What animal is depicted on the cover of Metallica’s 1991 album Metallica?

A rattlesnake is depicted on the cover of Metallica’s 1991 album Metallica.

The cover is predominantly black and features a faint coiled snake on the lower-right side, alongside a subdued Metallica logo. The imagery is linked to the song “Don’t Tread on Me,” whose title and lyrics draw on the Gadsden flag and its warning associated with the rattlesnake.

Because the snake is intentionally low-contrast, some viewers mistake it for another dark-colored animal or overlook it entirely. The design’s restrained presentation is part of why the album acquired its widely used nickname, The Black Album.

The cover was designed by Metallica and Peter Mensch, with photography and visual work associated with the album’s production team. The snake also appears on the back cover, creating a visual connection between the front artwork and one of the record’s explicitly referenced symbols.