Few lepidoptera (moths or butterflies) can claim to be as 'edgy' as the Acherontia atropos, more commonly known as the Death's-Head Hawkmoth. For us Generation X-ers this reputation was cemented by its starring role on the poster for the movie, The Silence of the Lambs but it had had a long history in popular culture before that.
It was mentioned by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, in his short story The Sphynx all the way back in 1850 and also had a cameo in Bram Stoker's masterpiece, Dracula, which was published in 1897. Added to this it featured in Luis Brunuel's incredibly disturbing movie, Un Chien Andalou (1929), a film made famous by a scene involving a razor very graphically slicing open an eye-ball. More modern mentions have seen it appear in Taiwanese horror films, feature on Japanese metal band's album covers and even feature on the title page of the enigmatic website, Cicada 3301.
How on earth did a moth gain this reputation? I've seen moths, they are largely slow moving, furry and clumsy with a really disproportionate love of light sources...
This large moth, found primarily in Europe, gained its notoriety partly because of the large, and really quite distinct, skull shaped pattern, or Death's Head, on their thorax (the part of their body between their head and their abdomen). The creepy, supernatural reputation was bolstered further by the moth's unique ability to emit high pitched screeching sounds when threatened. A 19th century entomologist, Edward Newmann was moved to describe the moth thusly, "However, let the cause of the noise be what it may, the effect is to produce the most superstitious feelings among the uneducated, by whom it is always regarded with feelings of awe and terror."
So there we are... A moth that emits high pitched screeching AND inspires superstitious feelings of awe and terror... If that is not 'metal' I don't know what is.