Metal Monday: 2011 In Metal Album Art

posted in: Reviews & Playlists

The metal world is a world saturated with pretty mediocre and often stereotypical artwork. Graphic satanic imagery, violent imagery, militaristic imagery, fantastical imagery, you get the point. Once you’ve seen enough album covers, you know how rare it is to find something that truly surprises or impresses you. This year seems to have had a really nice mix of fresh, interesting takes on album art as well as wonderfully executed standard-issue album art. This is not to say, however, that 2011 didn’t have its fair share of stinkers. In fact, some of the worst metal album art to come out of the last decade very well may have been this year. We’re going to count down the best and worst of the lot.

Best album art of the year:

10. Vallenfyre – A Fragile King
This is an album that I’ve not spent all that much time with, but the album art is spectacular. Nothing too outside of the ordinary, the color palette and attention to detail really just puts this album art a couple steps ahead of the pack. Some other albums, such as the latest Suicide Silence or Trap Them albums, had similar artwork that paled in comparison.

9. Protest The Hero – Scurrilous
Scurrilous is likely the the most interesting album art of the year due to its origins. The cover was actually a painting done by the grandfather of one of the band’s members eighty years prior to the album’s release. Oh, it looks pretty nice, too.

8. Septicflesh – The Great Mass
Few album covers that depict rather graphic imagery have been executed in such a beautiful, classy way as The Great Mass. This is especially true if you have the extended artwork (from the deluxe edition or vinyl). While the CD version is cool (right), the full version (left) is much cooler. The effect of having the human-like figures look more like statues creates a really eerie mood that perfectly suits the symphonic death metal onslaught that this album is.

7. Tombs – Path of Totality
Grey, dreary colors and interesting textures depicting quite a sorrowful image (a face crying black tears). Pretty fitting for the Tombs blackened sludge metal sound. A very unique album artwork, something you’ll not likely see something like for a while to come.

6. Jungle Rot – Kill On Command
A shaman holding human skulls. Standard issue for metal. What isn’t standard issue, however, is the attention to detail. Another case of a fantastic execution of an otherwise run-of-the-mill album cover.

5. Rhapsody of Fire – From Chaos To Eternity
I’m pretty sure that there isn’t a more overwhelmingly rad metal album cover in 2011 than From Chaos to Eternity. It’s an archangel riding a unicorn fighting a hoard of demons. Doesn’t get more over the top and rad than that.

4. Textures – Dualism
Unlike the album covers on this list, Textures went in a much more simple, pragmatic direction. A simple cartoon depicting a blindfolded individual on a tightrope above and ocean in front of a dark moon, with a blood red background. Simple and stunning, and incredibly fitting with the sound and mood of the album.

3. Becoming The Archetype – Celestial Completion
After hours and hours of staring at it, I’m still not exactly sure what this album cover depicts. It appears to be a gargantuan, winged man made of fire who has exploded out of the ocean, causing a significant amount of trouble for the ships at sail. It doesn’t really matter much if it has nothing to do with the album thematically or not, it’s that awesome to look at.

2. Junius – Reports From The Threshold Of Death
Easily one of the most elegant album covers from the metal world in the last few years, it very accurately depicts not only the sound of the album, but the themes of the album as well. Completely encompassing the light and darkness involved with accepting death, one of the albums primary themes.

1. The Devil Wears Prada – Dead Throne
Given the name of the album, this album artwork is completely and totally obvious. This, however, doesn’t really detract from the artwork. A very cool aesthetic that contrasts with the album a bit, and very cool imagery to match it. A wonderfully simplistic idea laid out in the ideal way: unobtrusive and easy on the eyes.

Worst album art of the year:

10. Steel Panther – Balls Out
Anything that comes from this Steel Panther that isn’t gross, sleazy, cheesy and stereotypical is a complete miss for this band. They’re staying right on track with a hilariously bad and very lewd album cover for Balls Out. Let’s just hope they don’t start taking themselves too seriously, otherwise they might ruin the fun.

9. As Blood Runs Black – Instinct
I’m not sure who remembers the animated series Reboot from the mid-to-late ’90s, but this album cover looks like a fanart version of the world in which that series took place. It has nothing to do with the album thematically, and isn’t particularly nice to look at. As Blood Runs Black really dropped the ball here.

8. Symphony X – Iconoclast
For such a fantastic album, this album art sure is weird and underwhelming (both the regular and deluxe editions). I know that Symphony X are a progressive metal band and all, but the whole futuristic machines and weird alien machines is a bit much in this case.

7. Five Finger Death Punch – American Capitalist
Clichés and satire are totally fine, especially in metal (hell, thrash metal pretty much made a living off of that for a long time), but everything in moderation, Five finger Death Punch. This horse has already been beaten to death. It’s time to figure out another way to depict what’s wrong with the US than cigars, business suits, plastic women and expensive cars. Same goes for the comic book layout.

6. Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events
This album cover is remarkably similar to one of the my favorite album covers of the year (Textures, in case you hadn’t figured it out), but pales in comparison to its greatness. Not to mention that they used clipart for this cover, as Number of the Blog illustrated back in August. It’s a fine album, but this artwork needs some, uh, work.

5. Anthrax – Worship Music
Look, Anthrax, it’s not the ’80s. Not all logos have to be huge and glowing. Also, zombies are cool and all, but what is with this random hodgepodge of ghoulish creatures? Is it because they’re evil, they’re for some reason attracted to your glowing symbol that bears a striking resemblance to a pentagram? Oh, that must be it. Brilliant work there, Anthrax. What happened to all the fantastic album covers from before?

4. Devildriver – Beast
While there may be beauty in simplicity, Devildriver simply miss the mark with the artwork for Beast. This looks like something you’d find plastered on the wall of a bathroom of a rave club under a blacklight. Then again, Devildriver never have been known for their great album covers.

3. Chimaira – Age Of Hell
Age Of Hell is another installment of “completely underwhelming album covers by a band that’s actually really good” starring Chimaira. It’s a pity, considering the covers for Resurrection and The Infection were both very solid.

2. Limp Bizkit – Gold Cobra
Coming up with words to accurately just how miserable this album cover is a nearly impossible task. From the completely out of place chrome logo to the creepy guy smelling his finger to the women who look as though they’re not all there in the brain, everything about this is just wrong and bad. At least it’s good for a laugh or two.

1. Lou Reed & Metallica – Lulu
I know the last thing that anyone wants to hear about at this point is Lulu…again. Sometimes, however, an album artwork is so ham-handed and poorly executed that you simply need to cover it. Lulu features a slutty looking mannequin with no shirt or arms looking complacently at the camera (which, I assume, depicts Lulu), with the name “Lulu” smeared across it in what looks like may be ketchup. It could be blood, I don’t really know. The Lulu cover is overwhelmingly cheesy, and not in a fashion that garners laughs. The cherry on top of an already hideous project.

Are there any albums here that you feel really ought to have been included, for better or worse? Well, it’s a good thing you can berate me below and let me know just how excellent or awful my selections were.