Even the godfathers of metal sometimes look back and go… “What on earth were we thinking, mun?” 🤘
Heavy metal has given us iconic album covers. Timeless imagery. The kind of art that ends up on battle jackets, bedroom walls, and questionable tattoos.
And then… there’s that one.
Now, in a moment of brutally honest metal reflection, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has looked back through the band’s legendary catalogue and crowned one release as the absolute low point in visual terms.
His verdict?
“The worst cover ever.”
No hedging. No nostalgia goggles. Just Geezer telling it exactly how it is.
🍼🔥 ENTER: BORN AGAIN – THE BABY THAT WILL NOT LEAVE US ALONE
The album in question is Born Again, released in 1983 during Sabbath’s famously chaotic Ian Gillan era. Musically? Heavy, grimy, and massively underrated. Sonically it’s full of riffs that hit like a dropped anvil.
Visually?
A glowing red baby.
With glowing red eyes.
Staring at you like it’s about to repossess your soul and your record player.
And here’s the best bit: Geezer has openly admitted that even now, decades later, he still doesn’t know what the cover is meant to represent.
The man responsible for some of the most iconic lyrics in metal history has absolutely no clue what that baby was about.
Incredible scenes. 😈
🎸 A SABBATH ERA POWERED BY CHAOS AND ZERO ADULT SUPERVISION
The Born Again era was Sabbath at their most unhinged. Ozzy was out. Ian Gillan was in. The 80s were in full swing. Everything was louder, shinier, and slightly out of control.
That madness seeps into the album:
- “Trashed” – inspired by Gillan actually crashing Bill Ward’s car
- “Zero the Hero” – a riff so nasty it still rattles speakers today
- “Disturbing the Priest” – pure panic-induced metal insanity
It’s an album that sounds like a band barely holding it together — and somehow making it work. Unfortunately, the artwork looks like it escaped from a cursed VHS rental shop in 1986.
💬 GEEZER’S HONESTY IS PEAK METAL
What makes this whole thing brilliant is that Geezer isn’t trying to dress it up as misunderstood art or “ahead of its time.” He’s not defending it. He’s not recontextualising it.
He’s basically saying:
- We made it
- It exists
- It’s awful
- I still don’t get it
That level of honesty is rare, refreshing, and very metal. No revisionist nonsense. Just a legend admitting a swing and a miss.
📀 A CULT CLASSIC HIDING BEHIND A CURSED SLEEVE
Despite the infamous artwork, Born Again has slowly become a cult favourite among Sabbath fans. Plenty reckon it’s one of the band’s heaviest albums, let down by muddy production choices and a cover that probably scared off half the record-buying public.
It’s one of those albums where you have to say:
“Ignore the cover, mun — the riffs are massive.”
Which might be the most metal advice ever given.
🖤 RIFF REPORT VERDICT
Worst Black Sabbath album cover?
✔️ Even Geezer says so
Worst Black Sabbath album?
❌ Not a chance
Most unforgettable demonic baby in metal history?
✔️ Sadly, yes
There’s something beautifully on-brand about the fact that one of the most important bands of all time has an album cover so baffling that even its own bassist is still confused by it over 40 years later.
Heavy metal isn’t meant to be neat.
It’s loud, strange, and occasionally an absolute visual car crash.
And Born Again?
That baby’s never letting us forget it 🤘😈
