The album artwork for Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction went through a couple of iterations before landing on what we know it as today: the band’s signature cross and skulls logo.
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While the debut effort has become iconic enough without the punchy artwork the band originally hoped to use as the cover, the earlier iterations paired well with the band’s hard rock image.
The band ultimately decided to go for the more tame cover after the early ideas sparked controversy. From depicting national tragedies to shedding light on sexual assault, Guns N’ Roses were prepared to take on some hard conversations with Appetite for Destruction.
Uncover the story behind the many covers of Appetite for Destruction, below.
Space Shuttle Challenger
The first variation of the album cover came from Axl Rose. The frontman wanted something as punchy and volatile as the band’s music.
A year prior to the album’s release, the Space Shuttle Challenger was slated to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Unfortunately, the shuttle only made seconds into the flight before exploding mid-air, killing all seven passengers.
The moment was documented in countless headlines and magazine covers for months after the explosion. Even now, it takes just one search on the internet to find extremely detailed photos of the disaster.
Because it was so pervasive, Rose thought it to be the perfect idea for the cover of Appetite for Destruction.
“I figured, it’s on the cover of TIME, then we should be allowed to use it, too,” he said in an interview after the fact. “It wasn’t meant to be derogatory. That photograph just blew my mind.”
Needless to say, a photo of the explosion was deemed in bad taste and did not make the cut for the album cover.
Robert Williams’ Artwork
The second iteration of the Appetite for Destruction cover prompted similar controversy.
The band found a 1978 painting by artist Robert Williams titled “Appetite for Destruction.” The painting is a graphic depiction of a woman who seems to have been sexually assaulted by a robot while a red, sword-clad being looms overhead. It’s a mind-bending piece of art that takes quite a while to digest.
It was provocative enough to prompt Rose and his bandmates to name their debut album after it and reach out to Williams for use of the work on the cover.
It certainly upholds the band’s anti-establishment mindset but, it didn’t solve their problem of finding artwork that was less controversial. The artist himself warned the band against the use of the painting.
“This was not for the general public,” Williams once explained. “This was never to go in people’s homes. There is no sophistication in this f—ing picture. It’s an overdone cartoon for people who like underground comics and understand underground art. But that’s a very small audience.”
As Williams predicted, many retailers boycotted selling the album with that artwork on the cover. Geffen Records then released a more palatable version of the album featuring the skull and crossbones artwork we know today.
It was a smart move, as Appetite for Destruction went on to become the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. One can only guess what would’ve happened to Guns N’ Roses if they had been boycotted into oblivion before ever reaching fame.
Skull and Crossbones Cover
The final version of the album was created by an art student, Billy White, Jr.
According to White, he made friends with the band through his cousin. Rose saw his work and asked White if he could sketch out a tattoo for him. The mock-up would eventually become the cover for Appetite for Destruction.
“The cross and skulls that looked like the band was Axl’s idea, the rest was me,” White once explained. “The knot work in the cross was a reference to Thin Lizzy, a band Axl and I both loved.”
Rose did get the design tattooed but, it found more visibility on the cover of the album.
Though the final iteration of the cover might not be as splashy as their original ideas, all of that metal-head, rebellious energy is alive and well within the track list.
Photo by Katarina Benzova / Courtesy The Oriel
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