Heavy metal as we know it may not exist as it does today if it weren't for four letters, a lightning bolt and two brothers who carved their own path with guitars in hand. AC/DC is synonymous with rock ‘n’ roll.

Even if you can't name more than a handful of AC/DC tracks, their logo is recognizable anywhere to anyone. The iconic red bold letter font and lightning bolt logo wouldn’t come to fruition until their fourth studio album was released, though. 

Here are 15 facts about the legendary AC/DC logo! 

1. When the band was founded in 1973, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young drew inspiration for their name from seeing the initials AC/DC on their sister’s sewing machine.

2. Why AC/DC? The Young brothers felt it captured the energy of the music they wanted to create.

3. Their first album High Voltage (1975) was an Australia exclusive and featured Angus Young in his classic school uniform outfit front and center of the cover artwork. What it didn’t feature was the logo they’re known for.

4. The band went with a spray paint stencil look for TNT, their second album,  but were still honing in on the idea of the high voltage sign splitting the lettering.

5. AC/DC’s third studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), took a different approach with the logo. Gone was the lightning and raw look of the previous albums, looking something more like it came straight out of the Miami Vice collection.

6. It wasn’t until their fourth studio album, Let There Be Rock, that the iconic AC/DC logo made its appearance. 

7. 25-year-old Gerard Huerta created the now-iconic design in April of 1977. He also designed the logo for High Voltage.

8. The record label paid Huerta for a one-time commission for the band’s logo, never indicating that it would be used on a permanent basis. 

9. Huerta has never received royalties for the logo despite it being one of the most recognizable in music, and never hired a lawyer or complained. The band or record label also never contacted him about it, either. 

10. The font design was inspired by the Gutenburg Bible, the first mass-produced movable metal type book in history.

11. The album’s title track “Let There Be Rock” was a biblical storytelling of how rock ‘n’ roll was born, inspiring Huerta’s design. 

12. AC/DC went away from the logo for their next album Powerage. This would be the last cover artwork on a studio album that didn’t feature their famous logo. 

13. The logo has appeared on 12 covers total, featured on 11 straight albums for AC/DC. The coloring and outline has been modified for aesthetics, but the basis of the design is still Huerta’s Gutenburg Bible font.

14. AC/DC merchandise is still a huge draw, and in 2016, the band filed a lawsuit to prevent bootleg products from being sold during their Rock or Bust tour. 

15. AC/DC is the 10th-most selling music act in history, selling 72 million records throughout their illustrious career. That logo has been in the hands of many music lovers around the world over the 40-plus years they’ve been making music. 

You can check out all of AC/DC’s merchandise and vinyl records here.

We started Merchbar because we believe in the universal power of music to connect people. In a world of opposing teams and opposite sides music has an unrivaled power to bring people from all over the world together.

Outside of the concert, merch is a unifying force too. Whether it’s a loud Def Leppard shirt, a baggy Wu Tang hoodie or an elegantly simple product from Ghostly International, these physical emblems of our shared connections can bring high fives on the street or a subtle nod from a fellow fan on the subway.

Its this passion that’s driven us to spent the last 2 years building the ultimate merchandise platform for artists and fans.

Features like personalized merch alerts, optimized mobile browsing and a mobile app that’s rated 4.5 stars and been featured by Apple over 30 times have allowed Merchbar to become the destination millions of fans turn to when they’re looking for merchandise from their favorite artists.

From the beginning we’ve also been focused on being a close partner to artists, and we’re honored to be an official merchandise partner for over 35,000 of the world’s artists from The Beatles merch, to Justin Bieber merch to Beacon records.

Today we’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Spotify that will create a massive new channel for artists to distribute and for fans to discover merch; ultimately increasing revenue for artists and creating even better discovery and shopping experiences for fans.

As Spotify’s official merch partner, Merchbar will power merch listings across the Spotify platform, and over the coming months we will be working closely together to create new merch discovery experiences for fans and new features for artists and merch companies of all sizes.

We’re also thrilled to welcome 10 new artists and their merchandise to Merchbar – Eagles of Death Metal merch, Alanis Morissette merch, St. Vincent merch, Black Veil Brides merch, Joan Jett merch, The Shins merch, Cheap Trick merch, Asking Alexandria merch, Bush merch and Ingrid Michaelson merch all have new stores of authentic and official merchandise opening on Merchbar today.

This is a big step in our goal to create the ultimate platform to connect fans with merch from the artists they love, and we’re just getting started.

If you are an artist or merch company looking for more information on partnering with Merchbar, click here.
Are you a fan looking for merch from your favorite artists? Click here.

Without Metallica, there would be no modern metal — at least as we know it. From day one, Metallica was faster, louder, and heavier than anything else that had been heard at the time. Formed in 1981, the band has sold over 50 million Metallica albums since 1991, they have had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, and they were the first band ever to play all seven continents.

Unlike a lot of bands who may change their logo numerous times over the years, Metallica has kept the same signature logo their entire career, with only slight iterations. Originally designed by singer James Hetfield, and first seen on the cover of 1982’s “Power Metal,” Metallica’s first released demo, the logo that displays the band’s name is nearly as iconic as many of the group’s biggest hits. The rigid edges, the way the “M” and “A” hook around, almost as if they are framing the album’s cover art, and bold edges of the logo’s font all protrude the same amount of attitude as Kill Em All.

Except for St. Anger, which featured no text on its cover, all mainline album releases by Metallica have featured the band’s logo in one way or another. Often very large and very prominent, every single piece of Metallica merchandise sold on Merchbar.com also proudly displays the band’s logo. From the vintage Metallica Damage Inc. Tour ‘86 shirt to the fan-favorite Four Horsemen tee it is easily recognizable, and both the band and fans alike proudly display the logo across their chest, stage, and shelves.

Metallica’s logo saw a more conservative redesign for sister albums Load and Reload, with edges being softened and points being shortened. But other than that — and the aforementioned St. Anger— Metallica’s logo has stayed true to form, and for good reason.

Buy Master of Puppets on vinyl now!

In 2008, when visual artist Turner Duckworth was hired to design album art for the band’s latest release, Death Magnetic, he wanted to revive the original logo: modernizing it, yet holding true to the original. Because “great brands are unmistakable,” his website reads.

With rumors of a new Metallica album in the works, time will tell if the band once again employs their iconic logo, but chances are that after 34 years, the band is firm believers in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Make sure to check out all of Merchbar’s Metallica merchandise here.

Background

When people think of 90’s rock, they think of the grunge. Arena’s once glutted with hairspray, leather pants, and indulgency were suddenly turned on their heads head with flannel shirts draped over dirty jeans and Pearl Jam shirts, Alice In Chains tees and Soundgarden t shirts. This organic brand of American punk from Seattle gave rock n’ roll a shot in the arm that some retrospectively say was overdue.

At the forefront of this transition was Nirvana, the iconic band of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl. These three created a legacy of music, culture and, what would have likely been surprising to their fans at the time, fashion.

The History of the Nirvana Logo

But the history behind the Nirvana logo still emblazoned on the front of millions of shirts is still unclear. In it’s official version it includes the band name “Nirvana” printed in yellow against a black background and above a yellow smiley face. The face has a tongue playfully sticking out and the letter “x” for each eye. In 1991, the logo made its debut on a poster that promoted the band’s release party for its commercial breakthrough album Nevermind. It has since been printed on Nirvana shirts and other Nirvana merchandise worn by fans worldwide.

Inspiration for the Nirvana Logo

Yet, the inspiration for the design is still a mystery, suggesting Cobain might have been the only person who knew its true origins. There have been several theories about this, but none have been confirmed. The one with the greatest possibility is that the logo was derived from the emblem of a former strip club in Seattle, Washington called The Lusty Lady. The club’s logo bore a strong resemblance to Nirvana’s “smiley face.” In addition, the band originated in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, which is just over 100 miles from Seattle.

The Nirvana Logo Font

The font style for the band’s name is Onyx. This style was picked at random when Lisa Orth paid Grant Alden to use whatever font was programmed into his typesetter at that very moment. Orth is a former Art Director of Sub Pop Records, the label that released Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album, in 1989. The Onyx type has stuck ever since.

The Nirvana Logo’s Enduring Legacy

Like the band’s legacy, the popularity and mystery of its logo endures to this day. What’s amazing is that a group whose songs captured life’s complexities and contradictions had a surprisingly simple emblem. The sound that epitomized angst and foreboding was emblemized by a mere “smiley face.”

Merch featuring the Nirvana Logo

Official Nirvana Logo Smile T Shirt – $20 On sale, click for price!

Nirvana Logo Hoodie – On Sale, Just $39.99

Nirvana Logo Poster – Fabric

Or click here to see all of our official Nirvana merchandise in our Official Nirvana Store.