Don Brautigam illustrated the cover of Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, known as The Black Album.
The cover is deliberately restrained: a nearly black field carries the band’s dark logo and a subtle image of a coiled snake. Brautigam provided the illustration, while other contributors handled photography, design, and the broader art direction.
The snake is commonly associated with the album’s imagery and with the song “Don’t Tread on Me.” The understated presentation also helped inspire the record’s popular nickname, even though the official title is simply Metallica.
Several nearby credits are easy to mix up. Ross Halfin was responsible for photography, and Pushead was associated with artwork for other Metallica releases. Stephen Gorman illustrated ...And Justice for All, not the Black Album. Separating those roles makes Brautigam the specific answer for the 1991 cover illustration.