Who photographed the band for the artwork of Metallica's The Black Album?

Ross Halfin photographed the band for the artwork of Metallica's The Black Album. Halfin was already closely associated with Metallica's visual identity and heavy-metal photography.

The album's credits distinguish photography from illustration and art direction. Don Brautigam created the cover illustration, while Metallica and Peter Mensch handled art direction. Halfin's photography therefore represents a separate part of the package's visual design.

The cover itself is deliberately restrained: a nearly black field carries the band's logo and a subtle coiled snake. The low-contrast design helped inspire the album's common nickname, The Black Album, even though the official title is simply Metallica.

Halfin later contributed extensively to Metallica's visual history through concert photography and archival images. This is why his name is sometimes associated with the entire cover concept, although the credit specifically concerns photography. Separating the photographer, illustrator, and art directors gives the most precise answer.