Art Attack! 25 Insanely Ridiculous Illustrated Album Covers

RZA-AsBobbyDigitalInStereo

album_iron_maiden_powerslave_ironmaidenwallpaper

TypeOfWaysingle

Atlantic+Crossing+atlantic_crossing

Outkast-ATLien-Album

front

graduation

mf-doom-mm-food

o8xxyv

tumblr_mvwa44kgTc1qzbwkjo1_1280

Lovehunter

anthrax_fistful_of_metal_000032_0

733935_10202181091145087_1158730325_n

BDP

Chick+Corea+-+The+Leprechaun+-+LP+RECORD-526115

johnecaptainf

batoutofhell

doeboy

bc5ff2dcfebfd444047a5d711fa60607

7631

boned-up-at-the-crack-660-80

Pantera

1000x1000

Riot-bad-album-cover-art-Narita-LP

Wasnatch_Front-To-Back[1]

Warning: Do NOT stare at the album covers in this gallery for more than 5 seconds. Seriously, the art may induce retina damage...or just cause your mind to explode trying to comprehend the insane illustrations!

Popular music -particularly metal and hip hop- has a long and storied history of outrageous artwork. Even old dudes like Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart 

and Elton John rode the crazy train back in the day (as did Black Sabbath), and there are plenty of folks to carry on the tradition today. Some like RZA, Snoop Dogg's Doggiestyle, and Outkast have gone for comic book chic, while others went with more of a video game vibe, like Redman as Super Mario on  Doc's Da Name 2000 or Rich Homie Quan.

Metal headbangers tend to go a little more surreal, with Nazareth depicting a jockey riding a dolphin off a cliff, Pantera's nightmarish Thundercat-like metal god, and Dio's debut featuring the band's mascot seemingly drowning a priest with chains. We aren't quite sure what that means, but at least we can identify the objects on the cover, which is more than can be said for Riot's...we're TOTALLY stumped on that one! Head up to the gallery above and see what you make of some of these awesomely insane illustrated album covers!