Glyder-Playground for life

If I were judging this band's style by their cover then my guess would be progressive rock due to the cluttered and slightly artsy feel. I would of course be wrong to some extent as Glyder have more of a classic rock sound although they are beginning to come into their own now. I am not thrilled by the cover, but the music is a different story as they are a very solid band. The two figures in the middle remind me some of the mimes from a scene in the 1989 Batman movie. I just hope no one in this cover pulls out a machine gun and starts shooting.

Covers to make your head hurt

Either the artists of these covers had headaches at the time or perhaps they thought pain involving one's head was a good idea for a cover.



Defiance-Beyond Recognition



Rainbow-Straight between the eyes



Wrathchild America-3D

Living Colour - Stain

Anyone else out there miss these guys?

Let's rid ourselves of the obvious anecdotes about Living Colour being one of the first hard rock/metal acts to bridge the race barrier; Bad Brains and Fishbone were already on track ahead of them and doing things differently. Living Colour was simply a very talented group with a knockout guitarist and a soulful crooner. Hell, the entire rhythm section of Living Colour was on-point, particularly on their brilliant debut album Vivid and for the most part on their second slab Time's Up.

Stain was the group's third album--and its angriest. Heavy and even more pissed off as a whole album than "Type" or "Which Way to America?" previously, Stain's sound is one aspect to its brute ugliness. Compare the vivacious art deco-meets-tribal-meets urban splatter effects of Living Colour's first two albums to Stain's blunt message of continued slavery and mind control. Living Colour was indeed a band with a point and a purpose, and it's not too difficult to see and feel the implosion effect of Stain that would lead to Living Colour's extensive break-up before reforming a few years back. This is some heavy, heavy shit all around...

English Dogs-Where legend began

I have always liked this cover, I guess because the open doors are like inviting you into a new and different world. That's the way I wish all albums would make me feel.

Steve Hackett, To Watch the Storms

Back in July, I placed Dream Theater’s Train of Thought in the spotlight. One reason: Its prominent eyeball, front and center.

Perhaps I have an eye fetish. Or maybe I’m just seeking to restore some balance to the world’s ophthalmologic karma. Either way, my quirks lead me to present this post’s cover from ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett’s 2003 album To Watch the Storms—a modern prog rock classic that gives us a different take on sight.

Like most of Hackett’s solo efforts since his debut album in 1975, the cover art here was created by his then-wife Kim Poor, to whom he had been married more than 30 years until their recent divorce. It’s a haunting image, reflecting the album’s evocative music and hearkening back to some of Poor’s art for his earlier albums.

Oh yes, the face also provides a handy home for Dream Theater’s stray eyeball. How convenient.