By Dan Epstein

Bands come and go, but a great band logo is forever. But what really makes a great logo? Is it just something that looks cool pasted on a drumhead, scribbled on a school notebook or affixed to the back of a leather jacket? Or is it something deeper, a design that somehow magically crystallizes the sound or essence of the band in visual form? Check out some of our all-time favorite logo tees, and decide for yourself.

Designed in 1977 by album cover artist Gerard Huerta, the AC/DC logo is all straight lines and spiky corners — most appropriate, given Angus Young’s piercing guitar leads and the no-bullshit power of his band’s hard-rocking music. The backslash-as-lightning bolt is a nice touch, too; not only does it allude to the ample electricity of Angus and the boys, but it also helpfully clarifies that they’re not talking about that other kind of AC/DC.

Even to this day, some folks misread the Black Flag logo as four staggered, freestanding rectangles, instead of the stylized black flag that LA punk artist Raymond Pettibon intended. “If a white flag means surrender,” Pettibon explained, “A black flag represents anarchy.” Even removed from the political subtext, Pettibon’s image is forceful, menacing and slightly mysterious, just like LA’s most influential punk band.

Cheap Trick’s old-school typewritten logo is kind of like the band itself — simple (and kind of nerdy) at first glance, it gets weirder and cooler the longer you look at it. The multiple iterations of the band’s name recall Rick Nielsen’s multi-necked guitars, as well as the blurred vision undoubtedly suffered by fans at all the “penny beer nights” Cheap Trick played during their bar band days.

Inspiration can strike at the weirdest times, and HIM’s “Heartagram” logo is the proof. Messing around with pen and paper while waiting for some friends to drop by his Helsinki apartment, Ville Valo drew a pentagram; then, as a joke, he rounded two of the points into a heart shape. A true stroke of marketing genius, the Heartagram is a hilariously literal visual representation of the band’s self-dubbed “Love Metal” music, but it can also be easily reproduced as a notebook doodle or a tattoo.

“Eddie,” Iron Maiden’s undead mascot, has rotted — er, evolved —considerably over the years, but their actual logo has remained intact since 1980, when it appeared on the sleeve of their  “Running Free” single. Sturdy, angular and simple enough to stencil on the back of your denim jacket, it’s as classic as classic metal logos get.

Gene Simmons can talk shit about Ace Frehley ‘til he’s blue in the (surgically tightened) face, but he’ll never be able to take away the Space Ace’s considerable guitar contributions to the Kiss catalog — or the fact that Ace designed the Kiss logo. Another classic logo that’s simple enough to have graced millions of school notebooks, yet still looks great as a giant stage backdrop pulsating with thousands of lights, it’s as integral a part of the band as Paul’s lisp or Gene’s dragon boots.

As defiantly sprawling as their early epics “The Four Horsemen” and “Seek & Destroy,” and angled like the headstock of a particularly bitchin’ six-string axe, the classic Metallica logo still has the power to strike awe into the heart of true metal fans everywhere. And the “M” and “A” still look sharp enough to shave with.

Those lips, that tongue… and quite possibly the greatest band logo of all time. Often (erroneously) credited to legendary pop artist Andy Warhol, the Rolling Stones’ lascivious logo was actually designed by British graphic artist John Pasche. Pasche also did album covers for Judas Priest, the Stranglers and Art of Noise, but this image — which perfectly nailed the Stones’ inimitable mixture of sex, defiance and sly humor —remains his finest work.

Woo-hoo! Sublime, dude! Sunshine! Party time! It’s all good, right? Well, no, not exactly — take a closer look at the Sublime sun logo, and you’ll notice a hypodermic needle, a fish skeleton, a knife, toxic waste, and a bunch of other dubious things, all of which take on an even darker significance when you consider Brad Nowell’s fatal overdose.

Just in case you didn’t get the double-entendre in the name of Whitesnake, David Coverdale’s slithering hard rock ensemble, the suspiciously scrotal “W” in the band’s original logo — designed in 1978 by Jim Gibson — offers up a helpful hint. “Slide It In,” indeed!

Though it never actually appeared on an official Who album, this pop-art-inspired logo has been a beloved part of the band’s history since 1964, when it first appeared on a Brian Pike-designed poster for a show at London’s Marquee Club. Pike’s logo has often been paired with the Royal Air Force roundel or (in this case) the Union Jack, symbols which nod to the band's musical might and their innate Englishness — and which look quite slick on the back of a parka.

A killer cross between the Batman logo and a martial arts throwing star, the Wu-Tang Clan’s ominous “W” insignia was designed by Wu-affiliated DJ/producer Allah Mathematics, and may well be the most recognizable logo in hip-hop culture. Like the group’s music, the logo has evolved somewhat since it first appeared in 1992, but it’s still one of the ill-est things we’ve ever seen.