Poll: Which Band Has the Coolest Masks?

Masked bands are a big part of the metal ecosystem. Hell, the BBC did a whole show about it. Just as we love bands with insane stage names like “Nergal” and “Quorthon,” so too do we like bands who hide their faces and take on weird, shadowy personas. It’s even generally acknowledged that a musician can be a very different person with or without his mask; you might have a nice conversation with Shawn Crahan at the Albertsons, but if you’re dealing with the Clown, all bets are off.

But while the concept of masks on a metal band is cool across the board, the results are not always as interesting. Some masks just look stupid, or even worse, unoriginal. Sure, it’s fun for you and your bandmates to feel like a bunch of movie slashers or mental patients onstage, but if you’re wearing masks it needs to be part of the show, and if your masks are lame then so is the show, and, inherently, your band.

So, dear readers, whose masks do you think are the best? Which band’s shame-hiders are both the coolest to look at and the most evocative of what they do?

Go nuts below. Feel free to send us photos of masks you’ve designed of Axl, Vince, and I; just make sure to get the sweat sheen on the double chins.