The album cover for Marilyn Manson’s “Eat Me, Drink Me” shows lead singer Brian Warner (aka Marilyn Manson) standing by a darkened window in a blood-soaked room. Manson is facing to the side slightly with one hand to his face, this demonstrates Erving Goffman’s theory of ‘Feminine Touch’, putting Manson in a submissive position.
The image is divided by two large tears, one going vertically while the other goes horizontally across the image. This creates an inverted cross shape that dominates the foreground of the image. This metaphor directly links with Manson’s reputation as “The Anti-Christ” which stands in the foreground of his personal image.
In the top right corner of the album, there are six long drips of blood that are not diegetic to the shot. These cleverly show the initials of the singer’s persona, “M.M.”.
Through the use of limited diegetic lighting only showing part of the image, it creates connotations of isolation and claustrophobia, making the subject of the image appear unapproachable.
The album cover for Lindemann’s ‘Skills In Pills’ follows a very dark think with contrasts of white, this is very typical of the gothic/metal genre. In this foreground we have a medium shot of the singer (Rammstein’s Till Lindemann) crouching low with, holding a box of sweets, his finger to his lips, maintaining eye contact with the audience. This pose places him in a dominant position, as he is required to crouch in order to get to the level of the audience. Along with the pose of placing his finger over his lips, he mimics the common hand gesture used to ask for silence or secrecy. This creates a relationship between him and the audience as if he is communicating with us directly. However, as a child seeing it, we may trust him, as an adult, that trust is questioned.
Right behind Till Lindemann is the only other member of the band, Peter Tägtgren. He is positioned in an almost slap-stick style of fear. This removes part of the seriousness of the image, giving the impression that the music may not be typical of the metal scene.
In the background, we see a tall, old, secluded house with the name “Lindemann” in lights above it. This plays on the questionable morality of the band as a home is commonly associated with safety and shelter. However, the fact that it is secluded and only two large, scary men are two be seen, the audience is left feeling on un-easy about the situation they are put in.
In the foreground of the image, there is the title of the album “Skills in Pills” in a very thin, edgy font. This pushes thoughts of scratching or etching to the audience, however, the lack of uniformity in the typography shows that the text was rushed. This enforces the typical horror genre that this style of music follows.
