SICKEST!


“Live Kreation” by Kreator
Kreator
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!



“Get What You Deserve” by Sodom
Sodom
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.



“Tortured Existence” by Demolition Hammer
Demolition Hammer
Great detailed drawing with vivid colors. Tortured existence pretty much sums it up.



“Back From the Dead” by Obituary
Obituary
Lots of blood and wlaking skeletons, along with a metallic logo. This is pure metal imagery.



“Indecent & Obscene” by Dismember
Dismember
Music to capture your heart.



“Butchered At Birth” by Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
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.