THE NEW ONSLAUGHT ALBUM ART IS WWWWEIRRRRRRRDDDD

I really liked Onslaught’s last album, 2007’s Killing Peace, but judging by a lot of the reviews I read, I was in the minority. Whatever. I was still stoked to hear their new album, Sounds of Violence.

But now I’ve seen the album art, and all I can say is… “Huh?”

Look familiar? It should. The design is a very clear play on the Nazi eagle:

Now, I don’t think Onslaught are Nazis, or anti-semites, or bigots of any kind — at least, not as far as I know. But I don’t see the point of this. What’s the symbolism here? There’s obviously all sorts of associations with the pentagram, but… are they saying Wiccans are evil? I don’t get it.

I suspect that, ultimately, this is an awful lot like Slayer naming their fan club after the Nazi army: just a poor decision based on what someone in the band’s camp thought was “cool,” regardless of the implications.

I don’t mind the recycling of this kind of imagery as long as it has some kind of meaning behind it; I know this is gonna sound like a weird comparison, but Ridley Scott lifted a lot of shots from the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will for a scene in Gladiator wherein his villain was throwing himself a parade, but because Scott was making a point about despotism, the connection seemed appropriate. But if you’re doing it just for the sake of doing it, well, I’d just as soon not own an album cover that makes me feel icky, y’know?

Feel free, as always, to disagree with my assessment in the comments section. Sounds of Violence comes out in the U.S. on February 8.

-AR