List of Controversial Album Art - Religious

Religious

For controversial album art in the context of religious music, see List of albums censored by Christian bookstores.

• Dio – Holy Diver (1983)
  • The original cover offended churches because it looks as if the monster on the album was killing a Roman Catholic priest.

• Poison – Open Up and Say...Ahh! (1988)
  • The original cover offended churches and parental groups in a satanic panic because it featured model "Bambi" dressed as a luminous red demon with a protruding tongue.

• Killing Joke – Laugh? I Nearly Bought One! (1992)
  • The cover features a priest blessing Nazi soldiers, which resulted in the band being prevented from playing in Glasgow, Scotland.

• Deicide – Once Upon the Cross (1995)
  • The original cover was going to depict a disemboweled Jesus Christ, but it was too controversial and would offend churches. Their then-label Roadrunner Records had to cover it up with a bloody sheet over the disemboweled Jesus Christ.

• Aerosmith – Nine Lives (1997)
  • The original cover aroused the anger of some Hindus who felt the artwork, taken from Hindu imagery and altered by giving the dancing figure a cat's head, was offensive. The band, who had been unaware of the source of the artwork, and record company apologized, and changed the artwork.

• Marilyn Manson – The Last Tour On Earth (1999)
  • The cover features a burning cross and was offensive to many Christians, but the cover remained unchanged.

• P.O.D. – The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999)
  • Many Christian stores refused to carry the album due to its surreal cover art, so an alternative cover that was black and featured the band's name and album title was released for Christian markets.

• Marilyn Manson – Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)
  • The cover art, which portrays Manson as a crucified Jesus Christ with a torn-off mandible, is intended as a criticism of censorship and America's obsession with media martyrs.

• Slayer – God Hates Us All (2001)
  • The 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 cover art was deemed "too graphic" by some audiences, so a slipcase was placed in front of the cover.

• Tenacious D – Tenacious D (2001)
  • The album cover depicts a parody of the Tarot card The Devil, showing the devil along with both members in the band below the devil naked. Because of the cover's satanic nature, the album was briefly recalled from stores.

• Slayer – Christ Illusion (2006)
  • The cover depicts a mutilated, stoned Christ in a sea of blood with mutilated heads. For stores who refused to sell the album with the original cover, an alternative cover was provided instead. In India, Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Mumbai Christian group Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), took "strong exception" to the original album artwork, and issued a memorandum to Mumbai's police commissioner in protest. As a result, all Indian stocks were recalled and destroyed.

• The Game – Jesus Piece (2012)
  • The cover portrays a dark-skinned Jesus in a stained glass window with a teardrop tattoo, a red bandanna around his mouth, wearing a golden Jesus piece necklace. In the artwork beside Jesus, are symbols of cannabis sativa leaves. The stained glass-inspired image shows Jesus sitting on a throne adorned with gang-related symbols. The red bandana over his mouth is a reference to the Compton Bloods gang. After a mixed reception, some of whom deemed it as blasphemous, it was made into the deluxe edition cover only, and the standard edition was altered to be a tribute to Game's slain older brother, Jevon Danell Taylor, shot and killed at the age of 21.