Satanism In Rock And Metal Music : The Horrific Truth About It

It is well known that all those who listen to or play rock and metal music gather during the night in meeting to glorify the devil and his disciples.

LOL. It’s sarcasm if you didn’t understand.

And if you really think like that, my dear, I’ll explain to you what really is going on.

So, are we all making big fires and orgies with the devil? Is satanism really present in rock and metal music? Spoiler allert: you’ll soon be disappointed.

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on some of my knowledge and is backed up and supplemented by research done before its writing. You can find the sources at the bottom of the page.

WHAT IS SATANISM?

When you take a look at the Cambridge Dictionary definition, Satanism is:

• the worship of Satan

And when you look at Satanist :

• a person who worships Satan

So is this really the case for all fans and bands of hard rock and heavy metal? Are rock and metal music really about satanism ?

THE ROLE OF THE DEVIL IN ROCK AND METAL

Devil and music

The link between the devil and music goes back a long time. And it’s not only related to rock/metal, nor even to music. For centuries, he has inspired great artists. Whether they are writers (Dante’s Hell, Paradise Lost, etc.), painters (like Michelangelo), or classical composers (like Faust, Verdi, Tartini, Paganini, or Stravinsky). But let’s focus more on the music.

To put it in context, Satan, before he was a fallen angel, was a great musician famous throughout paradise. That is what caused his loss. Since then, it would be through humans that he expresses himself.

The deal with the devil

But the most famous link is of course the deal with the devil! Legend has it that some have sold their souls to the devil to become brilliant musicians. The one who will popularize the myth in music (and who interests us particularly since it is related to the history of blues AND rock n’ roll), is Robert Johnson.

The latter would have sold his soul to become a genius of the guitar. Besides, this legend would be transmitted by big names such as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy page or Keith Richards.

The devil, rock and metal

The truth is: you can’t separate metal/rock from the devil. But not the way you might think.

Tritone

With Black Sabbath, tritone is back in the spotlight. The latter, also called Diabolus En Musica, is a dissonant interval with a lot of tension. Therefore, it will be associated with the devil. It is for this reason that its use has become more and more common in rock and metal music.

Note: Tritone was frowned upon in the Middle Ages, but not banished! The (bad) translations over time have made the tritone become the music of the devil. But originally, it just didn’t match the sounds they liked.

The imagery

It is important to differentiate between the imagery of the devil and worship/worship of the devil.

And that’s where the confusion happens most generally.

The use of symbols, the image, and everything related to the devil has only aesthetic and provocation purposes! In fact, it works quite well. And it has been for decades. Managers and co. have and continue to benefit from it!

Whether it’s with Elvis’ hip sway or the Beatles’ “long hair”, everyone has played that card. It must be said that this image of the devil goes hand in hand with the rebellious spirit of teens and young adults.

Then came the images of the devil with bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and then Slayer.

Came after, looks also inspired by these images with Alice Cooper or KISS. As for the lyrics, artists change their point of view and choose to put themselves in the skin of the beast.

But, another truth: none of these groups is satanist!

Again, they were just having fun with the symbolism of the devil without any ulterior motives other than aesthetics (which goes well to genres) and provocation. Some are Catholic themselves and others are atheists and oppose only the church as a dogma. In no case do they take satanism seriously. Moreover, some people do it with humor.

It’s true that one kind of metal corresponds to all the codes: black metal. But we will talk about it in a dedicated post.

Now let’s be serious, there are satanic bands in rock and metal. That’s a fact. But these bands represent a minority.

So to summarize rock and metal as satanic genres is a bit like saying that you can only make a chocolate cake with chocolate (well, you know what I mean).

One event also greatly helped to categorize rock and metal in Satanism:

THE SATANIC PANIC OF THE EIGHTIES

If you were already born in the 80s, you must have heard about it. (Not like me who was born the following decade and just heard about it for this article 😆). If you don’t know what it is, relax, I’ll give you a little summary. But know that if you really want to have everything in hand about this period, more complete books and videos have been made.

Context and Facts

The «satanic panic» began to happen in the USA in the 70s, but became “democratized” in the 80s around the world. It begins with the appearance (and tragic end) of sects and a wave of well-known serial killers. Parents are starting to fear for their children.

In addition, by the 1980s, women were increasingly leaving their homes to work. This leads to the opening of hundreds of daycare centers and mothers who feel guilty.

Also, during this period, some events emerge:

• 1966: The Church of Satan appears. Satanism is now a religion.
• 1973: The Exorcist came out. One of the first graphic movie where a person (in this case a very Catholic little girl) is possessed by the devil.
• 1980: Release of the book Michelle Remembers by Lawrence Pazder and his patient (who became his wife) Michelle Smith. Book where she tells that she supposedly lived in a satanic sect and where she tells all the traumas that she kept. Although the book came out as “true story”, it will be proven to be totally invented.

That’s how the satanic panic started. There will be many unfortunate events, but I’ll keep a cultural point of view here.

In fact, people were convinced that the forces of evil (not only the devil) were everywhere around them. Parents feared that deranged people would attack their children under the guise of the devil. Or even worse, that they influence and manipulate their kids to join their ranks.

It has been said that rock music was the devil’s music and that you have to keep your children away from that kind of thing. The same goes for some games (Dungeons and Dragons, even the Smurfs had some for themselves).

It was during this period that famous videos with the hidden meaning of Led Zeppelin songs played backwards etc., were born.

Parental Advisory (Explicit Content)

But in those days, young people listened just as well to Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Madonna, Prince, or Cyndi Lauper. The list of «Filthy Fifteen» therefore appeared. (Poor parents were not ready for what followed, lol)

And it is also in this context that the Parental Advisory (Explicit Content) was created. It’s the Conservative Parents Association called the Parents Music Resource Center that is responsible for it. In 1985, the latter forced the Recording Industry Association of America to comply, thanks to its media weight, which had greatly helped. The RIAA will then impose the famous «Parental Advisory: Explicit Content» for all records with lyrics a little too much focused on violence, sex, drugs, or occult practices.

In the process, Frank Zappa and Dee Snyder (singer of Twisted Sister) will have to justify their songs to the Senate.

However, this small label will promote the purchase of works with this small rectangle. To the delight of the artists and a little less of the parents.

Conclusion about satanism in rock and metal music

Artists and fans of rock and metal ARE NOT ALL SATANISTS! That’s it. (well, it was logical)

Besides, I didn’t specify it before, but there are Christian rock and metal bands. Well, they have also been talked about and have also been judged a lot, but they have the merit of existing. I will come back to that later.

Of course, there are exceptions, as everywhere. But a large majority of us are quite normal beings (or pretty much 😉). We (yes I included myself in it) just play with what society has stuck to us as an image.

But it also has an impact in the rock and metal community. The fact that a person who loves rock and metal does not (systematically) wear the symbols related to these genres, can be considered a «fake» by some rockers or metalheads. This is another debate, which will also be entitled to its own article: the stereotypes of rock and metal.

There you go! I have tackled down some of your stereotypes today (and I’m proud of it).

Feel free to share if you liked this post or if someone you know might be interested in it.

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sources :

Cambridge Dictionary – Satanism : https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/satanism?q=Satanism

Cambridge Dictionary – Satanist : https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/satanist

Comment la « panique satanique » a envahi l’Amérique dans les années 80 – Vice : https://www.vice.com/fr/article/rmem8v/panique-satanique-interview-spectacular-optical

Metal Zone: https://www.metalzone.fr/chroniques/164373-musique-metal-rock-satan/

Cairn -Les mythologies hard rock et métal : bricolage identitaire ou récit original ? Nicolas Bénard : https://www.cairn.info/revue-societes-2009-2-page-65.htm

Crane faction https://crane-faction.com/blogs/musique-rock-metal-tout-savoir/metalleux-satanistes

Loudwire – The Truth About Satanism in Metal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k38IXV6upU&list=PLG7tBOM3CtVICAKcMomOtfxwPhlFU-cUt&index=16

Metalliquoi ? – Episode 10 : Le Satanisme : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urLDfo0aDZE&t=19s

LA PANIQUE SATANIQUE, C’EST QUOI? – Victoria Charlton : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mE_udsh-RA

Le diable et la musique : une histoire fusionnelle – Sourdoreille : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oOCfllMHd4

Télérama – “Parental Advisory : Explicit Content” : la petite histoire derrière le fameux rectangle – Romain Capelle : https://www.telerama.fr/musique/parental-advisory-explicit-content-la-petite-histoire-derriere-le-fameaux-rectangle,143337.php

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Claire Abe