The 15 Best Heavy Metal T-Shirts Of All-Time

Recently on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, we asked YOU, our awesome customers and followers, what The 15 Best Heavy Metal T-Shirts Of All-Time are. Surprisingly, the winners were pretty unanimous, and there wasn't TOO much fighting either. But not surprising at all, many different Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc. designs were given as answers. And because we didn't want to present a list that was 50% Iron Maiden or 100% Metallica, we instead made the decision to only pick ONE design from each band on this list. So yes, we already know there are WAY more amazing Slayer designs than just the one here that also deserve to be on this list, but we really did try to pick the top choices that YOU yourselves chose. And if you'd like your voice heard, please make sure you like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, so you can join in on the conversation next time! Now, onto the show:

 

15. AC/DC - 'Highway To Hell'

We can argue all day long whether or not AC/DC’s music is considered heavy metal. But this album cover/T-shirt? It’s about as metal as it gets. Horns up!

14. Black Sabbath - Gas Mask/U.S. Tour ’78

Obviously, this design has been around for a very long time. But it was Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) character wearing it in Marvel’s The Avengers movie in 2012, that REALLY blew this design up. Going strong since 1978, with no signs of slowing down. Never Say Die!

13. Misfits - Fiend Skull

Maybe not metal per se, but this classic Misfits fiend skull tee should still be a staple in every metalhead’s wardrobe. And in most cases, it is. In fact, it was the members of Metallica who constantly wore Misfits shirts in the 80’s, that really made this design look and feel so metal. I might be biased here since Misfits are my favorite band of all time, but they definitely have one of the best heavy metal T-shirts of all time - even if they are a punk band.

12. Megadeth - 'Rust In Peace'

Both sales-wise and votes-wise, ‘Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?’ and ‘Rust In Peace’ are pretty neck and neck in terms of popularity. So I’m going with personal bias, and choosing MY own favorite of the two: 1990’s ‘Rust In Peace.’ To me, the political messaging that Megadeth has ALWAYS been known for is just a little more interesting to look at here (thanks to the genius of artist Ed Repka). I mean, it’s got band mascot Vic Rattlehead, corrupt politicians, AND a fucking dead alien; all inside Hangar 18. What more could you possibly want? \m/

11. Judas Priest - 'Painkiller'

Much like Megadeth, there wasn’t really a clearcut winner when it came to pitting various Priest designs against each other: ‘British Steel,’ ‘Screaming For Vengeance’ and ‘Painkiller’ were all pretty much tied, so I’m selfishly choosing MY favorite of the bunch here. It’s got chrome. It’s got lava. It’s got a motorcycle with fucking sawblades for wheels. In other words? IT’S METAL!

10. Death - Classic/Original Logo

Death has so many beautifully illustrated album covers, that it feels almost silly to choose their logo only. But it’s just got all the ingredients to make the perfect metal tee: an upside down cross. A spiderweb. A reaper. A scythe. Hell…just the name DEATH in general. It’s a bold and simplistic design from the greatest death metal band of all time.

9. Guns N’ Roses - 'Appetite For Destruction'

Heavy metal purists are going to get mad about this one. Yeah, maybe Guns N’ Roses aren’t a heavy metal band by today’s standards. But back in 1987, GN’R’s lyrics, music AND ideas were honestly pretty fuckin’ metal. If you don’t know what the original concept/vision was for their debut album’s cover, I’ll spare you the gory details and just leave you with two words: robotic rapist. But after music retailers refused to stock it on their store shelves, the band was forced to quickly change the cover, and thus the iconic Cross design was born. What you may or may not know though, is the knot work within the Celtic cross is an ode to another “pseudo” heavy metal band, Thin Lizzy, who was both Axl Rose’s and artist Billy White Jr.’s favorite band at the time. The skulls are just bad to the bone (pun intended), and it’s so classic at this point, that it has transcended virtually every musical act and genre imaginable. You can be the biggest black metal or death metal fan on the planet, and still feel metal in this shirt. You can listen to nothing but alternative or classic rock, and feel like an absolute rebel in this tee. Whatever the occasion and whoever it’s on, ‘Appetite For Destruction’ is a timeless staple that belongs in every metalhead’s closet.

8. Cannibal Corpse - 'Butchered At Birth'

How do you even pick the best Cannibal Corpse shirt design and/or album cover? It’s almost an impossible task. Because once you think they’ve done it all, they go and release ‘Violence Unimagined,’ and then the bar is raised yet again when it comes to offensive T-shirt designs. But this one? We’d be lying if we said it didn’t make us squeamish still, even after being around for almost 31 (!) years. It’s also their best-selling design by far (well, for us anyway), which…says a lot about society? We don’t even know. Either way, it’s the definition of brutal.

7. Slayer - Logo

Any Slayer shirt could easily make this list: ‘Reign In Blood,’ ‘South Of Heaven,’ “Eagle,” “Root Of All Evil,” etc. But Slayer’s logo, and their name in general, is just so metal that you don’t even NEED anything else. Fuckin’ Slayer!

6. Municipal Waste - Trump Walls Of Death

Whether you love or hate Donald Trump, there’s no denying that it has been a long time since a heavy metal band T-shirt made THIS much of an impact. This was our best-selling T-shirt (not just in the heavy metal genre) for years, and although it has slowed down significantly, it will always remind us of a moment in time when a relatively underground band made one of the biggest splashes in our world EVER, with one of the craziest merch designs we’ve ever seen. But the real question is: will there be a sequel in 2024…?

5. Pantera - 'Vulgar Display Of Power'/Stronger Than All

This shirt has a picture of a dude getting punched in the face on the front, with huge letters stating “STRONGER THAN ALL” on the back. I mean, do we REALLY need to explain this one any further? It’s just HEAVY.

4. Cradle Of Filth - Vestal Masturbation/Jesus Is A Cunt

I’ll personally never forget the first time I read about heavy metal’s most infamous tee: COF’s “Jesus Is A Cunt.” I was reading an issue of Kerrang! in the late 90’s, and they ran a story about a fan being ARRESTED for wearing it in 1997. I had never heard of such a thing. Arrested? For wearing a T-shirt? Being just 14 years-old at the time, I simply had to hear what all the fuss was about. Not being aware of any controversy, I convinced my parents to let me order the special edition, coffin shaped box set version of their ’96 album: ‘Dusk ….. And Her Embrace’ from CDnow.com (who later turned into a little company we’ve all heard of: Amazon). The music initially terrified me. I had never heard anything quite like it previously, and combined with the lore of this T-shirt, I was convinced I had just discovered the scariest, most badass band of all-time. It was my first entry into black metal, and I ended up discovering everything I still love in the genre to this day: from Cradle Of Filth’s entire catalog, to the band Emperor and the book “Lords Of Chaos,” etc. All because of this one shirt. And you know what? To this day, it’s STILL shocking when you see it in person. Despite the fact that we’ve seen it (and sold it) thousands upon thousands of times, whenever I see one out in the wild, it’s still just wild. A few years ago, I asked mastermind Dani Filth about the legend behind the design in person, and he told me he just wanted to come up with the funniest, most ridiculous thing he could think of at the time. Mission accomplished!

3. Motorhead - England/Everything Louder Than Everything Else

Absolutely everything about this classic T-shirt design is metal to the core. The band’s chromed out, metal War-Pig mascot between their logo and “England” on the front, with the bold text in a basic Old English font on the back that reads: “Everything Louder Than Everything Else.” All in a basic one-color, white on black colorway. Just goes to show that sometimes simple really is better and less is almost always more, and this design checks all the boxes of being one of the best heavy metal T-shirts of all time.

2. Iron Maiden - Killers

In my humble opinion, Iron Maiden not only has the best heavy metal T-shirts of all time, but they simply have the best merchandise in ANY genre of all time too – period. It’s honestly hard to pick THE best design, as they’re all so good for so many different reasons. But ya’ll voted unanimously that ‘Killers’ is the best, and I’m certainly not going to argue that. This artwork is just classic Maiden through and through. ‘Killers’ being the 1981 follow-up to their self-titled debut, it was only the second time the world saw the now most recognizable music mascot in history: Eddie. But especially compared to his 1980 appearance, Eddie looks straight menacing on ‘Killers.’ Posing with a blood-dripping hammer and downright evil grin in the moonlight, this one really is artist Derek Riggs’ best work.

1. Metallica - Metal Up Your Ass

Interesting enough, “Metal Up Your Ass” has never been our best-selling heavy metal and/or Metallica T-shirt. But it was BY FAR the #1 pick by you, our loyal fans, and honestly…I’d have to agree. Mostly because this shirt is just.so.METAL! Now just how did the supposed greatest heavy metal T-shirt of all time come to be? Here’s a little backstory: what everyone knows now as ‘Kill ‘Em All,’ aka the debut album from Metallica released in 1983, it was actually originally going to be called ‘Metal Up Your Ass.’ The band wanted a title that described both their attitude AND music, and to top it off, they wanted the artwork to make people squirm uncomfortably too. You see, the original art for ‘Metal Up Your Ass’ was supposed to be a toilet wrapped in barbed wire with a blood-dripping machete emerging from the bowl. But artist Stephen Gorman toned down the concept a bit to create the now iconic art. Even still, both the title AND album cover were just a bit too much for record distributors and stores at the time in 1983, and with the advice of their manager and Megaforce Records label owner Jonny Zazula, the band was forced to change it. But did it REALLY get a “safer” title and cover? In response to the news, bassist Cliff Burton said “…those fucking record outlet people…we should just kill ‘em all!” In the end, although we maybe didn’t receive the band’s debut exactly as they envisioned, the world still received the greatest gift of all: THE BEST HEAVY METAL T-SHIRT OF ALL TIME!