Heavy Metal Cover Girls is a very occasional series where I post album covers
that share a theme and try to say something almost intelligent about them.
That said covers all feature at least one attractive young woman in minimal clothing is entirely coincidental.
Some stories have such a strong hold on our memories that you only need a few visual clues and you can tell where the rest of the story is going; or at least up until the final twist. Case in point: Give a young woman a brief red cape, stick her in the woods and right away you can almost here the sinister strings and a faith sound of something breathing in the bushes.
As with a lot of these covers I've posted, the imagery is a deliberate attempt to evoke a certain response. This can then be subverted, played for laughs or run as a one panel horror story depending on what the band asked for.
The theme is Red Riding Hood and not only are there multiple album covers using this image, there are several different ways to get young Red to Granny's house.
Xiphea - Once Upon a Time (Germany 2016)
Red is surprised to discover that Granny has apparently upgraded to a Schloss.
Red is now wondering why she's lugging this basket of food when Granny has an entire castle full of servants paid to do shit like this.
Xiphea are female fronted Symphonic metal
American Dog - Unfinished Business. (USA 2017)
Poor wolf never knew what hit him.
Red has been away in the city and what she learned there is the power of a low-cut blouse and a well-swung bat.
American Dog are a rough-edged, bluesy hard Rock band from Ohio.
Lupu' Cel Rău - Povești Din Pădurea De Metal (Romania 2016)
Somehow I don't think it was the wolf stalking the girl here.
She looks entirely too happy and I wouldn't be surprised if Granny's house is surrounded by impaled heads on spikes.
I don't get to hear that many Romanian metal bands, especially ones that have songs in Romanian.
Definitely on the melodic side of Metal.
Interesting.
Ivory Twilight - Седем ("Seven") (Bulgaria 2013)
Here Red has lost the path entirely and strayed into a Salvador Dali painting.
(Yeah... I'm stretching a bit with some of these. I admit it. )
Metal Archives describe Ivory Twilight as Symphonic Power Metal
and one of these days I'll find somebody to explain what that is to me.
Righteous Vendetta - Cursed. (USA 2017)
Red Riding Hood walked into the woods to visit Granny.
Somebody...something... else came back.
Righteous Vendetta are Metalcore which, looking at the album cover, surprised me a lot.
So this next cover isn't metal by any stretch of the imagination but it fits the theme and also has an interesting take on it.
Cattac - Little Red (Germany 2018)
It took me a while to work out what was wrong with this picture.
I knew something was off but couldn't put my finger on it.
Eventually I managed to work past the boobs and down to the legs.
Or lack of.
This isn't Red riding Hood.
This is a mannequin of Red Riding Hood which adds an extra layer of meaning.
What that meaning is, you'll have to ask the band.
Cattac are difficult to describe. Not Metal or even rock but more
dark electronic Gothic music.
I can see pale girls in a dark - really dark- club loving this.
