Behind the Covers
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“gothic”

3 cover stories in our archive

Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "gothic" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 2010s. These covers sit within the rock, alternative, metal tradition and feature work by Pixies, Meat Loaf, Black Sabbath. Each entry below includes the cover artwork, the designers and photographers behind it, and a short story about the visual choices that defined the release.

Beneath the Eyrie by Pixies — album cover art

Beneath the Eyrie by Pixies (2019)

The cover of Pixies' Beneath the Eyrie isolates a pale, ambiguous sculptural form against a nearly black field, extending the band's long visual relationship with Vaughan Oliver and Simon Larbalestier into a deliberately gothic 2019 album. The package credits Oliver with art direction and design, Michael Speed with design, and Larbalestier with photography.

Label
Infectious Music
Designer
Vaughan Oliver
Photographer
Simon Larbalestier
Genre
Rock, Alternative
Decade
2010s
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Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf — album cover art

Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf (1977)

Fantasy comic artist Richard Corben painted this hellish motorcycle scene after record executives rejected dozens of concepts. The underground comics legend created one of rock's most theatrical covers for an album that sat unreleased for two years.

Label
Cleveland International Records
Designer
Richard Corben
Genre
Rock, Metal
Decade
1970s
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Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath — album cover art

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath (1970)

A cloaked figure stands frozen before a haunted-looking watermill, draped in false-color crimson and shadow. For fifty years no one knew who she was. The mist on the water was faked with dry ice, then a smoke machine, in a 4 a.m. shoot that helped launch heavy metal.

Label
Vertigo Records
Designer
Keith Macmillan
Photographer
Keith Macmillan
Genre
Metal
Decade
1970s
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