A snake appears in the lower-right artwork on Metallica’s original Black Album cover.
The cover shows Metallica’s logo angled in the upper-left area and a coiled snake in the lower-right. The snake was derived from the Gadsden flag, an American historical flag traditionally associated with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” That motto also connects directly to the album’s song “Don’t Tread on Me.”
On the initial release, the logo and snake were embossed so subtly that they almost disappeared into the black background. This restrained design helped produce the album’s widely used nickname, The Black Album, even though the official title is simply Metallica.
Later editions made the emblems more visible by presenting them in dark gray. The cover’s minimalism contrasted with the more elaborate visual identities of many earlier heavy-metal records. Its snake is therefore an important design detail, not a separate logo or a depiction of a band mascot.