Tattoos and rock music go hand and hand, but these days it seems like the only musicians who are getting new ink are Rihanna and Justin Beiber. While that is all fine and dandy for them and their fans, there is a serious lack of rock musicians who sport heavy amounts of ink these days. More and more bands are ditching heavy metal, sleaze rock, hard rock and other genres in favor of softer, gentler tunes. This new breed of rock star may have arm sleeve tattoos, but they are usually hidden by long argyle sweaters or other frilly gear.
For rock stars with the best tattoo designs, we have to look at musicians who have been in the game for several years.
The 10 rock stars on this list have been touring and making music for as long as anyone can remember, and their ink serves not as a fashion accessory, but more like a rite of passage they earned while on the road. These tattoos represent every late night of partying, every blown amp, and every on stage meltdown these rock stars have ever had. Check out the different kinds of ink on these rock stars for inspiration on your next tattoo design so you can have one of the best tattoo designs.
Josh Homme
Josh Homme is the lead singer of Queens of the Stone Age, lead singer of Them Crooked Vultures and one of the founding members of the desert rock band known as Kyuss. All over his body, Josh wears tattoos inspired by his long years touring with these bands. One of his most meaningful pieces of ink is a finger tattoo that spells the name of his grandfather that he got after he almost died due to surgical complications. It reminds him to get up and live life like it matters every day.
Tim Armstrong
As the leader of punk rock band Rancid, Tim Armstrong has been playing music for over 30 years and has tattoos that cover his entire body. One of his most impressive tattoo designs is on top of his head where he wears a spider tattoo in the middle of it with a web going out to the rest of his head.
Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl came to prominence as the drummer for Nirvana, but he broke out on his own with the Foo Fighters. In the beginning, Foo Fighters were a clean cut side project that didn’t get much attention. Today, the band is quite arguably the biggest rock band in the world. Dave Grohl rocks a couple of arm sleeves that feature awesome tribal tattoo designs, and makes him stand out amongst rock royalty.
Flea
Flea is the legendary bass player of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one of the few bass players who is actually displayed in the limelight amongst the other members of his band. One of the coolest tattoo designs of Fleas is his tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Before listening to Jimi Hendrix, Flea thought that rock music was a waste of time. After listening to Jimi, he joined one of the best selling and most popular bands of all time and is still going strong today.
Travis Barker
Blink 182 is one of the poppiest punk bands, but drummer Travis Barker gives the group the edge it desperately needs. Travis is covered with tattoos from head to toe, but his most promintent piece is his chest tattoo that features the phrase “Can I Say,“ a Cadillac symbol, and a boombox. He also has a set of checkered flags as a neck tattoo.
Billie Joe Armstrong
The lead singer of Green Day is another rock star who is keeping rock alive, and has the tattoos to prove his experience. One of the coolest tattoos he wears is a film strip on his forearm that shows caricatures of the other members of the band.
Rob Zombie
After Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie is one of the names most associated with shock rock. In order to keep up his appearance as not only a musician, but a horror film director, Rob Zombie is draped with killer arm sleeve tattoos, as well as a long set of dreadlocks and a beard that would strike fear into any current pop star.
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins was playing punk rock and getting tattoos before it was cool. While some of his tattoo designs may look a bit dated today, they serve as a fitting accessory to the elder statesman of hardcore punk. One of his most prominent tattoos is a tribal sun on his back.
Henry Rollins
Josh Todd
The singer of Buckcherry may be a king of sleaze rock, but he is one of the best examples of awesome tattoos. Check out his back to see a huge tattoo of a king from a deck of playing cards.
Glenn Danzig
Danzig himself has a bunch of tattoos that show off his awesome muscles. But Danzig’s main contribution to the tattoo scene is his iconic band symbols. Tons of punk rock fans have a Misfits tattoo somewhere on their body, and even more hard rock fans have the Danzig logo tattooed on their back.
