The worst heavy metal album covers of all time

Boned - Up At The Crack

What makes an album cover bad? Better yet, what makes one truly terrible?

To paraphrase US Justice Potter Stewart musing on what is 'pornography': "I can't tell you what obscenity is, but I know it when I see it."

And MusicRadar knows a bad album cover when it sees one…

Today, MusicRadar kicks off a series called The Worst Album Covers Ever, with our first installment shining a harsh light on the world of heavy metal. The songs may rock, the singers may scream, the solos may impressively shred.

But what the hell is happening with these album covers? Oh, and warning - a few of these verge on the NSFW.

All of them however verge on the terrible…

Cinderella - Night Songs

Death - Leprosy

Battle Axe - Burn This Town

Scorpions - Animal Magnetism

Pantera - Metal Magic

Tankard - The Beauty And The Beer

Krokus - Heart Attack

Manowar - Anthology

Vinnie Vincent Invasion - Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Pat Boone - In A Metal Mood - No More Mr Nice Guy

Whitesnake - Lovehunter

Cattle Decapitation - Humanure

Ron Keel - Ron Keel

Riot - Narita

Kevin DuBrow - In For The Kill

Devourment - Molesting The Decapitated

Wrathchild - Stakk Attakk

Manowar - Blow Your Speakers

Manowar - Fighting The World

Testament - Return To The Apocalyptic City

The Great Kat - Bloody Vivaldi

Panzer - Tierra De Metales

Pantera - Projects In The Jungle

Steelheart - Steelheart

Bonded By Blood - Extinguish The Weak

Metal Skool - Metal Skool

Ratt - Reach For The Sky

Fist - Back With A Vengeance

Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

Manowar - Into Glory Ride

Yngwie J Malmsteen - Trilogy

King Kobra - Thrill Of A Lifetime

High Frequency - Masters Of Madness

Krokus - The Best Of Krokus - Stayed Awake All Night

Randy Coven - Funk Me Tender

Raven - The Pack Is Back

Tommy Lee - Tommyland: The Ride

Autograph - Loud And Clear

Triumph - Allied Forces

Pretty Boy Floyd - Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz

Agressor - Neverending Destiny

Merciless Death - Evil In The Night

Moray Eel - Priest Hunter

King Diamond - Conspiracy

Stryper - Soldiers Under Command

Bolt Thrower - Warmaster

Farscape - Killers On The Loose

Eliminator - Breaking The Wheel

Stryken - First Strike

Fastway - Trick Or Treat

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