The Best of Grindcore cover art.

Grindcore seems to be MADE for rad, detailed cover art. Think about it, the genre stems from hardcore, extreme  metal, industrial, and noise music, genres that are known for their challenging and provocative covers.In honor of grindcore and all the musical barriers it broke, I'm going to collect my favorite cover art in the genre.  Expect raw. Expect political. Expect horror. These are in no particular order.

1. Grind Madness at The BBC
Up first is Grind Madness At The BBC. This is a fantastic compilation of seminal Earache bands (Napalm Death, Carcass, Extreme Noise Terror) live recordings on John Peel's BBC program. John Peel was a hero and a tastemaker and his support for underground music was amazing. The cover art is a person's head exploding from a lightning bold shot by the BBC radio office. I can imagine people tuning in to Peel's show and hearing the politicized sonic fury that is grindcore for the first time had a similar reaction.

2. Brutal Truth- Sounds of The Animal Kingdom Brutal Truth have always impressed me with their dedication  to grind. They're touring monsters and all of their albums fucking rule. Kevin Sharp is a great lyricist. His words straddle the line between serious political diatribes and side-splitting social satire. I think no album cover captures this than their 1997 release, Sounds of The Animal Kingdom. The fact that the man, the man that resembles a corporate figure morphing into a gorilla. The image has a clear political bent but it's also very funny. C'mon, who doesn't love gorillas?

3. +Hirs+ -Gaytheism- +Hirs+ are, without a doubt, my favorite band in the grindcore scene right now. Their songs are short and sweet, their vocals are pissed as anything, and the guitar work is great but what sets them apart is their politics, their use of drum machines, and creative samples. They're defiantly queer, cop-hating, and anti-religious and I love them for it. Their 2011 compilation release Gaytheism captures their spirit with a title and an image. Fuck Yes.

4. Operation Grindcore Volume 1: It's heartwarming to see someone help out the underground scene like VII and Andrew have over at Operation Grindcore. In 2011, they put out a comp featuring underground grind  from all over the globe. All the bands are great, no-nonsense, DIY fucking grind and the cover art is fitting. It makes me think of massive, humanoid grind-loving aliens descending from space to torture scene kids.

5. Repulsion- Horrified- I wasn't quite sure if this belongs on this list. This album leans more towards death metal than grind, but the art is so perfect I couldn't resist. This is just a classic. A great album and a fantastic cover. It reminds me of old Al Williamson EC comics artwork.

6. Insect Warfare- World Extermination- Released in 2007, World Extermination is a modern grindcore classic. I'm a sucker for black and white, crusty art so pair that with sweet, heavy music and it's a done deal.

7. Lycanthropy- self titled- It's always good to see color in grindcore art, especially color that is done this well. The image is cheesy and rough but it's brought to a whole new level of intensity with the palette used. Also, the band has a great logo, one of the best in grind.

8. D.O.C/Triac split. I'm not a huge fan of either of these bands, but the cover art is just too fantastic to ignore. It conjures images of otherworldly lovecraftian horror. Horror themed covers are a dime a dozen but not many can convey terror as well as this one.

9. Converge/Napalm Death split- Two of my absolute favorite bands on one slap of wax. Perfection made better by gorgeous Jacob Bannon cover art. Bannon is an amazing artist and, in my humble opinion, this is his best cover work.

10. Pig Destroyer- Terrifyer- Pig Destroyer is a band that I'm not really into, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating great art! This is a beautifully drawn image. I like art that shows the female form without it being overly sexual.