Some of my all time favorite record artwork has been done by Raymond Pettibon. The illustration on this late-era Flag cover has always floored me. Combined with the iconic bars– the punk logo –this is just a bold looking album, that commands your attention when flipping through bins.

One has to wonder what the devil is looking at– this missing Rollins? Is it a reference to a period of self examination? Are the sperm orbiting the moon a parody of the boys club mentality of the punk/hardcore scene that Flag had grown to obtuse for? Or is it a merely a random drawing yanked from Pettibon’s overflowing scrap journals?

Who knows if Ginn got Pettibon’s permission for the cover (lack of permission being one of the reasons for their falling out), but it remains one of the darkest covers for the band– evil, surreal, and absurd. A fitting visual for one of the most complex and troublesome, though rewarding, records in their discography.