![Bon Jovi: ‘Slippery When Wet’ – Soft-rockers Bon Jovi decided to be all controversial with their third album opting for a woman in a wet t-shirt competition to adorn their front page. Sadly, they ditched it just before it hit the shelves in favour of a drab black cover. The reason? They didn’t like the pink border.]()
Bon Jovi: ‘Slippery When Wet’ – Soft-rockers Bon Jovi decided to be all controversial with their third album opting for a woman in a wet t-shirt competition to adorn their front page. Sadly, they ditched it just before it hit the shelves in favour of a drab black cover. The reason? They didn’t like the pink border.
![Andrew WK: ‘I Get Wet’ – Mr WK’s debut 2001 was accused of endorsing cocaine usage thanks to the image of the singer with blood pouring from each nostril. Rather than snort ten grams of coke to get the Daniella Westbrook effect, WK in fact smeared his face with the blood of an animal he bought from a butcher’s shop. They don’t make rock stars like they used to…]()
Andrew WK: ‘I Get Wet’ – Mr WK’s debut 2001 was accused of endorsing cocaine usage thanks to the image of the singer with blood pouring from each nostril. Rather than snort ten grams of coke to get the Daniella Westbrook effect, WK in fact smeared his face with the blood of an animal he bought from a butcher’s shop. They don’t make rock stars like they used to…
![Die Toten Hosen: ‘Reich & Sexy II’ – Inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s classic original naked cover to ‘Electric Ladyland’, Die Toten Hosen (being German) took the nudity idea to the extreme on this recent best of album with a veritable smorgasbord of naked people.]()
Die Toten Hosen: ‘Reich & Sexy II’ – Inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s classic original naked cover to ‘Electric Ladyland’, Die Toten Hosen (being German) took the nudity idea to the extreme on this recent best of album with a veritable smorgasbord of naked people.
![Scorpions: ‘Love At First Sting’ – Not happy with number 2 on Gigwise’s own Most Controversial Album Covers with ‘Virgin Killer’, Scorpions pop up twice here. This, probably the tamest of the three, features a man and woman in the throes of love-making.]()
Scorpions: ‘Love At First Sting’ – Not happy with number 2 on Gigwise’s own Most Controversial Album Covers with ‘Virgin Killer’, Scorpions pop up twice here. This, probably the tamest of the three, features a man and woman in the throes of love-making.
![Scorpions: ‘Lovedrive’ - Like Cannibal Corpse and Slayer, German heavy metallers Scorpions are endless purveyors of the controversial album sleeve. This particularly grim 1979 effort features a man pulling the flesh away from a woman’s breast which we can only assume is melting. Lovely.]()
Scorpions: ‘Lovedrive’ - Like Cannibal Corpse and Slayer, German heavy metallers Scorpions are endless purveyors of the controversial album sleeve. This particularly grim 1979 effort features a man pulling the flesh away from a woman’s breast which we can only assume is melting. Lovely.
![Ken Turetzky: ‘Look What I Made!’ – Folk musician Ken Turetzky claims he’s got as much in common with Adam Sandler and Bill Cosby as his musical contemporaries and this album cover perfectly showcases his, erm, talents. More funny than disgusting thanks to the overt fakeness of the poo in question, it’s still enough to turn your stomach.]()
Ken Turetzky: ‘Look What I Made!’ – Folk musician Ken Turetzky claims he’s got as much in common with Adam Sandler and Bill Cosby as his musical contemporaries and this album cover perfectly showcases his, erm, talents. More funny than disgusting thanks to the overt fakeness of the poo in question, it’s still enough to turn your stomach.
![WASP: ‘The Headless Children’ – From the album’s ominous title to the macabre imagery on the front cover, everything about this album seems overtly grim. Yet, the music it contains is in fact potent, full of mature lyrics on politics, sex and other driving issues.]()
WASP: ‘The Headless Children’ – From the album’s ominous title to the macabre imagery on the front cover, everything about this album seems overtly grim. Yet, the music it contains is in fact potent, full of mature lyrics on politics, sex and other driving issues.
![Celtic Frost: ‘Mega Therion’ – Swiss metal band Celtic Frost drafted HR Griger, the man behind the design for the 1979 classic movie Alien, for this album cover. His influence is transparent on the artwork, and with a figure of Christ thrown in for good measure]()
Celtic Frost: ‘Mega Therion’ – Swiss metal band Celtic Frost drafted HR Griger, the man behind the design for the 1979 classic movie Alien, for this album cover. His influence is transparent on the artwork, and with a figure of Christ thrown in for good measure
![Slayer: ‘The Christ Illusion’ – Painted by artist Larry Carroll, the cover to Slayer’s 2006 album depicted a mutilated, stoned (in the biblical sense) Jesus with decapitated heads strewn around him. Unsurprisingly, Christian groups soon lobbied against the album and in some stores an alternate sleeve was issued.]()
Slayer: ‘The Christ Illusion’ – Painted by artist Larry Carroll, the cover to Slayer’s 2006 album depicted a mutilated, stoned (in the biblical sense) Jesus with decapitated heads strewn around him. Unsurprisingly, Christian groups soon lobbied against the album and in some stores an alternate sleeve was issued.
![Slayer: ‘The Christ Illusion’ – The special edition sleeve of the album was heavily toned down from the controversial original. However, the stigmata hand weeping bleed still raised a few eyebrows.]()
Slayer: ‘The Christ Illusion’ – The special edition sleeve of the album was heavily toned down from the controversial original. However, the stigmata hand weeping bleed still raised a few eyebrows.
![The Lost Children of Babylon: ‘The 911 Report – The Ultimate Conspiracy’ – Released in 2005, the highly controversial, epic concept album from the underground hip-hop outfit looked at 9/11 from every angle. As well as denouncing the terrorists who committed the atrocities, it slammed President Bush and his administration and looked at the various conspiracy theories surrounding the attacks. The artwork is just as hard-hitting as the music it contains.]()
The Lost Children of Babylon: ‘The 911 Report – The Ultimate Conspiracy’ – Released in 2005, the highly controversial, epic concept album from the underground hip-hop outfit looked at 9/11 from every angle. As well as denouncing the terrorists who committed the atrocities, it slammed President Bush and his administration and looked at the various conspiracy theories surrounding the attacks. The artwork is just as hard-hitting as the music it contains.
![Dwarves: ‘Blood, Guts & Pussy’ – Punk rock’s finest Dwarves are one of a number of bands on the list who use album artwork to blatantly court controversy. This 1990 album, released through the hallowed SubPop label, melds two shock tactics together – nudity and gore – to devastating effect.]()
Dwarves: ‘Blood, Guts & Pussy’ – Punk rock’s finest Dwarves are one of a number of bands on the list who use album artwork to blatantly court controversy. This 1990 album, released through the hallowed SubPop label, melds two shock tactics together – nudity and gore – to devastating effect.
![Pungent Stench: ‘Been Caught Buttering’ – Featuring two decaying, dead men kissing, Pungent Stench’s ‘Been Caught Buttering’ caused quite a stink upon its 1992 release. The songs themselves are vile and degrading too with tracks including ‘Sick Bizarre Defaced Creation’ and ‘Shrunken and Mummified Bitch.’ Stomach-curdling stuff.]()
Pungent Stench: ‘Been Caught Buttering’ – Featuring two decaying, dead men kissing, Pungent Stench’s ‘Been Caught Buttering’ caused quite a stink upon its 1992 release. The songs themselves are vile and degrading too with tracks including ‘Sick Bizarre Defaced Creation’ and ‘Shrunken and Mummified Bitch.’ Stomach-curdling stuff.
![Pungent Stench: ‘Dirty Rhymes and Psychotronic Beats’ - The Austrian outfit gained notoriety thanks to this infamous 1993 and it’s not hard to see why. Even before gimps became fashionable thanks to Pulp Fiction a year later, ‘Dirty Rhymes’ featured a repulsive gimp figure surrounded by faeces, blood and other grisly objects. Nasty.]()
Pungent Stench: ‘Dirty Rhymes and Psychotronic Beats’ - The Austrian outfit gained notoriety thanks to this infamous 1993 and it’s not hard to see why. Even before gimps became fashionable thanks to Pulp Fiction a year later, ‘Dirty Rhymes’ featured a repulsive gimp figure surrounded by faeces, blood and other grisly objects. Nasty.
![Vital Remains: ‘Icons of Evil’ - As if the Jesus figure on the album cover didn’t have enough to worry about being nailed to the cross, a huge hand also slams a hammer into his chest on this vicious sleeve. Vital Remains’ lyrics deal almost exclusively with anti-religion, Satanism and blasphemy, so it’s no surprise that they opted for such a controversial cover on this 2007 release.]()
Vital Remains: ‘Icons of Evil’ - As if the Jesus figure on the album cover didn’t have enough to worry about being nailed to the cross, a huge hand also slams a hammer into his chest on this vicious sleeve. Vital Remains’ lyrics deal almost exclusively with anti-religion, Satanism and blasphemy, so it’s no surprise that they opted for such a controversial cover on this 2007 release.
![Dismember: ‘Indecent and Obscene’ – Like a very well known brand of wood varnish, Dismember’s ‘Indecent and Obscene’ does exactly what it says on the tin. A dismembered, mutilated chest is order of the day on the Swedish death metal outfit’s 1993 album. Their shock tactics have clearly paid off as it’s their best selling work to date.]()
Dismember: ‘Indecent and Obscene’ – Like a very well known brand of wood varnish, Dismember’s ‘Indecent and Obscene’ does exactly what it says on the tin. A dismembered, mutilated chest is order of the day on the Swedish death metal outfit’s 1993 album. Their shock tactics have clearly paid off as it’s their best selling work to date.
![Cannibal Corpse: ‘Tomb Of The Mutilated’ – Death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse have garnered a significant reputation for their shock-tactic album covers since their inception two decades ago. This 1992 effort sees two mutilated zombies performing a sexual act amidst a deluge of blood and gore – probably a nod to the album track ‘Addicted To Vaginal Skin.’]()
Cannibal Corpse: ‘Tomb Of The Mutilated’ – Death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse have garnered a significant reputation for their shock-tactic album covers since their inception two decades ago. This 1992 effort sees two mutilated zombies performing a sexual act amidst a deluge of blood and gore – probably a nod to the album track ‘Addicted To Vaginal Skin.’
![Cannibal Corpse: ‘The Wretched Spawn’ – Released in 2004, ‘The Wretched Spawn’ very categorically proved that Cannibal Corpse were not getting mellower or inoffensive in their later years. In a scene echoing Aliens, a woman gives birth to three demonic figures through three orifices. Sick bastards.]()
Cannibal Corpse: ‘The Wretched Spawn’ – Released in 2004, ‘The Wretched Spawn’ very categorically proved that Cannibal Corpse were not getting mellower or inoffensive in their later years. In a scene echoing Aliens, a woman gives birth to three demonic figures through three orifices. Sick bastards.
![Cannibal Corpse: ‘Butchered At Birth’ - Probably Cannibal Corpse’s most disturbing album cover – and that’s saying something – their 1991 release through Metal Blade Records sees two zombies butchering a pregnant woman. Unsurprisingly, police in Canada complained about the album and stores were duly not allowed to sell the album to under-18s.]()
Cannibal Corpse: ‘Butchered At Birth’ - Probably Cannibal Corpse’s most disturbing album cover – and that’s saying something – their 1991 release through Metal Blade Records sees two zombies butchering a pregnant woman. Unsurprisingly, police in Canada complained about the album and stores were duly not allowed to sell the album to under-18s.
![Marduk: ‘Fuck Me Jesus’ – Like something out of the Exorcist, this 1991 demo from the Swedish Black Metal band featured a woman ramming a crucifix into her nether region. Originally overlooked, the demo’s subsequent re-releases have made it infamous. Seven countries refused to stock the album.]()
Marduk: ‘Fuck Me Jesus’ – Like something out of the Exorcist, this 1991 demo from the Swedish Black Metal band featured a woman ramming a crucifix into her nether region. Originally overlooked, the demo’s subsequent re-releases have made it infamous. Seven countries refused to stock the album.
![Deicide: ‘Once Upon The Cross’ – When a band vocally denounces God and Christianity in favour of evil and Satanism, and have tracks in their arsenal like ‘Kill The Christian’ and ‘Confessional Rape’, you’re sure as hell guaranteed some horrific artwork. On this 1995 release we get a Christ-like shape in a crucifix pose with white sheets draped over - only the blood clearly delineating the figure underneath.]()
Deicide: ‘Once Upon The Cross’ – When a band vocally denounces God and Christianity in favour of evil and Satanism, and have tracks in their arsenal like ‘Kill The Christian’ and ‘Confessional Rape’, you’re sure as hell guaranteed some horrific artwork. On this 1995 release we get a Christ-like shape in a crucifix pose with white sheets draped over - only the blood clearly delineating the figure underneath.
![XXX Maniak: ‘Harvesting The Cunt Nectar’ - Sick, disgusting and wrong, if there is a God then Pennsylvanian Goregrind merchants XXX Maniak will surely be going straight to hell.]()
XXX Maniak: ‘Harvesting The Cunt Nectar’ - Sick, disgusting and wrong, if there is a God then Pennsylvanian Goregrind merchants XXX Maniak will surely be going straight to hell.