Logos from Hell
D
eath metal and black metal logos
may be considered a crude form of
typography often rendered by hand
but sometimes constructed by a
conglomeration of fonts. Typography, having its
origin in the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete
circa 1850-1600 BC, has evolved over the centuries
into an art form handled in modern times by visual
experts and even the lay person. Death and black
metal logos, as a legit art form, is gaining momentum
as the genres begin to surface into international
mainstream visual art and music communities.
Its reputation is often overlooked because if its
extreme nature however it is important to take note
of its presence and its relationship to professional
typography and logo design.
Death, black and related extreme metal music
genres are arbitrarily defined by their sound. They
are a more aggressive form of music, inspired by
their tamer predecessors. The nature of extreme
music—employing fast tempos, heavily distorted
guitar playing, often undecipherable vocals, and
unholy lyrical content—is synonymously reflected in
its visual branding. Branding is the implementation of
a visual graphic—such as a logo—which serves the
purpose of creating an association or expectation for
any given product. In this case, the product of focus is
extreme heavy metal music. A band’s logo may serve
the purpose of being recognizable, imply a style of
music, create a theme, appeal to a specific audience,
or simply be used as a marketing tool for products
and advertising.
Just as the sound of extreme heavy metal music
can be arbitrarily defined, so can the style of logo it
commands. Death metal logos are often delineated
by their lack of legibility as it goes hand-in-hand
with the seemingly audible illegibility of the
music. Subjectively speaking, one might draw the
conclusion that the more extreme the logo, the more
extreme the band. The notion of an extreme logo can
be compared to the concept of ‘display typography’
which is less concerned with legibility and is typically
Logos from Hell 
used as an artistic or decorative form of type versus
the more structured ‘text type’ comprised by a large
body of words. The typical artistic elements of a death
metal logo often consist of pointed edges, web-like
features, blood drips, thin and intricate borders,
ideograms, and more importantly—repetition
and alignment. Despite the raw and imaginative
characteristics of a death metal logo, it still retains
the simple structure of most well-defined type. Death
metal logos rely heavily on the fundamentals of
typography, employing the mindfulness of symmetry,
tracking, kerning, various letter heights, and even
the implementation of ligatures. Black metal logos,
for example, depend heavily on script-inspired letter
forms, ornate embellishments, and the excessive
use of ideograms such as upside-down crosses,
pentagrams, and various occult symbols.
This compendium of death and black metal logos
includes the talent of some of the most prolific and
well-respected artists in the underground extreme
heavy metal music community. It is an attempt to
offer incite, meaning, and purpose to a form of art
that has found its niche in the extreme music market
and makes no apologies for pushing the limits of
acceptable logo and type design.
20 Logos from Hell Logos from Hell 21

T
his brief inspection of extreme heavy metal logos would be incomplete
without the most influential logo—and band—in death metal music
history. The band Death, by which the genre of death metal is named,
exhibits a logo that is both a rudimentary and difinitive part of logo
history. Originally penned with a fine point marker in 1984 by former member Kam
Lee, the logo’s raw nature and symbolic content ring true in many logos today. The
Death logo has seen various incarnations as the band progressed over time but the
original version retains the true qualities essential to the band’s origin. Note the ‘666’
around the letter ‘T’ (which doubles as an inverted cross); an element that never
appeared on any of the official Death album covers.

Original Death logo by Kam Lee

I L L U S T R A T O R : Lou Rusconi I L L U S T R A T O R : Irwan Azman Awang
C L I E N T : Otto Schirach C L I E N T : Tortured Maternity
C L I E N T : The Ravenous C L I E N T : Hemaphrodite Jihad
I L L U S T R A T O R : Mark Riddick I L L U S T R A T O R : Lou Rusconi
 I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp I L L U S T R A T O R : Christophe Szpajdel
C L I E N T : Tearstained C L I E N T : Trono

C L I E N T : Nostalgia C L I E N T : Kathaarsys
I L L U S T R A T O R : Médan Savamhel I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp
 I L L U S T R A T O R : Kris Verwimp I L L U S T R A T O R : Daniel Desecrator
C L I E N T : Paths of Possession C L I E N T : Occult 666
C L I E N T : Heresiarch C L I E N T : Orthrus
I L L U S T R A T O R : Médan Savamhel I L L U S T R A T O R : Mark Riddick