Few bands made such a resounding debut as Guns N' Roses with the album Appetite For Destruction , released in 1987. Featuring a series of the band's classics, the album's original cover was censored due to the graphic content of the illustration chosen by Axl Rose to introduce GnR's sound to the world.
Replaced by a cross with the band members represented by skulls, the cover of Guns N' Roses' debut album features violence and the shock element that hard rock bands of the time so heavily exploited.
Still holding the title of best-selling debut album of all time, with 18 million copies sold in the US alone, Appetite For Destruction introduced Guns N' Roses to the world with seven singles, including "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," and "Sweet Child o' Mine."
Billboard Top 200 for an impressive 147 weeks, four of them at number one. It was voted the best album of 1987 and also the best of Guns N' Roses' career Wikimetal readers .
The album cover image was created by Robert Williams, but do you know the interesting facts surrounding this artwork? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , the artist spoke about the controversial cover of Guns N' Roses' debut album.
What is the original cover image for Appetite For Destruction ?
Trigger warning regarding violence against women. The cover art for Appetite For Destruction contains graphic violence against women, which is why it has been heavily criticized and was also the target of campaigns by feminist groups at the time.
In the foreground, we can see a woman who is a victim of sexual abuse with her underwear pulled down and her breast exposed. The heinous criminal, in this case, is a robot that is near the victim.
Behind the fence, there is a second type of robot. In the sky, we can see a kind of vengeful monster approaching to punish the rapist.
The work was not made specifically for Guns N' Roses.
Williams' painting became world-famous thanks to Guns N' Roses, but the band didn't even exist when the illustration was created in 1978.
When the hard rock band contacted him to license the image as an album cover, the name Guns N' Roses was still obscure and relatively unknown. “They paid the licensing fees like any unknown punk rock band would. It wasn't much. To me, they were just another garage band,” the artist recounted.
The name Appetite For Destruction came from the artwork; it wasn't the band's idea.
Another detail of this negotiation lies in the name: Robert Williams' artwork was called Appetite For Destruction . When Guns N' Roses decided to use that image, they contacted the artist and asked for permission to also use the project's name on their debut album.
Once again, without having the slightest idea of the success that album would have, Williams agreed and authorized the band to also use the name of the painting.
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Axl Rose discovered art by chance in Los Angeles.
Appetite For Destruction cover was Axl Rose, who discovered the design completely by chance.
Someone decided to put the image on a postcard, which was sold in a store in Los Angeles. One day, the illustration fell into Axl Rose's hands, and he didn't rest until he got in touch with the artist responsible.
Initially, the vocalist sent the image as a joke, but the illustration ended up as one of the finalists for the album cover.
The cover artist warned Guns N' Roses about the controversies.
Certainly, Appetite For Destruction wasn't Robert Williams' first shocking and "questionable" work. Aware of the media and even legal problems that could arise if the painting were used on a mainstream album, the artist warned the band and tried to convince them to abandon the idea.
READ ALSO: Guns N' Roses: the band's 6 most problematic songs
“This is not a good idea. It’s too violent. You’ll have a lot of problems. Why don’t you come to my house so we can choose something more palatable from among hundreds of other works of mine?” Williams told the band’s manager at the time.
What is the meaning of the cover of Appetite For Destruction ?
According to artist Robert Williams, the woman being violated in the photo is a vendor of small pink toy robots. Her sales stall is shown lying on the ground while she is being violated by a robot that steps on the merchandise she sells. Immediately afterward, this monster is on its way to exterminate the criminal.
“We have a girl on the ground who sells toy robots, and she was violated by another robot. And a vengeful monster comes climbing the fence to get [the robot]. So this image has vengeance and justice in it,” Williams explained.
Stores refused to sell the Guns N' Roses album because of the cover.
As expected, the explicit and violent cover caused problems with the album's distribution, with stores refusing to sell the Guns N' Roses album because of the cover. Therefore, Geffen Records had to release an alternative edition and kept the artwork inside the booklet.
Appetite For Destruction cover , with the tattoo-style cross and skulls representing the band members, is still used today, including on merchandise and streaming platforms.
READ ALSO: 20 album covers that were banned in the US
