10 Worst Album Covers In Rock
1. Dance of Death - Iron Maiden
As far as hard rock goes, Iron Maiden may have made one of the greatest marketing plans of any other metal act. Instead of mugging for the camera with their good looks like glam rockers would have done, the invention of what would become Eddie has been burned into the minds of metalheads for years now. Though Eddie the Head can still hold his own, you just have to wonder what he got himself into on Dance of Death.
It doesn't take you long to look at the album cover before you realize that something is very wrong. While Eddie looks alright, the figurines he's forced to stand next to make it look like one of the most off-putting masquerade balls you've ever been to in your life. Also, it's clear that our artist here is having his first real go-around with CGI characters, given that most of them are either bald, naked, and pulled every which way in the ruckus.
The icing on the cake of this being the worst is that it could have been great, with the original drawing being just Eddie on the cover with most of the other figures removed entirely. It's not like Maiden themselves weren't aware of this either, as Bruce Dickinson took jabs at it and even the artist asking to have his name redacted from the inner sleeve. It just goes to show you that while some album covers are wretched, it stings more when you realize what could have been.