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Last Active 01-03-23 11:21 pm
Joined 06-03-16
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| Metallica: Album Covers Ranked
all results are final | | 11 |  | Metallica
72 Seasons
Disgusting lemon yellow eclipsed by... a crib? Burned, blackened, with similarly trashed various instruments and accessories strewn around. The crib's shadow adds a much-needed layer of texture, but otherwise it's an ugly, inexplicable, and strangely child-like image that crushes any expectations for what you'd hope to find in a metal record. 1/10 | | 10 |  | Metallica
Hardwired... to Self-Destruct
A queasy and purposefully ugly fusing of the band members' faces with a mishmash of what looks like projections, superimposition, and bad photoshop. It's an unpleasant image, but its clashing colors and distorted logo imply a layer of chaos and anger, making it a slightly more tantalizing Metallica cover than its successor. 3/10 | | 9 |  | Metallica
Reload
Repeating the red/yellow color scheme and formatting of Load but to much shittier effect, Reload is a clear, sharp downgrade from its predecessor, but is more plain than it is irritating. 4/10 | | 8 |  | Metallica
Metallica
I mean, come on. Sure, it's iconic, but that fucking "don't tread on me" snake hasn't aged so well and it's hard to rank this against other covers with actual art on them. The strongest element of this cover is the embossed logo, sneaking with a ghostly sheen in the corner. 5/10 | | 7 |  | Metallica
Death Magnetic
Those with the physical edition may understand my slight appreciation for this cover, as the booklet had a massive hole in the front in the shape of that coffin, which got progressively smaller as you flipped through (creating that illusion of depth). It's not particularly inspired, but it's a clean, solid cover. 6/10 | | 6 |  | Metallica
Load
Certainly a controversial cover (the depicted fluid is a mix of pig's blood and semen), but honestly that ridiculous fact adds to an already eye-catching image. Maybe I simply like the attention put into the arrangement and color--this one feels purposeful and exacting compared with their later works. 6/10 | | 5 |  | Metallica
...And Justice for All
A lasting cover with a striking image of lady justice in danger of being toppled, I still feel that it's monochromatic white-marble palate reduces some of its impact, and the scribbled album title feels sloppy rather than anarchic. 7/10 | | 4 |  | Metallica
St. Anger
While the album is rightfully derided, I actually think it's cover the strongest of Metallica's later era. It's got loud, anxious colors and a comic-book pop that exudes urgency and rage. I love the darkened burst surrounding the fist, the fist's detail against the stocky background, and its implied struggle against the binding wire. One of their most memorable images imo. 8/10 | | 3 |  | Metallica
Ride the Lightning
The overwhelming stormy blues and crackling lightning emanating from the shining logo create both brilliant anticipation for the album and a template for the cover's successor. This is rightfully one of their most iconic and badass covers. 8/10 | | 2 |  | Metallica
Kill 'Em All
Grimy, violent, and extremely metal, Kill 'Em All is about as good as you can hope for from a debut album cover. It commands attention but contains a tantalizing ambiguity in its shadowed hand, static hammer, and pooling blood--none of them seem to exist in the same world, but are very clearly a threat. 9/10 | | 1 |  | Metallica
Master of Puppets
Major bonus points due to its sheer omnipresence (I've seen few other covers on so many t-shirts), but it's also just their best cover, period. Overgrown fields of countless graves still controlled by blood-red hands pulling the strings-- it's a rueful, radical image that instantly casts its anti-war thesis without being cheesy in the slightest. The color, framing, and lighting are all top-tier. 10/10 | |
neekafat
04.14.23 | no idea where people stand on this so this is exciting | DominionMM1
04.14.23 | 10 is still the worst
first 3 are iconic | Titan
04.14.23 | i'd go:
1-3-5-2-7-8 | Tundra
04.14.23 | papa het face on 10 is iconic tbh, it's a good cover imo | neekafat
04.14.23 | 10 is kinda novel, i might've underrated slightly | JohnnyoftheWell
04.14.23 | Shit the bed it's a crib not a radiator
I kinda rate 11 in an artistic crisis way, would take it over 10 any day
Would stick Load a little higher too, but otherwise this is sound judgement | neekafat
04.14.23 | glad you share my affection for load, agree it could overtake a step or two
i stand by 10/11 | Drbebop
04.14.23 | 5 > 1 > 4 > 6 > 2 > 3 > 7 > 8 > 9 > 10 > 11
Good list | JDubb
04.14.23 | Good list. 2 does nothing 4me and would be low. Agreed on placing for 10 and 11, especially as 10 was aped from Crowbar. Load/Reload covers kinda blow. | mkmusic1995
04.14.23 | We ignoring Lulu? Doesn't bother me if we are, just asking... | Drbebop
04.14.23 | Lulu cover is rad let’s be fair | neekafat
04.14.23 | damn you're right about that crowbar cover didn't even realize
Thought about adding Lulu and Garage Inc... they would both be low | Egarran
04.14.23 | Completely correct list, good descriptions too. Now you must make this a series. | Storm In A Teacup
04.14.23 | Dave Mustaine wants to be next. | MetalMan77
04.14.23 | I think all their album covers are awesome. Metallica rules. Fuck the haters | ToSmokMuzyki
04.14.23 | where tf is dagger toilet 0/10 | neekafat
04.14.23 | Eg I'd love to but idk what to do next we'll see!
@ToSmok holy shit that cover rules | Egarran
04.14.23 | From your 5s I'd like PF, BS and Radiohead. | neekafat
04.14.23 | oh shit those are good ideas! | Supercoolguy64
04.14.23 | new cover art was so shit it made hardwired look decent lmao | Storm In A Teacup
04.14.23 | I like St Angers title track a bit. I like James singing on it but the song should have been 4 minutes long | JayEnder
04.14.23 | Was gonna say, if their new album's cover isn't dead last then this list is invalid. Hideous lol
Load's cover is terrible too. Blood and cum are two words that don't belong together in any capacity. | Drbebop
04.14.23 | I quite like it. If nobody told me it was blood and some dude’s jizz, I wouldn’t have ever known. It’s quite a striking image regardless and looks like a painting. Now Reload on the other hand, you can tell from a mile away that’s piss. You can practically smell it | FrozenFirebug
04.14.23 | album covers you can smell ranked | Storm In A Teacup
04.14.23 | I never even connected the snake to dont tread on me until this list. Noooooooo | Drbebop
04.14.23 | 1. Stay Ugly - Crim3s
2. Darkbloom - Grimes
3. Reload - Metallica
4. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavoured Water - Limp Bizkit
5. First Come First Served - Dr Dooom
6. Uguisudani Apocalypse - The Gerogerigegege
7. Devil without a Cause - Kid Rock
8. We’re Only In It For the Money - Frank Zappa
9. Tomb of the Mutilated - Cannibal Corpse
10. Hefty Fine - Bloodhound Gang | PotsyTater
04.15.23 | Reverse this and you’ve pretty much got it | PotsyTater
04.15.23 | Not saying that 11 is a good cover, they are all fucking dreadful, but to me the quality of a metallica cover is indicated by how little it looks like a metallica cover, and 11 looks the least like a metallica cover. And since there are no bands that are worse than metallica, the more it looks like it could have been made by any band other than metallica, the more appealing it is to me. | RogueNine
04.15.23 | 10 is still worst by a country mile. | evilford
04.15.23 | List is mildly based | neekafat
04.15.23 | I’ll take it | TheSonomaDude
04.15.23 | 11 is underrated art. 8-10 are easily uglier | Egarran
04.15.23 | I thought 11 was an information booklet about central heating. | neekafat
04.16.23 | @sonoma get out | AsleepInTheBack
04.16.23 | Pos this list is correct | neekafat
04.17.23 | < 3 | savannahbomdia
04.17.23 | switch 4 and 8 and yeah |
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