We’re all familiar with Morbid Angel’s blasphegram. It’s been an essential piece of their identity for most if not all of their existence, whether as part of their name logo or as a standalone, and is easily recognized on a massive scale. You see it and immediately know who it’s tied to, regardless if one knows its history and origins or not.

What are other symbols and insignia that you feel occupy a similar status, or that you simply find personally interesting and fascinating for their visual appeal, and so forth?

There was the enigmatic Derrick Riggs symbol that used to adorn all of the Iron Maiden album covers and posters. For years, people would associate that symbol with Iron Maiden and most people didn't know what it meant; it was just like that Blue Oyster Cult symbol (i.e. the cross with the hook at the bottom) And as far as I know, it has no other meaning than it's Derrick Riggs's personal signature.

Cool topic.

I'd like to mention the satanic pendant thing that Deicide used for their S/T debut. Even if its only used once there's no way any seasoned extreme metalhead could mistake for anything else. Always dug the intricacies of it.

I think a more recent band that utilizes very cool symbols to their aesthetic would be Bolzer. Anyone seen their patches? Dayuum.

Deicide also had that Trifixion thing


Demilich's Lobster Man is kind of cool

That (sort of) Ankh cross symbol thing in the King Diamond logo. I had no clue what it meant (still have not, unless I would google it), but as a kid I thought it must be something really sophisticated, dangerous and occult. But I also believed that Voivod worked for the NASA and Carcass were real pathologists when I was 11.

Quite interesting. Several bands have some pretty cool symbols.

-Metallica's lightning bolt "M" is a pretty well-known example even outside of metal. Also the 4-sided version from their 90s era.

-the Danzig skull. Also Misfits Crimson Ghost or whatever it's called.

-the Rush "Starman"

-Judas Priest have a stylized logo/icon that appears on merch and reissue spines among other places

-the Revenge/Conqueror/Ross Bay "Goatphoenix"

-some of the NZ "Doom Cult" bands used similar shield shaped sigils for a while

-the Dream Theater sigil. I forgot what it's called.

-Emperor's "Icon E". I have an old shirt that just has a giant print of that design

-the BTC bands use a stylized Milky Way/vortex thing that appears on their merch and releases, and I think is also the label's logo.

-Black Witchery have a unique inverted cross

I'm sure there's a bunch more I'm forgetting at the moment.

what are the "BTC" bands?

I came here to mention Moyen. His drawings are pretty much an essential part of any band who aspires to be beherit/blasphemy.

Black Twilight Circle, generally on the label Crepusculo Negro.

https://www.metal-archives.com/labels/C ... Negro/1397

CELTIC FROST!

Watain's trident.

Kreator's dog skull or whatever it is, no idea if it has a name since i don't follow the band.

On the "non-metal" side of things, Slipknot uses that very distinctive tribal S in the background and there's Misfits skull.

Also surprised that there's yet no mention of Iron Maiden's Eddie.

When it comes to distinct visual aspects of art, few things in metal have continuously caught and kept my attention as did the sharply contrasting xeroxes by Les Légions Noires.

They also have their own sigil and this recurring, quite iconic shape:

Satyricon's trident is also a good example. I guess you could call it a... Satyr-icon.

Overkill's Chaly, Motorhead's War Pig and the skull from Epicus Doomicus Metallicus come to mind.

Kataklysm have some kind of symbol. I’m pretty sure you know which one I’m talking about

Yes, Kataklysm... The symbol within the circle of their logo is the superposition of three so-called sigils (arra [pentagram], agga, bandar) found in the so-called Simon Necronomicon. I believe it was original drummer Ariel Saied's idea. He used these symbols for another band of his: https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/D ... ico/308364

It is instantly recognizable as the book's paperback cover : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Necronomicon

I've had this as a tattoo since 1997 and I'm at a loss now explaining what it means. Though it's cool when people recognize it right away and I don't need to say anything, though most people will think of the book, not of Kataklysm.

The full logo featured on Kataklysm's first demo: https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/K ... ation/2295
and I think on pretty much every release since, except Victims for sure.

The Bathory's goat it's a kind of a symbol, at least nowadays,right?

It was a symbol for Venom already. I think it is pretty much a symbol now for black metal in general.

Queensrÿche's Tri-Ryche.. instantly recognizable, from the first EP's back cover onwards.

Other "mascots" than Eddie.. Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead, Voïvod's Voïvod seen on the first few albums; but it's mostly Michel Langevin's lettering and artwork in general who are recognizable.

I found a similar drawing on an Ayn Rand paperback.. incidentally called Anthem
https://www.amazon.com/Anthem-Ayn-Rand/dp/B003LDQ9L2
It's a man standing up and resisting, getting closer and standing out against a "sun", while everyone around him seem to merge in a grey mass of ordinary people

To my knowledge, Amorphis started using Ukko's hammer in the days of Tales (1994), on the album cover's artwork but more proeminently for the Black Winter Day single artwork and shirts, where it is carried by some bird. It featured again on their Far from the Sun album cover in 2003.

Manowar have some hammer on their aptly titled Sign of the Hammer (1984), album which contains the song Thor (The Powerhead) nothing less. But it looks pretty much like a tomahawk mounted on something than something nordic.

The Canadian "Thor" artist had a more generic hammer on his album covers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_the_ ... Thor_album)); influenced by the comic Thor.

I've seen the actual "Norwegian" shape of Thor's hammer on Amon Amarth merch, but I can't tell when they started using it. I think nowadays it is pretty much a symbol for Viking metal, though it was first used by a Finnish metal band (or so I think).

Anthrax's pentagram. Outside of metal, HIM's heartagram.

No mention of Dissection's inverted cross? That's probably more recognizable for me than their logo.

Profanatica's priapistic cherub is instantly recognizable. Necrophobic has a pentagram inside a pentagon within a circle that shows up on a lot of their covers.

Anthrax's pentagram was not something I was aware of, though I was a fan of the band from the late 80s to mid 90s, though I remember seeing it on their last album cover which I bought. Looking back at their discography, it see it's been used since 2004.. if not before ?

For a while in the 80s they had this mascot called the "NOT!" man, which they gradually lost. I think it was at the time of I'm the Man and lasted until Persistence of Time.. it was in their goofiest period.

Corrosion of Conformity's modified trefoil ionizing radiation hazard warning symbol on a spiked skull was their first album cover, and though it may not have been proeminent on many of their following albums, it'S been consistently used in their merch and it is instantly recognizable as the band's logo.

Along similar lines, I never noticed that the biohazard symbol existed and what it meant, until the band Biohazrd came along. I remember seeeing the logo once, either in a medical facility or a lab, and realizing.. "OK, they took this from somewhere". I was 17 when I discovered the band, and it was at the same time as I started post-secondary education, going to bigger chem / biology labs, etc.

Summer's End used a Jack-O-Lantern with a high collared cape named "Ralph." I thought it was pretty sweet looking and really fit into their metalcore-by-horrorpunk style.

This far down and no love for Sgt. D, huh? Y'all are on his list.

Sgt. D is badass!

Helloween's evil pumpkin thing comes to mind (technically it's part of the logo, but it appears in album booklets and stuff separately)

The german black metal/punk band has a vulture holding an "Anti-life"-sign (technically "No heartbeat allowed") as their iconic imagery. I actually got this on my left arm :3

http://www.the-pit.de/uploads/tx_news/F ... Wappen.jpg

Then of course the Bathory goat and the nine-point star of Slipknot

The two bands i can think of right now is Cauldron’s 3/4 wiccan/pentagram cross sporting their lp’s and drum set couple years ago. Then i am thinking of Kataklysm old occult symbol that i dont remember the name.

Wow.. two posts in a row who don't bother reading earlier posts.

No mention of Type O Negative yet? The O-Negative symbol, the Hammergear, the Vinnland flag, the Casket Crew symbol... all awesome.

Also, Sodom's "Knarrenheinz" soldier.

I think the angled "S" originally used on "Sabbath bloody Sabbath"'s album cover (1973), on "Sabotage" (1975) and more prominently on their "we Sold our Souls for rock'n'roll" (1975) compilation, is quite reminescent of the proto-germanic Sōwilō rune. It is quite similar to the way "S"es are designed in kiSS, Slayer, SaduS and some Suicidal Tendencies logos. There are only so many ways one can draw an S. However, when doubled, that symbol is very reminescent of the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) emblem. The three aforementioned Sabbath albums all have at least 2 Ses on the cover, though other Sabbath albums with many Ses (mob ruleS, maSter or reality, headleSS croSS, etc..) do not make use of the same effect.

Speaking of Sabbath, there is an interesting piece here: https://www.black-sabbath.com/2012/01/about-henry/
about the flying "devil" symbol seen on many of their merch and easily identifiable as Black Sabbath (though I always found a vague semblance with the BrowninG Buckmark logo), though not easy to find on albums. Apparently it is called "Henry" and it was used for the first time in 1978 on 7" singles, and perhaps a year or so before on some t-shirts. It seems to have vanished completely from their artwork until 1998.

Also, the "figure" on Dio's "Holy Diver" album cover (and in the video) was to return on many of his album covers in the 80s, except "Sacred Heart". It can arguably be seen on "Lock up the Wolves" (1990) too. It too would have a name: Murray, though I haven't seen a reliable source about it.

I want a tattoo of the O- symbol but am afraid if Im in an accident some idiot might think thats my blood type......

It's the alchemical symbol for sulfer. It also appears above the nine satanic statements in LaVey's Satanic Bible.

I seem to recall reading/hearing that Peart was influenced lyrically by Ayn Rand, so perhaps more than a coincidence...?

It is anything but a coincidence. They wrote a song called Anthem (1975) which is the novel's title, and basically their summary of Ayn Rand's doctrine. They named their record label Anthem (1977). They dedicated 2112 (1976) to Ayn Rand and the song's story is quite inspired by the novel. They wrote The Trees (1978), whose lyrics are also their interpretation of her doctrine.

Hmm... I had no idea that Rush themselves were involved in the founding of Anthem records. I always figured it was just the label they happened to sign with. Cool. Thanks for explaining that.

Now that you mention several particular examples, the Rand-isms are fairly prominent I suppose. I only read Atlas Shrugged years ago, so maybe I'm missing a bunch of direct references to her work in some of their lyrics. Interesting.