We Put McDonald’s Grimace on 16 Rock + Metal Album Covers

In case you haven't heard, McDonald's Grimace is one of the biggest icons on social media right now.

Grimace has been a part of McDonald's culture for a long time now, but it wasn't until 2021 that a manager at one of the chain's restaurants in Canada, Brian Bates, revealed what he thought the character was actually supposed to symbolize. "[It's] an enormous taste bud, but a taste bud nonetheless," Bates told CBS News [via People].

"Whether he's a taste bud, a milkshake or just your favorite purple blob – the best part about Grimace is that he means different things to different people," someone on behalf of McDonald's then told People. "Whatever he is, we're just proud our bestie makes people happy."

The character's image has remained mostly unchanged over the years, though it's certainly friendlier looking now than it was once upon a time. Over the past month, Grimace has become somewhat of an internet sensation all over again, mainly because of the limited edition purple milkshake that McDonald's added to their menu to celebrate the Grimace's birthday.

Since June is also Pride month, people online then turned the mascot into somewhat of an LGBTQ icon by posting memes of it decked out in rainbows. There are also various videos on Twitter of Grimace at Pride parades.

More recently, though, a trend has gone viral on TikTok, where people pretend to pass out — or die — after drinking the purple Grimace shake. No, we aren't sure why. It's just a thing.

READ MORE: 29 LGBTQIA+ Icons in Rock + Metal

See some of the posts below.

Regardless of what Grimace is or why people are freaking out about it, it's everywhere — so we wanted to join in on the action. We put Grimace on 16 rock and metal purple-themed album covers, which you can see in the gallery below. Happy scrolling, happy birthday Grimace and happy Pride month.