The snake on Metallica’s The Black Album cover was derived from which flag?

The snake on Metallica’s The Black Album cover was derived from the Gadsden flag.

The cover shows Metallica’s angled logo in the upper-left corner and a coiled snake in the lower-right. On the original release, both emblems were embossed against the black background, making them difficult to see at first glance and helping create the album’s familiar nickname.

The Gadsden flag is historically associated with a coiled rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” That same phrase appears as the title of a song on Metallica’s album, linking the cover design and the track list.

Later editions made the logo and snake dark gray so they stood out more clearly. The cover was also discussed humorously in Metallica’s documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, where the band acknowledged visual similarities to other black album covers.