Slayer

1 album cover in our archive

Slayer is featured in Behind the Covers' archive with 1 album cover from the 1980s. Released on Def Jam Recordings, the artwork sits in the metal tradition. Each cover is documented in our archive with design notes covering collage, painting, illustration, surreal, controversial, logo. Below you'll find the full story behind each Slayer cover — designers, photographers, label history, and the visual choices that defined the release.

Reign in Blood by Slayer — album cover art

Reign in Blood (1986)

Rick Rubin phoned a political illustrator who was drawing for the Village Voice and asked him to imagine hell. What Larry Carroll delivered was a three-foot canvas of goat-headed rulers and dangling bodies that Kerry King once dismissed as the work of a 'warped demented freak' before admitting it redefined metal.

Label
Def Jam Recordings
Designer
Steve Byram
Genre
Metal
Decade
1980s
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