We have probably seen plenty of similar things. Regarding rock stars, whether they are solo musicians or bands, their logos often seem edgy and scary. Spiky, dark, and mysterious, rock band fonts are easily recognizable.
However, is that always the case? Must all rock bands always put up with such an image? Some rock bands prefer more down-to-earth imagery to represent themselves. What fonts will be perfect for them?
There has always been an evolution regarding rock band logos. From pop rock to heavy metal, we get to see the difference. The heavier the rock sounds are, the darker and edgier their image is. You can see the distinction between a pop rock band logo with a heavy metal band logo.
When you look at the rock band logos, you can even confirm that better.
Still, this does not mean all rock bands follow the same common pattern. There are heavy metal bands who prefer bright colours and less spiky and scary fonts. This can be a nice twist once people listen to their music.
For example: it is common to see heavy metal bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden to have rather spiky, edgy lettering in monochromatic designs. They can either have their background dark, with white or grey fonts or vice versa. In some other gothic metal bands, they may add red blood splatches for a ‘scarier’ touch on their band logo.
How often do you see rock band logos in bright colours? Okay, so perhaps this is more for a rock festival, but in 2015, Bay Area Death Fest – which is a death metal festival – combine bright colours for their “Party Cannon” logo with their creepy concept: a photo of a screaming man without his lower limbs.
Of course, it is edited. The model is still alive as we speak.
There are plenty of examples for rock band fonts between eras. In the 1960s, we saw the simple ones like The Beatles, The Doors, and The Velvet Underground. They are all in their monochromatic designs of black and white (and sometimes grey).
Of course, we also have edgy but brightly-coloured ones like The Who. Who does not know the Rolling Stones with their thick, red lips icon?
Then rock band fonts had their experimental moments in the 1970s. This was heavily influenced by diversity in subgenres. For example: Led Zeppelin and AC/DC had more blues in their hard rock and Black Sabbath was dubbed as the first metal band born in this era. You can see the goth-like edges in their fonts.
Sex Pistols imitated newspaper clippings as their band logo. The letters are not in the same shapes and sizes.
After that, there were more colours in the 1980s rock band fonts. It was the era of hard rock and thrash metal. Blood red was in, as we could see in Slayer’s band font. Bon Jovi turned one of the ‘o’s in their name into a red heart stabbed by a knife. Guns ‘N Roses remain consistent with the guns and roses on their logo.
Perhaps the 1990s forward was the era most rock bands would decide their own logos without worrying what the public would think of their image. We could see that from how most of them had gone back to monochromatic designs, but with various lettering styles. For example: Oasis, Linkin Park, Hoobastank, My Chemical Romance, and even metal bands like Cradle of Filth.
If you have started a rock band and would like some font ideas without appearing dark and scary, here are some suggestions:
At a first glance, its brightly-coloured design might remind you of a comic book. Imagine having this web font for a skate-punk band logo. Thick lettering, loud shades of colours, and loud music too will represent every thing a skate-punk band may offer.
Despite the name, this elegant serif font typeface is unique and a nice mixture of modern and classic styles. If your rock band is the subtle type, like the 90s grunge, you may use this font to get people to feel curious.
Whatever the shape and size is, this modern serif font is sharp in appearance and has a high readability. You cannot possibly miss reading this. Your rock band will be easily remembered, plus the music they make.
Following the trend in the 90s and forward, your rock band can use this serif font as the logo. Modern, simple, and in a monochromatic design, you can never go wrong with this. Make sure you do something unique with the lettering like this one does.
This modern serif font offers a simple style with a high readability. You can see from the sensible gaps between the letters. If your rock band is more into the 80s style, you will love the earth-tone shades – from the faded brown backgrounds to the dark gold fonts.
Just because you do not want your rock band to seem edgy and scary, it does not mean you cannot choose the rock band fonts with twirls on the lettering. With Ragike Elegant Stylish Serif Font, the ligature typeface offers sophistication without appearing too much or losing its edgy sense.
Last but not least, here comes Brought Serif Font Typeface. Thick, straight, and with a considerable gap between letters, this font still has a high readability. What makes this font perfect for your rock band logo is the contrasting shades of colours between the lettering and the background.
With this font, you can either have the lettering in bright colours and the background dark. It does not have to be monochromatic. Just make sure that they are really matched and will not give your viewers a headache just by looking at them.
So, who says rock band fonts have to be all spiky and scary? These days, it all depends on how good the music is.
