Vintage Metal Shirts
The eighties were the golden age of heavy metal! Even if you weren’t able to attend concerts, ample opportunities existed to collect metal shirts. From kiosks in the mall to adverts in magazines, affordable t-shirts were widely available.
Album covers always translated into a killer t-shirt. Exclusive artwork created for merchandise were even cooler. These rare designs are the t-shirts that we will revisit.
IRON MAIDEN
Iron Maiden were the undisputed kings of the metal shirt. Eddie was a merchandizers dream. Each album brought a new permutation to the mascot and a stream of singles multiplied those incarnations. These iconic images need no reproduction. Rarer, are shirts created especially for world tours!
Special gigs required special shirts. Sometime a design would be manipulated to emphasize the culture of a particular city.
New York was a particular favorite to feature unique shirt runs. Take this mummified Eddie ready to eat the “Big Apple” outside Radio City Music Hall.
Texas also prompted a special run of shirts. Here, a drunken Eddie soaked up the desert sun while feasting on a rather curious snack.
BLACK SABBATH
Metal would not exist without the mighty Black Sabbath. Innovation extended beyond music. The satanic imagery of albums like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath provided aesthetic inspiration to the 80’s metal scene. One visual depiction of an unholy summoning displayed the darker side of Sabbath.
The skulls that dominated heavy metal artwork proved right at home on a Black Sabbath shirt.
Black Sabbath united with Blue Oyster Cult for the Black and Blue tour in 1980. Double sided shirts featuring each band proved to be the ultimate souvenir.
OZZY OSBOURNE
As Black Sabbath toured with B.O.C., Ozzy was building a successful solo career. It seems the Prince of Darkness took inspiration from another solo artist, Alice Cooper. This tour shirt featured a decapitated Ozzy.
Cartoonish album covers all translated well to t-shirts. No aspect of the artwork was wasted. A demonic bat graced the inner sleeves that housed both Speak of the Devil records. It also made for a memorable tour shirt!
JUDAS PRIEST
Iconic art from Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith ensured Judas Priest had no trouble selling shirts. Slapping the Hellion or Metallian on shirts was a no-brainer. Unique designs were equally popular. Sexually charged lyrics from “Love Bites” and “Eat Me Alive” inspired this provocative image.
Not every tour shirt was designed to shock. Sometimes a simple electric guitar was deemed sufficient.
Bands would often commission artwork to accompany singles. Naturally the art would often be slapped on a t-shirt. “A Touch of Evil” is a perfect example.
METALLICA
Metallica planned on naming their debut album Metal Up Your Ass. The band even commissioned artwork depicting a metal blade being erected from a toilet. Distributors worried that stores would refuse to stock the vulgar record. Ultimately, the band was forced to rename the record. Fortunately the concept was salvaged and reborn as an iconic t-shirt.
The back design featured a glow-in-the-dark figure strapped to an electric chair. The unique design was also used with Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning shirts.
Metallica continued to release iconic shirts thanks to their affiliation with Pushead. Born Brian Schroeder, Pushead was responsible for countless Metallica images. “The Shortest Straw” is only one example of a Pushead design.
“Doris” was yet another popular t-shirt courtesy of Pushead.
THE MISFITS
Pushead’s art extends far beyond Metallica. His work can also be found throughout the hardcore punk scene, most famously with The Misfits. Pushead was responsible for creating skull-centric show flyers that were later printed as t-shirts.
DANZIG
Glenn Danzig went on to form Samhain before morphing the band into Danzig. His namesake band continued to embrace dark imagery. In place of the Crimson Ghost, Samhain and Danzig adopted a skull taken from the Crystar comic book. One popular shirt turned the skull into an inverted cross.
The video for “Am I Demon?” culminated with a crucified Glenn wearing a horned goat mask. The scene was like a horror movie and the still shot graced both the cover of the band’s VHS video and a popular t-shirt.
Perhaps the darkest design was a depiction of Jesus being strangled by Crystar. The back of the “Jesus Bleeding Light” shirt simply read “God Don’t Like It.”
SLAYER
It was hard to keep track of bands before the Internet. The best way for musicians to connect with fans was through the mail.
Early Slayer fans could join the Slaytanic Wehrmacht fan club. $10 bought personalized autographs, newsletters, and a grab bag of assorted merchandise. Perhaps the biggest reason to join was a free Slaytanic Wehrmacht t-shirt!
Variations of the Slaytanic Wehrmacht t-shirt appeared throughout the 80’s and early 90’s.
The “Altar of Sacrifice” shirt depicted a Priest being impaled by B.C. Rich warlocks. A stained glass window featuring the Slayer pentagram confirmed who was behind the deadly slaying.
“Criminally Insane” was another Reign of Blood song worthy of a tour shirt!
South of Heaven ushered in a new batch of artwork. The title track inspired a green demon as the “Root of All Evil.”
Presumably as part of a satanic ritual, this robed man carried a scroll. That scroll was unfurled on the back to display the lyrics to “Spill the Blood.”
Slayer carried on with gruesome imagery well into the nineties. The t-shirt inspired by “Circle of Beliefs” ensured that the Slayer pentagram would remain as a focal point.
DARK ANGEL
The cover of Leave Scars presented a distraught little girl in a darkened bedroom. The image was disturbing, yet steeped in grim reality. The t-shirt, however, added a fantasy-based horror twist on the Leave Scars theme.
The follow-up, Time Does Not Heal, was a sequel of sorts. The little girl appeared again, now as a young woman. It’s clear that the scars were mental. Again, the t-shirt presented a scene of physical torture.
KREATOR
Kreator album art adhered to the expectations of heavy metal imagery. Extreme Aggression was a departure when a simple band photo graced the album cover. T-shirts for the album restored the twisted artwork one expected from the German thrash legends.
EXODUS
Exodus painted a vision of nuclear holocaust in the title track to Fabulous Disaster. One t-shirt could have been used as the album cover. A toxic skull visible on the Earth’s surface merged social consciousness with the metal aesthetic.
“Like Father, Like Son” also inspired a t-shirt. The artwork offered a visual depiction of the lyric, “spitting image of a man in hell.”
“The Toxic Waltz” is the most enduring Exodus song. One popular t-shirt starred a mutant thrasher proudly waltzing it up! He was the closest Exodus came to adopting an official mascot.
The beloved toxic waltzer made another appearance on the live album Good Friendly Violent Fun. When Exodus released Impact is Imminent, our favorite mosher became the star of yet another classic t-shirt.
Like the previous album, songs from Impact is Imminent inspired several t-shirt designs. Artwork for “The Lunatic Parade” was particularly memorable.
“Thrash Under Pressure” was a speed-fest that closed out album number four. That song was also given a t-shirt!
VENOM
Venom used satanic imagery to create a dark aesthetic that future metal acts would mimic. Sometimes the artwork could be silly, such as a demon’s hand reaching for an inverted cross.
Venom albums like Welcome to Hell and Black Metal all translated into classic t-shirts. Time has forgotten some of the Venom compilations. The cover art for From Hell To The Unknown… could have been used in a horror movie. Parents and teachers surely found the t-shirt disturbing.
Sometimes reality is more frightening than fantasy. The face of lead-singer Cronos is scarier than the devil himself!
KING DIAMOND
King Diamond also had a t-shirt worthy face. Covered in corpse paint, the ex-Mercyful Fate singer simply needed to hold a skull for an evil t-shirt.
King Diamond albums featured some of the best artwork in heavy metal. The Conspiracy concept album inspired this classic t-shirt.
ANTHRAX
Not every metal band embraced dark artwork. Anthrax kept their image lighthearted and fun. With the cartoonish Not Man as their mascot, Anthrax had a steady stream of humorous tour-shirts.
This shirt from the Among the Living tour shows the Not Man shivering in his Judge Dredd t-shirt. An ice-covered sign rises from the snow and points the way to the legendary L’Amour club.
The Not Man remained a fixture during the State of Euphoria era. Sporting colorful shorts like the band, the goofy mascot was an integral part of “the road to euphoria.”
“Now It’s Dark” disappeared from the setlist for a solid 27 years. In 1988, however, that song was given it’s own t-shirt. Once again, the Not Man took center stage. The profanity-laden chorus was also printed on the back!
NUCLEAR ASSAULT
After departing Anthrax, bassist Dan Lilker formed Nuclear Assault. Both faster and heavier, his new band quickly rose to prominence in the vast thrash underground. With socially conscious lyrics, Nuclear Assault tackled man-made threats to humanity.
Nuclear Assault kept a sense of humor even in the confines of a serious song. One shining example is this literal translation of the classic song “Brainwashed.”
The fallout from nuclear war had long been a theme for the band. One shirt from the Handle With Care tour reminded us that conventional warfare could also wreak havoc.
S.O.D.
Dan Lilker had been thrown out of Anthrax a mere two days before the release of Fistful of Metal. Fortunately, Lilker didn’t hold a grudge. The following year, Dan reconnected with Scott and Charlie to form S.O.D. Mascot Sargent D. made for a killer t-shirt!
OVERKILL
Overkill also had a memorable mascot. Chaly made a string of appearances throughout the band’s long career. This early t-shirt comes from the Under the Influence tour.
“The Birth of Tension” tour shirt captured Chaly’s unholy spawning.
“SkullKrusher” was another song from The Years of Decay to receive it’s own t-shirt.
As Overkill entered the nineties, they made sure that Chaly would remain a focal point.
Always innovative, Overkill never felt compelled to use their famous bat. This t-shirt for “Blood Money” proved Overkill was never short on ideas.
METAL CHURCH
Metal Church could have derailed their momentum with the departure of singer David Wayne. Fortunately, new vocalist Mike Howe was accepted by fans and Blessing in Disguise made a 15 week appearance on the Billboard 200 chart. Artwork for the song “Fake Healer” kept Metal Church visible in the metal scene.
TESTAMENT
Top notch album art ensured that Testament shirts found favor with the metal crowd. It didn’t take long for individual songs to inspire additional artwork.
By the release of Practice What You Preach, Testament unleashed a variety of designs. The “Greenhouse Effect” visually complemented the band’s warning of “environmental holocaust.”
“Perilous Nation” questioned whether our nation is truly free. New artwork helped tease out lyrical meaning for curious thrashers.
Metal bands often used satanic imagery in their lyrics and art. Not Testament. “Envy Life,” imagined foolish kids selling their souls in a black magic ritual. Summoning “the dark souls of time” proved deadly in this cautionary tale to would-be satanists.
Souls of Black was the darkest Testament album cover to date. By focusing on one of the hooded figures, the concept grew darker. Writing in a book, “one man’s fate” was sealed with the stroke of a pen.
Like the previous album, individual songs inspired artwork. The t-shirt for “Malpractice” was gloriously disturbing!
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Mike Muir may not be a romantic but he was in touch with his emotions. The Suicidal Tendencies mastermind asserted that love is not an option. That sentiment was clearly expressed in artwork.
The vast majority of ST songs dealt with personal struggles grounded in the real world. However, the song “Possessed” allowed Suicidal Tendencies to create a t-shirt design worthy of Venom!
“You Can’t Bring Me Down” was the lead track off Lights… Camera… Revolution! A memorable video filmed Mike Muir in an electric chair. That image was too good to be relegated to Headbanger’s Ball. A defiant Muir moments before execution was a popular t-shirt for ST fans.
“Send Me Your Money” also received plenty of video rotation on Saturday nights. This single was worthy of it’s own artwork. Here, a TV evangelist is portrayed as the devil himself.
MEGADETH
Mascot Vic Rattlehead ensured that Megadeth would have no shortage of t-shirts. One iconic image portrayed Vic rising from a nuclear explosion. The back of the t-shirt even offered a dictionary definition of Megadeth!
Megadeth’s mascot got off to a rocky start. The Vic that appeared on Killing is my Business…And Business is Good! did not align with Dave Mustaine’s personal vision. Long before the re-issue, Megadeth conceived of an alternate KIB Vic through a t-shirt!
“Mary Jane” told the story of a witch that was buried alive by her father. The single had memorable artwork that could also be found on patches and t-shirts!
Megadeth recorded a cover of Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” for the Shocker soundtrack. A video was made and the band commissioned special artwork for the song. Naturally Vic Rattlehead was the star!
Megadeth were no strangers to movie soundtracks. In 1991, they recorded “Go To Hell” for Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. The “Vic Goes To Hell” t-shirt put a clever spin on the classic track!
It would be impossible to include every classic metal shirt. Do you have a favorite shirt that we missed? Feel free to share your memories in the comments!
