{"id":526376,"date":"2026-04-12T06:02:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T06:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/526376\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T06:02:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T06:02:18","slug":"we-werent-after-our-version-of-iron-maidens-eddie-but-it-needed-to-be-striking-the-story-behind-slayers-grim-reign-in-blood-album-artwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/526376\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe weren\u2019t after our version of Iron Maiden\u2019s Eddie, but it needed to be striking.\u201d The story behind Slayer’s grim Reign In Blood album artwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regarded as one of the finest thrash metal albums of all time, Reign In Blood<\/a> broke new ground for Slayer, giving them a cooler, suddenly streetwise overhaul. By then signed to the fast rising Def American label \u2013 best known at the time for its rap output \u2013 the band had the advantage of rap rock producer Rick Rubin\u2019s input on a set of songs that were to define \u2013 and, indeed, overshadow \u2013 their career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed to have an album sleeve that reflected what we were about,\u201d said frontman Tom Araya at the time. \u201cWe weren\u2019t after our version of Iron Maiden\u2019s Eddie<\/a>, but it needed to be striking.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The band decided to take inspiration from what was effectively the title song, Raining Blood, which had a distinct feel of being trapped in hell for eternity, and a distinctly 1980s horror blend.<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

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\u201cThats where the album concept came from,\u201d Araya says now. \u201cSo we commissioned an illustration especially for the cover, giving this idea as the basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man hired to do the artwork was Larry W. Carroll, who came back with two paintings. The band asked him to amalgamate them into a single picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always tried to make sure that what you saw on the sleeve reflected the music,\u201d guitarist Kerry King mused following the album\u2019s release. \u201cIt had to be extreme. In a way, we\u2019ve done the job if it makes pop fans feel ill.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Def Jam\/Geffen)<\/p>\n

While Carroll did the artwork, it was designer Steve Byram who gave it form and emotion. A New York based artist, Byram had recently completed the Beastie Boys\u2019 Licensed To Ill sleeve that same year. He gave Reign In Blood<\/a> a unique style combining graphic comics, cartoons and underground horror.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor me, an album is a whole concept. When I pick up a record, it\u2019s obviously the cover that I see first and it should tell you something about the music,\u201d said Araya. \u201cThere are too many bands who concentrate solely on the songs and don\u2019t pay enough attention to the packaging. That\u2019s a huge mistake and one we\u2019ll never make.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album did cause Slayer a few problems, but not because of the sleeve.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople misunderstood the sentiments behind the song Angel Of Death<\/a> and believed we had Nazi sympathies,\u201d explained Araya. \u201cThat was never the case. But the cover never created any negativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons why Reign In Blood<\/a> became a classic is the impact of the cover,\u201d added King. \u201cIt screams metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slayer – Raining Blood (Live) – YouTube
\n\"Slayer<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regarded as one of the finest thrash metal albums of all time, Reign In Blood broke new ground…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-526376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}