Story by Ryan Downey

Iron Maiden‘s beloved “Eddie,” Motörhead‘s iconic “warpig” symbol, Danzig‘s instantly recognizable skull – no discussion of heavy metal mascots is complete without mention of Vic Rattlehead, the skull-headed specter whose visage has adorned multiple Megadeth album covers, T-shirts, posters, tour programs, and comic books, not to mention notebook covers, the world over since Dave Mustaine first sketched him out himself.

In a YouTube video, Mustaine explained that “Vic” came from the word “victim” and “Rattlehead” came from his mother admonishing him about head banging too often. “She said that I would rattle something loose up there,” he said with a smile.

Vic Rattlehead is the personification of “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.” As Mustaine sang on one of the earliest Megadeth songs, 1985’s “The Skull Beneath the Skin”: “Metal caps his ears/He’ll hear not what we say/Solid steel…