Exclaim!'s 25 Worst Album Covers of 2022
Published Dec 15, 2022
The definitive art movement of 2022, without a doubt, is generative AI art. All you needed to do was type a simple prompt into DALL·E or a similar system, and it would generate a vibey and sometimes pretty cool-looking piece of original artwork.But luckily for those of us assembling Exclaim!'s annual list of the year's worst album covers, most artists didn't do that. Rather, this is a list made up of very human mistakes — from crudely made Photoshop monstrosities to expertly crafted pieces of nightmare fuel.
Brace yourself for Exclaim!'s 25 Worst Album Covers below — and while you're at it, revisit our list of the worst album art from 2021 as well.
25. CEO Trayle
HH5
The most cursed corners of the internet are filled with fanfic art of your favourite characters fucking — but leave it to CEO Trayle to put a blood-splattered depiction of horny Ghostface on his album cover.
24. Shima33
RIP BIG LIZ
Released on September 8, the very same day Queen Elizabeth died, Shima33 danced on her grave with RIP BIG LIZ. We don't like the monarchy either, but if you're going to make jokes, have a little wit — or at least some Photoshop skills.
23. Max Creeps
Nein
Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses is one of the members behind this mysterious, masked rock band — who, in attempting to disguise their identities, made themselves look like those two old guys from The Muppet Show.
22. Dr. John
Things Happen That Way
Presumably intended as a posthumous tribute to the late songwriter, Things Happen That Way clumsily pastes the musician's face onto an iPhone sunset photo with a font randomly selected from a dropdown menu. The "Rx" looks like the abbreviation for medical prescriptions — did the graphic designer realize that Dr. John isn't an actual doctor?
21. Ancestral Sin
Social Hate Speech
Sometimes social commentary is so scathing, so earth-shaking, it's difficult to look at dead on, should it reveal the inherent fallacy — the cruel emptiness — of modern existence: computer bad.
20. Vettor n' the Insurrectos
Obstacle
You call that an obstacle? Just go around!
19. Steve Vai
Inviolate
How the fuck Steve plays that guitar is anyone's guess, but taking off the blindfold would probably help.
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