Vic Rattlehead

Vic Rattlehead on the cover of Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

Vic Rattlehead is the mascot of the thrash metal band Megadeth.^[1][2][3] Vic is a skeletal figure who embodies the phrase, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." ^[4] His eyes are covered by a riveted-on visor, his mouth is clamped shut, and his ears are closed with metal caps.^[5]

He was on their first four album covers (1985–1990): Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, So Far, So Good... So What!, and Rust in Peace.^[6]

Vic did not appear on the front cover of any albums or compilations from 1991 to 2000. However when Megadeth tried to bring back a more 'classic' vibe to their material he returned for the 2001 album The World Needs a Hero, the 2004 album The System Has Failed, as well as the 2007 studio album United Abominations in a human form. He is identified by his visor, metal caps on his ears, and clamps on his mouth. Vic was once again absent from the cover of Endgame, instead found in the album's booklet much like the inside cover of Youthanasia and Countdown To Extinction and the 2005 compilation Greatest Hits: Back to the Start. His portrait image can also be found by joining the spine labels of the 7 albums Mustaine re-released in 2004. Vic was mentioned in the band's 2010 video "The Right to Go Insane" and featured on the cover art for the "Sudden Death" single.^[7] On Th1rt3en is shown with his back turned. Vic can be seen very faintly on the Super Collider album artwork as a reflection in the center of the particle collider, it is revealed inside the cover and on the back that Vic is the Super Collider.

Creation

The mythic creation of Vic Rattlehead is addressed in the song "Skull Beneath the Skin" from the Killing is My Business... and Business is Good! album:

Prepare the patients scalp
To peel away
Metal caps his ears
He'll hear not what we say
Solid steel visor
Riveted across his eyes
Iron staples close his jaws
So no one hears his cries

In reality, Dave Mustaine sketched the original drawing of Vic for the cover art, but Combat Records lost the artwork and improvised a completely different result. The original artwork was supposed to be recovered and placed on the re-issue of Killing Is My Business...and Business is Good!; however, this never came to pass. The name of Vic stands for victim and Rattlehead comes from what Mustaine's mother used to say to him when he was headbanging. "Don't do that or you'll rattle something up in there!" This then led to the expression "to rattle one's head" meaning head-bang.

Redesign contest

On January^[8] 29, 2006, an official contest was announced on DeviantArt to redesign the Megadeth icon.^{[9][10][11][12]} The contest stated:

After two decades of rocking, the heavy metal band Megadeth’s mascot Vic Rattlehead needs a facelift and the band has commissioned DeviantArt to redesign him!! Not only do you get the chance to redesign a mascot whose image has appeared on several Megadeth albums as well as a myriad of band merchandise, you can also win the BIGGEST prizes we've ever offered for a DeviantArt contest!

The prizes were three different ESP electric guitars. The contest ended on February 14, 2006, and was judged by Dave Mustaine with the results posted on DeviantArt on March 15, 2006.^{[8][13][14][15]}

Artists

The artists for the various incarnations of Vic include:

• Dave Mustaine (original band logos)

• Edward J. Repka (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? and Rust in Peace)

• David Jude (So Far, So Good... So What!)

• Hugh Syme (Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia, and The World Needs a Hero)

• Michael Mueller (Megadeth edition of VH1's Behind the Music, Blackmail The Universe concert tour shirts, and the 2002 remastered edition of Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!)

• Mike Learn (The System Has Failed)

• John Lorenzi (United Abominations, Warchest, Endgame and Thirteen)

United Abominations

The cover art for Megadeth's eleventh album, United Abominations, has revealed a redesigned Vic, using artwork from John Lorenzi, one of the DeviantArt contest entries, albeit not a winning entry. Vic now appears as an elderly man rather than a skeletal figure. He is, however, depicted with traits of the Four Horsemen mentioned in the album and shown inside the CD case—he is accompanied by an angel wearing white with blood-stained wings (an allusion to the Pestilence Horseman), has long black hair and a black cloak resembling the black horse of Famine, is wielding various firearms like the sword used by the War Horseman, and has pale, veinous-looking skin like that of Death, and is, of course, shown dealing death on a large scale. A reflection of the classic Vic can also be found on the far-right building on the front cover.^[16][17]

See also

• Eddie the Head
• Snaggletooth

External links

• Megadeth's official website
• Mascot redesign contest

Footnotes