3 cover stories in our archive
Behind the Covers' archive includes 3 album covers documented under the "theatrical" design theme, spanning the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. These covers sit within the metal, rock, alternative tradition and feature work by Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf, The Smashing Pumpkins. 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.
Ozzy's solo debut cover features the Prince of Darkness clutching crosses in a dramatic studio portrait that launched his post-Sabbath reinvention. Shot by Fin Costello at Metropolitan Wharf in London's Wapping district, the theatrical imagery perfectly captured the album's dark comic book aesthetic.
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.
Billy Corgan commissioned artist Yelena Yemchuk to create a Victorian-era tableau featuring two mysterious figures in elaborate period dress. The resulting photograph became one of the most hauntingly beautiful album covers of the 1990s, perfectly capturing the band's ambitious double album's themes of melancholy and grandeur.