Controversial
10. Slayer: ‘God Hates Us All’ This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on September 11, 2001, the album received mixed critical reviews, although it entered the Billboard 200 at number 28. Recorded in three months at The Warehouse Studio in Canada, God Hates Us All includes the Grammy Award-nominated "Disciple" and is the band's last album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph.
Guitarist Kerry King wrote roughly 80% of the lyrics, adopting a different approach from earlier recordings by including prevalent themes such as religion, murder, revenge, and self-control. Limiting the lyrics to topics which everyone could relate to, King wished to explore more in depth, realistic subject matter. The band experimented musically by recording two songs with seven-string guitars, and a further two with drop B tunings. The album's release was delayed due to the graphic nature of its artwork for which slip covers were created to cover the original artwork, difficulties encountered during audio mixing, and the change of distributor by the band's record label during the release period.
God Hates Us All was originally intended to be named Soundtrack to the Apocalypse. However, Araya suggested that the title would be a better used for a box set, which the band released in 2003. The phrase God Hates Us All originates from the song "Disciple", during which the line is repeated over the chorus. The lyrics are in reference to God's allowance of acts such as suicide and terrorism, while seemingly doing nothing to prevent them. A member of the heavy metal band Pantera suggested using "God Hates Us All" for a shirt design after King played the song to the band. King agreed, although he thought the phrase would have more impact as the album title.
The original album cover depicts a Bible spiked with nails, covered in blood and "Slayer" burnt across it, while the liner notes feature Bible verses crossed out with a black marker. The idea was suggested by the band's record company, although King wished to have more time to develop a better cover. King thought the idea "represents a record company with absolutely no idea what the fuck they were going to do", and said that the effort "looked like a seventh grader defaced the Bible." King's concept for the cover was to insert nails in a shape of a pentagram, and have the nails miss keywords in Bible verses so it appeared as if it had been created by a sociopath who knew where every word appears. A slip insert was created to be placed in front of the covers in stores.
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Weird
10. The Handsome Beasts: 'O4' A pig (or two), a nun and a dog, hmmm, not too weird for me. But, the band is probably more famous for their cover art than they are the music...that's just sad, in my opinion
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Worst
10. The Handsome Beasts – ‘Beastiality’ Need I say more?
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Best
10. The Velvet Underground: ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ is often referred to as the ‘Banana Album’ because of Andy Warhol’s fruity creation on its front cover. I still don't see why everyone thinks this is a great cover- it's a freaking banana people!
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records, a subsidiary of MGM Records.
Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain notoriety for its experimentalist performance sensibilities, as well as its focus on controversial subject matter expressed in many of their songs.
Though largely ignored upon its release, it has since become one of the most influential and critically lauded rock albums in history, appearing as #13 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time as well as being added to the 2006 National Recording Registry by the Librarian of Congress.
The Velvet Underground & Nico is sometimes referred to as the "banana album" as it features a Warhol print of a banana on the cover. Early copies of the album invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see"; peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album's delayed release), but MGM paid for costs figuring that any ties to Warhol would boost sales of the album.
On the 1996 CD reissue, the banana image is on the front cover while the image of the peeled banana is on the inside of the jewel case, beneath the CD itself.
Back cover lawsuit controversy
When the album was first issued, the main back cover photo (taken at an Exploding Plastic Inevitable performance) featured an image of actor Eric Emerson projected upside-down on the wall behind the band. Emerson threatened to sue over this unauthorized use of his image, unless he was paid. Rather than complying, MGM recalled copies of the album and halted its distribution until Emerson's image could be airbrushed from the photo on subsequent pressings. Copies that had already been printed were sold with a large black sticker covering the actor's image. The image was restored in the 1996 CD reissue.
It's still a picture of a freaking banana to me.
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