In a time when so many people are opting for digital files over CDs, its easy to take stuff like album artwork for granted. I come from an old stone age time when album artwork was just as intriguing as the music itself. While I could go on to name hundreds of bad ass metal album covers, here are just five of what I deem to be personal favorites.

Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power

I would easily nominate this as the one album cover which matches the intensity of the music perfectly. In some twisted way, a man being punched in the face is a perfect depiction of what Pantera can do to your sonic senses.

King Diamond – Voodoo

The album is a creepy story which takes metal into the hot sticky southern atmosphere that Anne Rice made so familiar to Vampire lovers. With its grim color scheme and creepy illustration, the cover of Voodoo gives us a snapshot of where the demonic tale takes place.

In Flames – The Jester Race

Guitar riffs aren’t the only thing Iron Maiden did to inspire In Flames. In the same vein as the classic “Eddie” character of Iron Maiden fame, In Flames started using their jester head as a recognizable feature of all their albums. This one just so happens to resemble some kind of futuristic city on wheels being driven by none other than the jester himself.

Cradle of Filth – Cruelty and the Beast

There were actually several different versions of this album cover, and its tough to pick a favorite. The bottom line is this image of a sinfully seductive vampire bathing in blood remains one of the most iconic images taken from these British black metal heathens.

Mastodon – Leviathan

Following a very recognizable “sea” theme for this album, we get a unique look at a Moby Dick style cover which oddly seems to match the music in a weird way. Listening to this album certainly does inspire one to imagine some sort of demented battle with the sea itself.

Its obvious that everyone will have their own picks for favorite metal album covers, so feel free to share yours in the comments below!

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