Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV album is one of the classic rock era’s intricate and intriguing albums. The album was released in 1971 without any band or artist name on the album cover. The band’s decision to make this change was met with strong resistance from Atlantic Records, which believed it would be a “professional suicide” for the group. Despite the label’s concerns about not giving the album a name, the band saw this move as a way to defy critics and demonstrate that they were not part of a trend but were making music for its own sake. Instead of a title, the band members decided to choose individual symbols to represent themselves.
Jimmy Page, the guitarist and founder of the band, created a symbol he called “ZoSo.” He claimed that it held no lexical meaning for those who tried to decipher it by associating it with the planet Saturn. Page never publicly explained the true meaning of the symbol.
Robert Plant, the vocalist, was another band member who created his symbol. His symbol, a circle containing a feather, was inspired by the Mu civilization, which was believed to have been a lost continent.
John Paul Jones, the bass guitarist, chose a symbol consisting of intersecting triangles in a circle, known as a “triquetra,” taken from Rudolf Koch’s book. The symbol represented both trust and competence.
The band’s drummer, John Bonham, selected a symbol composed of three interconnected circles, symbolizing the holy trinity: mother, father, and child.
Sandy Denny, a guest artist who appeared on “The Battle of Evermore,” had a symbol consisting of three downward-pointing triangles.
These unique symbols added an extra layer of mystique to the album and the band’s identity, showcasing their individuality and creative spirit.
When Led Zeppelin’s album “Led Zeppelin IV” was initially released, there were difficulties in terms of recognition. Atlantic Records referred to the album as “Four Symbols” and “The Fourth Album.” Some people referred to it as “ZoSo” based on Jimmy Page’s symbol. However, the band simply called it “the fourth album” or “Led Zeppelin IV.”
The cover artwork of the album was acquired by Robert Plant from an antique store. This painting, believed to be from the 19th century, depicts a rural scene and is partially mounted on an interior wall of a partially demolished house. Later, the painting was combined with the “Salisbury Tower” building in Birmingham seen on the left side of the album cover. The album cover was designed to remind people of the city and country dilemma and to encourage them to look at the world, addressing a topic previously debated in the band’s “Led Zeppelin III” album.
The painting “The Hermit” featured on the inside cover of the album was painted by Barrington Coleby and inspired by the card of the same name in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck.
Despite the controversy surrounding its release, the decision to do so, and the band members’ symbols, “Led Zeppelin IV” is considered the band’s most successful album to this day. Among the album’s most beloved tracks are songs like “Black Dog,” “The Battle of Evermore,” and the iconic “Stairway to Heaven.”
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