10 Fascinating True Stories Behind Iconic Music Album Covers
5. Master Of Puppets - Metallica (1986)
The seminal thrash album and last Metallica album to feature Cliff Burton, Master Of Puppets along with its artwork have become staples of metal and popular culture. Thanks to the show Stranger Things, the album and the artwork recently experienced a huge boom in popularity, naturally generating more interest in this iconic image.
The cover, a painting by Don Brautigam, illustrates perfectly the themes of the record, such as manipulation and death. Curiously enough, Don had never heard the album at the time he painted the now iconic sleeve, which he painted from scratch in just three days.
The concept of the cover originated from an idea by Metallica and then-new manager Peter Mensch. Brautigam was then sent a rough sketch of what the band wanted drawn by James Hetfield, and created the painting which has gone on the front of countless t-shirts and posters ever since. Sadly Don Brautigam passed away in 2008, but was always immensely proud when he saw young metalheads wearing shirts on with one of his finest paintings.
The original 17" x 17" painting was sold at auction in 2008 for $35,000, with the auction house hilariously listing it under the Punk/Rock category.