Top 10 Metallica Album Covers

Metallica Album Covers

Photo” I, Flowkey [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

The list of Top 10 Metallica Album Covers shows the band’s various studio, live, and EP covers. Metallica’s first vinyl record was released in 1983, entitled Kill Em All. Fans may want to note that this was about a year before the CD format began infiltrating record stores.  Their follow-up album to Kill Me All, Ride the Lightning, was released a year later in 1984. Since those early years in the 1980’s Metallica has released eight more studio albums.

In between studio albums, the band Metallica has released an assortment of EPs, live albums, cover albums, and compilations. We have included some of these releases in our Top 10 Metallica Album Covers List.  Throughout the band’s career, Metallica has also released 37 music singles. The band has won eight Grammys and is considered by critics and fans to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Their sound has developed a genre of metal music that has inspired countless bands since the days of the 1980s. We have always loved the covers of Metallica albums. That’s why we chose to write an article depicting our favorite covers. We hope you enjoy the list, and let us know what covers are your favorites.

# 10 – The $5.98 E.P. Garage Days Re-Revisited

This EP was released in 1987. We love the sticker on the cover that defined Metallica’s long-time stand against organizations that looked to take advantage of fans through price gouging. It’s amazing how young the band looks on this cover. Not many bands stay together for thirty years.

# 9 – Load

The Metallica album Load was issued in 1996. The follow-up album to Load entitled Re-Load, published in 1997 featured a similar cover regarding graphic design. Fans tend to love album covers that feature designs in which one can find many different images displayed within an air of ambiguous art.

# 8 –  S&M (Live Album)


How can you not love this cover? The S&M live album in which Metallica performed with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Orchestra was released in 1999. Listening to Metallica perform with a full orchestra is a knock-em-dead experience.

# 7 –  Death Magnetic

Metallica’s Death Magnetic was issued in 2008. Death Magnetic was Metallica’s first album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo. This is a pretty spine-chilling cover for various reasons. It’s brilliant, artistic, and perfectly designed to match the album title. It is one of the scariest Metallica Album Covers in their catalog.

# 6 –  Metallica (Black Album)

You have to bend the album cover a particular way to see the graphic design of the snake and Metallica logo. Otherwise, the album cover appears black and is known to fans as the Black Album. The album was released in 1991 and titled Metallica (not the Black Album)

# 5 – Kill ‘Em All

Can you think of a better cover or title for a Metal album?  The interesting cover is open for interpretation. The album was released in 1983 and is the cover that introduced the world to Metallica.

# 4 – Ride the Lightning

This one would have made a great Heavy Metal Magazine Cover or logo. Metallica”s Ride The Lightning Album was issued in 1984. This one is simply one of the most popular Metallica Album Covers in their catalog and just bleeds the band’s persona.

# 3 –  Master of Puppets


If we had to choose the scariest Metallica Album cover of the band’s career, Master Of Puppets would land very close to the top. Even the name is a bit scary. Come on, puppets are scary or at least creepy. You know that.

# 2 – Hardwired…to Self-Destruct

Although we choose Master of Puppets as the scariest Metallica Album Cover, their new album sure comes close. What great design and originality, perfectly adapted to the title. Isn’t that what album covers are supposed to depict? Metallica’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct was released in stores in November 2016. The album is also one of the best records of the band’s career.

# 1 –  …And Justice For All

Metallica has always been a band at the forefront of fighting unjust issues on many levels. The cover of their …And Justice For All album was a perfect representation of the band’s social, economic, and political beliefs. At least, that is the way fans and critics interpreted the cover. The depth of the meaning of the cover, along with its brilliant design, makes this one our choice for the number one spot on our Top 10 Metallica Album Covers list.

Top 10 Metallica Album Covers article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

Uriah Heep Songs
Top 10 Uriah Heep Songs
10 Essential Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Songs
10 Essential Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup Songs
10 Most Rocking George Thorogood Songs
10 Most Rocking George Thorogood Songs
Alice Cooper Love Songs
Top 10 Alice Cooper Love Songs
10 Best Sounding Albums Of All Time
10 Best Sounding Albums Of All Time
116 Albums With Identical Titles By Different Artists
116 Albums With Identical Titles By Different Artists
10 Essential Live Rock Albums Composed Of 4 Or More Vinyl LPs
10 Best Classic Rock Triple LP Live Albums
10 Best Classic Rock Triple LP Live Albums
Roy Thomas Baker, Studio Mastermind Behind Decades of Rock Classics, Has Died at 78
Roy Thomas Baker, Mastermind Behind Decades of Rock Classics, Has Died at 78
Stevie Nicks Begins Work On Her First Solo Album In Over A Decade
Stevie Nicks Begins Work On Her First Solo Album In Over A Decade
Foreigner Announces 50th Anniversary Vegas Shows With Orchestra
Foreigner Announces 50th Anniversary Vegas Shows With Orchestra
Alice Cooper Original Band Reunites For First Album in 51 Years
Alice Cooper Original Band Reunites For First Album in 51 Years
Stan Lynch
An Interview With Stan Lynch Of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Ian Anderson Interview
An Interview With Ian Anderson Of Jethro Tull
Phil Manzanera Of Roxy Music: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
Phil Manzanera Of Roxy Music: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
An Interview With Claudio Sanchez Of Coheed And Cambria
An Interview With Claudio Sanchez Of Coheed And Cambria
Aerosmith Band
Why Aerosmith Is The Greatest American Rock Band Of All Time
Human Beinz Albums
Complete List Of The Human Beinz Albums And Songs
25 Most Famous Female British Singers Now!
25 Most Famous Female British Singers Now!
Khruangbin Albums
Complete List Of Khruangbin Albums And Songs
11 Classic Bands Who Returned With New Music After A Long Gap
11 Classic Bands Who Returned With New Music After A Long Gap
Complete List Of All Super Bowl Halftime Performers Since 1967
Complete List Of All Super Bowl Halftime Performers Since 1967
10 Gifts Not To Buy An Old-School Music Fan
10 Gifts Not To Buy An Old-School Music Fan
20 Worst Moments In Rock Music History
20 Worst Moments In Rock Music History
Three Dog Night 1968 Debut Album Review
Review Of Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary Reissue
Review Of Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary Reissue
10 Best Breakup Songs For Shattered Hearts
10 Best Breakup Songs For Shattered Hearts
Billy Idol Rebel Yell 40th Anniversary Vinyl Review