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1.
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Aara - Eiger
2024 — Sometimes the natural world is just as imposing as any monster or hulking figure drawn by an artist. "Eiger Mordwand" is a mountain in the Swiss Alps that's famous in mountaineering circles for being treacherous to climb (the latter part of its name means "Murder Wall"). The original photo is from an attempt to recover the body of mountaineer Toni Kurz, who died climbing the mountain in 1936 and whose tragic story is the main theme of the album. Normally I would find fault in so much space wasted for the band name and title, but in this case, the sharp verticality of the image is part of the appeal. (Artist: Michael Handt) |
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2.
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Duel - Breakfast With Death
2024 — Some covers can just be silly, right? The most horrifying aspect is that garish yellow interior. Yikes. |
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3.
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Hippotraktor - Stasis
2024 — Hypnotizing in its symmetrical intricacy. Also looks like a laser cannon if you screw your eyes up the right way. (Photographers: Chiaran Verheyden & Sam Coussens) |
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4.
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Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
2024 (Photographer: Briscoe Park) |
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5.
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Marche Funèbre - After The Storm
2024 (Artist/Photographer: Brooke Shaden) |
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6.
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Shadow And Claw - Whereabouts Unknown
2024 — One of the more guilty pleasure inclusions on the list, the dense fog above pine trees feels instantly familiar for a child of the Pacific Northwest. Of course, one may argue whether Boise, Idaho, where the band is from, counts as being part of the region. (Artist/Photographer: Aaron Bossart) |
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7.
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Graphic Nature - A Mind Waiting To Die
2023 — Either an electrocution or the moment before the crazy white people from "Get Out" steal your body. |
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8.
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Ov Sulfur - The Burden Ov Faith
2023 — Incredible costumes and makeup to communicate feminist themes of fallen angels and patriarchal abuse of power. (Costume Designer: MM Fabrications, Photographer: Blaqk Rabbit) |
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9.
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Polaris - Fatalism
2023 — Let's, get down, to business! To defeat, the Hun... Sorry, it just reminds me of "Mulan." They seem to need some serious help, and apparently don't feel to good about their chances. (Artists/Photographers: Sean Mundy, Bobby Hendry) |
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10.
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Urne - A Feast On Sorrow
2023 — As breathtaking as "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa," except that this one happens to be real. (Photographer: Rachael Talibart) |
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11.
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Bad Omens - The Death Of Peace Of Mind
2022 (Photographer: Oswaldo Cepeda) |
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12.
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Architects - For Those That Wish To Exist
2021 — Hey, astronauts aren't supposed to be in church! Clearly we are working with symbols, like religion, space, science, and enlightenment. The question is how to put them together. My interpretation is that science, especially climate or planetary science, remains a beacon of knowledge despite its detractors in today's world of "alternative facts" and post-truth. Then again, science within a broader context of spirituality is probably the best way to go. This is just my opinion though, man. (Photographers: Giles Smith, Tom Welsh) |
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13.
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Dream Theater - A View From The Top Of The World
2021 (Artist: Hugh Syme) |
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14.
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Eidola - The Architect
2021 — For those of us who remember The Magic School Bus, this looks like Arnold when he "dies" on Pluto. Also gives me General Grievous vibes. (Mask Design: Dan Schaub) |
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15.
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Emma Ruth Rundle - Engine Of Hell
2021 |
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16.
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King Woman - Celestial Blues
2021 |
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17.
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The Plot In You - Swan Song
2021 — The feeling of peeking through the blinders only to see something you definitely shouldn't be seeing. (Photographer: Rowan Daly) |
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18.
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Thy Catafalque - Vadak
2021 |
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19.
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Wolves In The Throne Room - Primordial Arcana
2021 |
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20.
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Many Blessings - Emanation Body
2020 — I took a mini poll, and it seems that a significant percentage of people (including myself) do not identify what's on this cover right away, though there are certainly many who do. I'll just say, if you're not sure if you know what it is, then you haven't seen it yet, and once you do see it, you'll never be able to unsee it. My pick for APOTD in the 2020s (thus far). (Photographer: Teddie Taylor) |
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21.
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Inter Arma - Sulphur English
2019 — There have been so many devastating forest fires in the Western United States lately that this gives me actual anxiety. Friends of friends have lost homes in Lahaina, Maui and the northern suburbs of Los Angeles. Mother Nature is, of course, amoral, and yet it seems like an act of retribution for our environmental neglect. Ravenous is the word that most comes to mind staring into the flame. (Photographer: Kari Greer) |
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22.
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Klone - Le Grand Voyage
2019 — Obviously this image has been doctored and photoshopped quite a bit, and also I'm not sure how it was taken in the first place, but good golly does it pop. It's a good reminder to take the aisle seat on a plane because you never know what spectacle you might see. (Artist/Photographer: Francesco Dell'Orto) |
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23.
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White Ward - Love Exchange Failure
2019 |
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24.
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Author & Punisher - Beastland
2018 (Artist/Photographer: Juha Arvid Helminen) |
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25.
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The Eternal - Waiting For The Endless Dawn
2018 |
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26.
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Pharmakon - Contact
2017 — Similar to Cattle Decapitation's "Terrasite," I just hate looking at this. Many covers in metal utilize hands in labyrinthine ways, but this one is definitely the creepiest. Like greasy maggots crawling all over her face. (Photographer: Jane Chardiet) |
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27.
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Deftones - Gore
2016 — Considering that the music on the album is not very gory, the "blood spatter" of pink flamingo wings is quite clever. Fun fact: A group of flamingos is called a "flamboyant," and you can see the world's biggest flamboyant at Lake Nakuru in Kenya, where the cover's photograph was taken. (Artist/Photographer: Frank Maddocks) |
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28.
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Départe - Failure, Subside
2016 |
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29.
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Night Verses - Into The Vanishing Light
2016 |
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30.
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Obsequiae - Aria Of Vernal Tombs
2015 |
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31.
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Alcest - Shelter
2014 |
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32.
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Bethlehem - Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
2014 — I really like this image. It's a common sight in so many of our houses, on windowsills and the like, and yet few of us have probably ever taken a close look. Isn't it odd how flies reach their demise upside-down? That said, the album title, which describes an irrational fear of 666, is a dumb word, and seems to make a mockery of the phobia it describes. And what does a dead fly have to do with anything? (Artist/Photographer: Jürgen Bartsch) |
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33.
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Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise
2014 |
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34.
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An Autumn - Try Not To Destroy Everything You Love
2013 |
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35.
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Carcass - Surgical Steel
2013 |
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36.
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Enslaved - RIITIIR
2012 (Artist/Photographer: Truls Espedal) |
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37.
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Vita Imana - Uluh
2012 |
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38.
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An Autumn - Lost
2010 |
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39.
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Deftones - Diamond Eyes
2010 — What a glorious bird. Like a better version of Rush's "Fly By Night." (Photographer: John Ross) |
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40.
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Be'lakor - Stone's Reach
2009 — I get the feeling many Renaissance sculptors would have been hardcore metalheads. Based on the sculpture "Perseus with the Head of Medusa" by Benvenuto Cellini, revealed in 1554. (Photographer: Gianfrancesco A) |
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41.
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Celeste - Misanthrope(s)
2009 |
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42.
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Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
2009 (Artists/Photographers: Travis Smith, Wojtek Kutyla) |
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43.
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OSI - Free
2006 |
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44.
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Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
2005 |
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45.
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The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
2005 |
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46.
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Forgotten Tomb - Love's Burial Ground
2004 |
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47.
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Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer
2004 — For my money, this wins the award for best cover that most people would consider provocative. Reportedly the result of doctoring an image from a porn magazine using nothing but a copy machine, it's equal part seductive as it is vulnerable and grotesque. Though the eye is drawn initially to the breasts, the most distinctive feature is, instead, the face darkened in shadow. Then the paint smatter is the chef's kiss. (Artist: Chris Taylor) |
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48.
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Deep Purple - Bananas
2003 — There seems to be a dislike for this cover among the Deep Purple faithful that I just don't understand. Maybe because I lived for years in a SE Asian country it hits me better than most. Showing an early stage of the supply chain for a popular item seems pretty metal to me, if that could be said to have any meaning. Those are some of the faces that bring you bananas. Rock on y'all. (Photographer: Bruce Payne) |
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49.
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Drudkh - Forgotten Legends
2003 |
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50.
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Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja
2003 |
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51.
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A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
2003 |
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52.
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Agalloch - The Mantle
2002 — Perhaps more iconic than truly artistic, this is the image I get when I think of Agalloch: The Deer. It represents the chilly, grey winters of the Pacific Northwest (where I'm from) fairly well, and forebodes that awesome deer bone sound in the song "The Lodge." (Photograph of Thompson Elk Monument in Portland, OR) |
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53.
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Anthem - Overload
2002 — This features a nuclear fusion reactor called a "Tokamak," first built in the Soviet Union in the 1950s-60s. It attempts to use a magnetic field to hold plasma/ionized gas in a donut shape at very low pressure. The first true "success" was in 1997, when 16 megawatts were produced from 24 megawatts of input. If it ever produces at a scale that's cost-effective for consumers, it could very well solve most (all?) of our energy problems and go a long way to combating climate change. (Photograph of JET facility in Oxford, UK) |
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54.
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Between The Buried And Me - Between The Buried And Me
2002 |
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55.
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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
2002 — Possibly the first metal album to truly captivate me, and it started with the creepy blue figure on the cover. Where is his pupil? (Artist/Photographer: Lasse Hoile) |
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56.
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Slipknot - Iowa
2001 |
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57.
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Brujeria - Brujerizmo
2000 |
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58.
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Dan Swanö - Moontower
1999 — Isn't the human creation magnificent? It's also amazing how different things look under the microscope of a hyper close-up. Stimulates new perspectives. For instance, I've never thought of the eye as a million sperm-like squiggles congregating in a deep abyss, but I do now. (Photograph of Dan Swanö's eye) |
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59.
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Dark Sanctuary - Royaume Mélancolique
1999 |
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60.
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Darzamat - In The Opium Of Black Veil
1999 — Is this a Bonnie Raitt album? Just never see this kind of cover in metal. Very rad. Comes from a photo called "Oh! Those Fabulous Brom Sisters!" by a Czech artist. (Artist/Photographer: Jan Saudek) |
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61.
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Dødheimsgard - 666 International
1999 — Rumor has it what looks like blood is actually marmalade... |
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62.
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Lake Of Tears - Forever Autumn
1999 |
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63.
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Marduk - Panzer Division Marduk
1999 |
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64.
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Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
1999 |
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65.
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Godsmack - Godsmack
1998 — There's something about the image of this young woman that has always stuck with me. I hope she is happy in life, wherever she is. I also hope she doesn't sue the band like the former baby on the famous Nirvana cover. |
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66.
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Brutal Truth - Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom
1997 |
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67.
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Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
1997 |
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68.
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Fu Manchu - The Action Is Go
1997 |
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69.
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Kampfar - Mellom Skogkledde Aaser
1997 |
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70.
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Paradise Lost - One Second
1997 — I tend to be quite affected by close-ups of people's faces, so much so that watching Yann Arthus-Bertrand's documentary "Human" was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. This woman's face, with the closed eyes, crowsfeet, and pursed lips, is so weathered it comes off as almost aggressive. Kind of how I imagine Bathilda Bagshot in Harry Potter before she morphs into Nagini the snake. (Photographer: Susan Andrews) |
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71.
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Opeth - Morningrise
1996 |
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72.
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Alice In Chains - Alice In Chains
1995 |
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73.
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Fair Warning - Rainmaker
1995 |
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74.
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Storm - Nordavind
1995 |
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75.
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Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies
1994 — There's something about flies that is unbearable to most people. My father pursues them throughout the house. Heisenberg spends a full hour hunting one down in an infamous episode of "Breaking Bad." Cows swat them with their tail nonstop. Chris Rock talks about how the US only sends aid to Africa after they "wait for the flies," suggesting that flies are when the US finally finds poverty unbearable. Fittingly, during the photoshoot, it's been reported that the flies in the jar kept dying, and the kid behind the jar complained the entire time. What a dope cover. (Photographer: Rocky Schenck) |
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76.
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Korn - Korn
1994 — Korn kicked off a series of pretty impressive covers with an absolute banger that's as clever as it is frightening. The story is in the shadows, as the person out of frame is large, likely male, and holding what could be a gun and an instrument of torture. If that wasn't enough, the girl's shadow is altered to resemble a hanging body. Just diabolical. (Photographer: Stephen Stickler) |
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77.
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Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
1992 — Supposedly, the band asked their label for "something vulgar, like a dude getting punched," which is pretty stupid, but I can't deny that the result is memorable. The logo and title are pretty wack, though. (Photographer: Brad Guice) |
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78.
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Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
1992 — Obligatory inclusion of one of the most famous photos of all time. For those who don’t know, it shows the Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burning himself to death on a busy Saigon street in 1963 in protest of the South Vietnamese government’s persecution of religious sects, as leader Ngô Đình Diệm was a fervent Catholic. When I first learned this, many moons ago, I found it interesting that it was not in protest of the Vietnam War. Anyway, pretty perfect for the album with “FU I won’t do what you tell me!” Can’t get more sincere than Mr. Thích. (Photographer: Malcolm Browne) |
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79.
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Messiah - Extreme Cold Weather
1987 |
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80.
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Scorpions - Animal Magnetism
1980 — This is basically porn, but to accomplish it with everyone fully clothed and with no mouths open or obvious gestures is pretty impressive. I wonder what a gender reversal version would look like. (Photographer: Storm Thorgerson) |
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81.
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AC/DC - Highway To Hell
1979 — As far as band photo covers go, this has always been one of my favorites. One's got RBF, one looks like the friend they forgot about, one is on mushrooms, one is having the time of his life, and then there's Angus Young, who's wearing a hat with devil horns and giving the cheekiest expression ever. (Photographer: Jim Houghton) |
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82.
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Budgie - Impeckable
1978 — I don't have a cat, but whenever I cat sit, I use this toy that simulates a bird fluttering with some feathers tied to a string, and the cats absolutely lose their effing minds. They become cracked out lunatics and don't look unlike this cover. (Photographer: Sally Anne Thompson) |
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83.
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Deep Purple - Stormbringer
1974 — One of the biggest surprises for me putting this list together is that this cover comes from a photograph. What's pictured is a tornado near Jasper, Minnesota in 1927, with a nifty unicorn and some color added of course. It goes to show that there's a fine line between what's fantasy and what's simply fantastic in this world we live in. (Photographer: Lucille Handberg) |
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84.
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Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
1973 — Unique among Zeppelin albums for being the first not to feature the band's name, which resulted in their creepiest and most mysterious cover yet. The collage features two naked children/siblings with blonde hair scaling the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, and apparently took 10 days to perfect due to constant rain. (Artist/Photographer: Aubrey Powell) |
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85.
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Night Sun - Mournin'
1972 — This really reminds me of urban graves I've seen in my travels through Catholic areas of Latin America. Customers essentially rent rectangular slots in concrete slabs, so that the "walls" in the cemeteries look like they have hundreds of windows. One time in La Paz, Bolivia sticks with me. I had just arrived off a tiny, nausea-inducing plane ride from 6 weeks in the Amazon, the city was bustling, and the air was incredibly thin, with Mt. Illimani towering overhead. I walked through the city and eventually wandered into a large urban cemetery, where I spent several hours and found some much needed tranquility. I was also deeply affected by many of the displays in the graves. The majority were well cared for (i.e. clean, fresh flowers, trinkets, etc.), and most had some inscription or message or item that made them very personal, so you got a slice of life of the person that passed, or at least of their memory and the emotions of those still caring for them. Anyway, great cover. |
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86.
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Uriah Heep - Salisbury
1971 — I'm pretty much a pacifist, but I have to admit this looks badass. The orange fog is funky and elevates it above the standard military fare. (Photograph of a British Chieftain in Wiltshire, England) |
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87.
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Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
1970 — The cover that really started it all. Hilariously, the band had absolutely no input over what would appear. But the team at Vertigo Records really nailed the haunting, eerie atmosphere, and very few records so directly and memorably call out the cover artwork. The "figure in black" who "stands before me" is burned in my brain and those of many others I'm sure. The false color of the mill in Oxfordshire is quite memorable as well. (Photographer: Marcus Keef) |
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88.
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Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend
1970 — Somehow the award for creepiest cover for an album featured on MS from 1970 does not go to Black Sabbath. The second man is balding, bizarrely short, and without a left hand, and the two of them are standing on some sort of blood rug. Which one is Lucifer and which one is the friend? It's hard to tell. (Artist/Photographer: Juligan Studio) |
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89.
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Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
1969 — For the 1% who don't know, the debut album of arguably the greatest band of all time features a stylized version of a photo taken of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Pretty metal, and too iconic to leave off the list. It's actually framed on the wall at my parent's house. They should have stuck to covers like this. (Artist: George Hardie) |
