A snake is depicted beside Metallica's logo on the cover of The Black Album. The nearly black artwork shows a subtle coiled serpent and the band's logo against a dark background.
The understated design helped give the album its enduring nickname. The official title is simply Metallica, but fans and critics commonly call it The Black Album because of the cover's dominant color and minimal presentation. The cover was designed by Metallica and Peter Mensch, with photography by Ross Halfin associated with the album's visual campaign.
The snake is also connected to the album's “Don't Tread on Me,” whose title and imagery evoke the Gadsden flag. The flag features a rattlesnake and the phrase “Don't Tread on Me,” so the cover image and song share a political and historical visual reference.
The cover is sometimes remembered as completely plain black, but it is not blank. The logo and snake are intentionally low-contrast, making them visible without dominating the artwork. That subtlety is part of why the image became so distinctive in rock album design.