Barack Obama and Peter Andre no match for Slayer at The Maggies

12:48 | Monday June 21, 2010

The cover (shown here) features pictures of all four band member with their skulls in various states of decay. It beat Hello!’s Obama inauguration cover and Heat’s Peter Andre cover from last summer to the award.

The Slayer pics were created using a combination of ceramic human skulls, the work of prosthetic make-up artist Lucy Darkness, and photographer Steve Brown. The project was overseen by art editor James Iasscs for the launch of the band’s World Painted Blood album.

The Maggies, which celebrate the best UK magazine covers of the year, are chosen by online votes. The magazine encouraged fans to vote for the cover, with the band themselves even getting involved.

Metal Hammer editor Alexander Milas dedicates the award to “our readers, fans of heavy metal and Slayer themselves”.

“Together, we mobilised a massive online community who came to together to smash our common enemy, Peter Andre. It’s a real honour to beat some of the best-known magazines to become the UK’s number one entertainment cover,” he says.

“Slayer are truly one of the greatest, most ferocious and iconic metal bands of all time, and their brand of blackened thrash has been making heads bang around the world for decades. Our winning cover was far from conventional, but celebrates the heaviest band of all-time in real style.”