So last week I showed off the numbers 6 to 10 of my top ten rock and metal logos, with Breed 77, Machine Head, Black Dahlia Murder, Trivium and Iron Maiden taking the honours. Here’s the much sought after top 5!
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Number 5. Megadeth.
First seen : 1986, on 2nd studio album, ‘Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?’
Designed by : I imagine founding member and controlling element Mr Dave Mustaine had a hand in the styling, and maybe Ed Repka, credited with the aforementioned album art. But honestly? Couldn’t tell you for sure.
Following in the late 80s metal fad of enlarging the first and last letters of the band name, this is actually a good rendition – the only thing for me is that this makes it too close to the style of Metallica’s logo (also followed by the likes of Pantera in later years). Given the history between Mustaine and Metallica, this is hardly surprising! The type is fairly well proportioned and crisp with nice little ‘metal’ spikes and is often custom rendered with a solid 3d effect which tends to look better than many similar effects deployed by other bands. Cool logo, a follower – not a leader, but still good stuff.
Iconicity : 8
Originicity : 7
Typographology : 8
T-Shirtability : 8
Likeyicity : 8
Total: 39 out of 50
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Number 4. Skindred.
First seen : 2002 on the original release of debut album ‘Babylon’
Designed by : Unknown.
Ragga-punk-metallers Skindred have an amazing, original sound, and a cracking custom logotype to match, resembling a graffiti or tagging style and reflecting the reggae influence on the music. The band seem destined never to become as big as they deserve but to those that know or have seen Skindred, the logo will be pretty recognisable. I love the shapes formed by the ‘marker’ style lettering, particularly the curves of the ‘k’, the ‘d’s and the ‘e’, and the result is a brilliantly balanced logo with enough character to reflect the music, and just enough legibility to be practical for merchandising and promotional material.
Iconicity : 6
Originicity : 9
Typographology : 8
T-Shirtability : 7
Likeyicity : 9
Total: 39 out of 50
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Number 3. Korn.
First seen : 2003
Designed by : Jonathan Davis, vocalist in the band, drew the logo with a crayon, complete with backwards R (as a childlike reference) for a joke. It stuck, and an iconic metal logo was born and developed.
Maybe it’s a sentimental thing as a Korn fan as a kid, but for me this is a real standout logo in the rock world. Admittedly hand drawn logos in rough, grungy styles has been done a million times, but the backwards R and the application as part of a haunting album cover for their self titled debut release in 1994 make this uniquely recognisable, particularly to the nu-metal generation!
Iconicity : 9
Originicity : 9
Typographology : 7
T-Shirtability : 8
Likeyicity : 8
Total: 41 out of 50
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Number 2. AC/DC.
First seen : 1977 on 4th studio album, ‘Let There be Rock’.
Designed by : Californian typographer Gerard Huerta.
Not many rock logos are as recognisable as the great thunderbolt AC/DC one. Mainstream iconic status is beyond that of almost all others, and you wouldn’t be surprised if TopMan were selling t-shirts with it emblazoned across the chest. In terms of the design, Huerta explains that the type was intended to relate to the album title ‘Let There Be Rock’ for which it was commissioned. It was influenced by lettering he’d produced for Blue Öyster Cult, which was in turn influenced by the text from the Gutenberg Bible, hence the link to the title. The thunderbolt relates to the name and has been in existence since the first album, ‘High Voltage’, but was produced in a different style. Huerta’s famous logo was subsequently used on almost all of AC/DC’s following 12 albums.
Iconicity : 10
Originicity : 7
Typographology : 8
T-Shirtability : 10
Likeyicity : 7
Total: 42 out of 50
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Number 1. Metallica.
First seen : 1983 on debut album ‘Kill ‘em All’.
Designed by : Frontman James Hetfield.
The daddy. In my humble opinion of course! The symmetrical spikey ends to the M and A have been imitated but not bettered. The simple Futura-esque type fits well with a clean and legible look. The only problem for me is the slanted A (a la Avante Garde alternates) which I don’t think fits, but the logo frames the artwork of the first 5 album covers perfectly, and despite a foray into experimentation for albums since 1996 release ‘Load’, the concept and the spiked M and A have always remained the same. Recent album ‘Death Magnetic’ inspired a rebrand from mega design agency Turner Duckworth, and along with album art concepts, the logo was redrawn in the original format with a few streamlining tweaks (including sorting out that slanting A in the middle!) and featured prominently on the album cover. Is there a better rock logo? Overall, I don’t think so.
Iconicity : 10
Originicity : 7
Typographology : 8
T-Shirtability : 10
Likeyicity : 8
Total: 43 out of 50
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Conclusion
So there you have it – my top ten rock and metal logos of all time! I’m sure James, Kirk, Lars and Rob will be over the moon to know that their logo has found its way to this prestigious position! I find it very interesting that of the top ten logos I’ve listed, only one was credited to a trained designer. Many are uncredited which is a real shame – the Black Dahlia Murder and Skindred logos could well be professionally produced but I couldn’t see anything to confirm this online.
In general, a band logo is often created by the band themselves. This is understandable – design isn’t cheap and a band who are starting out will be unlikely to have a budget for a professionally designed logo. Being musicians, it is likely that almost all bands have at least one member with creative abilities (to whatever degree) and want to have creative control in this area anyway. Ideas are probably crudely produced and tweaked later when it becomes more of a priority, or when a friend, family member, or even record label offers their services to create the artwork.
As a designer I love to get ideas into my logos. Often there is an idea within a good band logo, but it is usually aesthetically derived – for example, a particular type style or the use of enlarged or stylised letters within the logo. It is great fun to create logos where there is a clever twist or background to a logo, but the very best band logos are generally revered less because of depth or wit, more because they have become iconic and synonymous with the scene, style or music of the band.
If the logo looks ‘cool’, is produced well, stays consistent, and the band becomes big, the logo will be a classic. And so it is with many of those featured here.
