What motto appears on the flag associated with the snake image on Metallica’s The Black Album cover?

The motto associated with the snake image on Metallica’s The Black Album cover is “Don’t Tread on Me.”

The album cover shows a barely visible coiled rattlesnake alongside the band’s logo. The snake and motto connect the artwork to the Gadsden flag, an American historical flag that features a rattlesnake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me.”

Metallica also included a song titled “Don’t Tread on Me” on the album. The title draws on the same phrase, making the connection between the cover imagery and the track list especially clear.

The cover is not a reproduction of the full Gadsden flag: it presents a dark, minimalist design rather than the flag’s usual yellow field. That difference is why the question asks for the motto associated with the snake image rather than the name of the cover itself.