Satanic Messages for Devil’s Night
October 30th, 2007 | 6:36 pm est |
So, it’s Halloween Eve, otherwise known by citizens of Detroit as Devil’s Night. Seems like a pretty appropriate time to throw together a list of music influenced by the Devil himself. Let’s skip over the obvious numbers like Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” or Mötley Crüe’s “Shout at the Devil,” and dissect the songs that Christian fundamentalist groups really find freaky. These are the tunes that sneak praises of the evil overlord into our unsuspecting subconscious minds by means of subliminal messages recorded backwards into the record’s grooves. Essentially the theory is that when a message is reversed, it’s undetectable by the left hemisphere of a person’s brain, but their right side can decipher it and save it for usage later. (Rettelswen GMA eht ot ebircsbus.) If you remember, this was a big deal in the ’80s, when several rockers were taken to court under the premise that their music caused listeners to commit unspeakable crimes. Judas Priest’s singer Rob Halford had the perfect response to the accusations, explaining that if this was his actual intention, he would have embedded the message, “Buy this album.”
At the same time, if artists aren’t responsible for the messages that we hear when we spin our turntables the wrong way, then where are they coming from? Are they simply imagined? Is it coincidental that some of these lyrics are more meaningful backwards than forwards? Are these sentences just phonetic coincidences or is this the work of… hmmm… could it be… Satan?!!! Here’s a top ten list of scariest shout-outs to the man downstairs, complete with samples. Feel free to post your thoughts, comments, and experiences with the occult below.
1. Led Zeppelin - “Stairway to Heaven”
Originally: “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now/It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen/Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run/There’s still time to change the road you’re on.”
Backmasked Message: “Oh here’s to my sweet Satan/The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan/He will give those with him 666/There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.”
Devilish Relation: In 1971, Jimmy Page bought the home of devout Satanist Aleister Crowley. Some conspiracists believe that Page’s guitar skills improved so much over the course of the Zep albums because he sold his soul to the devil.
2. The Eagles – “Hotel California”
Originally: “…And she showed me the way/There were voices down the corridor/I thought I heard them say.”
Backmasked Message: “Yeah, Satan had us/He went and organized his own religion/Well, he knows he should.”
Devilish Relation: Urban legend has it that the High Priest of the Church of Satan, Anton LeVey, appears in one of the windows on the Hotel California album jacket. Also, the letters in “the Eagles” can be rearranged to spell “Gales Heet,” otherwise known as Hell’s winds. The lyric, “They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast” is suspected to be a reference to Satan as well.
3. Yoko Ono – “Kiss Kiss Kiss”
Originally: “Kiss kiss kiss/Kiss…”
Backmasked Message: “Six Six Six, Satan”
Devilish Relation: Yoko Ono’s acting debut was in the 1965 sexploitation film Satan’s Bed.
There’s also another shocking message that starts the track:
Originally: “Anata daiteyo”
Backmasked Message: “I shot John Lennon.”
Devilish Relation: Mark Chapman killed John Lennon after Double Fantasy was released, explaining that Lucifer’s demons ordered him to do so.
4. AC/DC – “Back in Black”
Originally: “…back/Well I’m back in black/Yes, I’m back in black!”
Backmasked Message: “I Love Satan, alright/And Satan knows I love him.”
Devilish Relation: Original singer Bon Scott wore a pentagram on his necklace and sang the song “Highway to Hell.”
5. Cheap Trick - “Gonna Raise Hell”
Originally: “I never lose/To me its no mys…(tery)”
Backmasked Message: “Satan holds the key to the lock.”
Devilish Relation: These guys are about the least likely rockers to be Satanic with the exception of maybe the Cars, who coincidentally recorded two songs that seemingly say the word “Satan” when their choruses are reversed: “Candy-O” and “Shoo Be Doo.”
6. Electric Light Orchestra - “Eldorado”
Originally: “Here it comes, another lonely day/Playing the game/I’ll sail away on a voyage of no return to see.”
Backmasked Message: “He is the nasty one/Christ, you’re infernal/Oh, it is said/We’re dead men/Everyone who has this mark will live.”
Devilish Relation: In response to accusations of embedding Satanic messages in their work, ELO released an entire album titled Secret Messages, which incorporated lines like “Thank you for listening” and “You’re playing me backwards.”
7. Styx - “Snowblind”
Originally: “Try so hard to make it so.”
Backmasked Message: “Oh, Satan moves through our voices.”
Devilish Relation: In Greek mythology, Styx is the name of an underground river of hate that leads to Hades (also known as the underworld or hell).
8. Notorious B.I.G. – “Hypnotize”
Originally: “And I just love your flashy ways/I guess it’s why…”
Backmasked Message: “Hail Satan/I said, he’ll reach out, for you’re Satanic.”
Devilish Relation: On an episode of South Park, Butters summons the ghost of Biggie Smalls by saying his name in front of a mirror three times. When he appears, Biggie demands that Butters take him to Los Angeles for a Puff Daddy-style Halloween party held by Satan.
9. Rush – “2112: Grand Finale”
Originally: “We have assumed control/We have assumed control/We have assumed control.”
Backmasked Message: “Rush is with Satan/Rush is with Satan/Rush is with Satan.”
Devilish Relation: Rumor has it that Rush is an acronym for “Ruled Under Satan’s Hand.”
10. The Rolling Stones – “The Tops”
Originally: “…for the rest of your sweet loving.”
Backmasked Message: “…and I live for the Devil.”
Devilish Relation: Their 1967 album was titled Their Satanic Majesties’ Request, and Mick sings from Satan’s point of view in “Dancing with Mr. D” and “Sympathy for the Devil.” The latter is also said to be the unofficial anthem of the Church of Satan.
*Runner-Up: Weird Al Yankovic - “Nature Trail to Hell”
Originally: Unintelligible.
Backmasked Message: “Satan eats cheese whiz.”
Devilish Relation: None. That was intentionally added by Al, who was surely just trying to be funny. Even Satan can’t digest that crazy processed goo.
That was a great article - never knew there were so many suspected backward maskings!
very interesting article. while some of the audio examples are outlandish (yoko ono; also, in my view led zep) and construed, ELO is a VERY clear example of backwards masking. it`s a pity you failed to mention the subliminal message embedded at the beginning of their “face the music” lp (”music is reversible, time is not; turn back, turn back!”). this just shows how ingenious a producer jeff lynne really is - and to whose cause, quite obviously, he is subservient.
Really interesting article, I always knew that Styx must have become so popular for some reason, now I know it’s because the sold their souls to Satan.
Exellent article! What a fantastic chance to read a long with the backwards lyrics while listening at the same time. That I’ve never done before, but I did spin my parents turntable backwards a few times when a young metal head in the late ’70s and early ’80s. One correction to the article is that Aleister Crowley (rhymes, interestingly with “holy”, not “owly”) was not technically a “devout Satanist”, but rather founded his own Tantric and Rosicrucian-influenced neo-Egyptian revivalist religion called “Thelema”, and was a “Thelemite” (as is Jimmy Page). While this religion did at times have a Luciferian tinge (which says something more about Crowley’s personal rebellion against his fundamentatilist Christian upbringing than anything else), it was not really Satanism (just ask the Satanists themselves). Second, for those wanting more of the backward Satanic, there are other seemingly Satanic backward tracks on Judas Priest’s SIN AFTER SIN. (It should be noted that Halford’s recent solo work with Roy Z and the reunion Judas Priest album all definitely tesify to his rediscovery of Christianity).
Lastly, the Beast (and his number 666), despite all the great movies, books, and songs, is not actually the same being as Satan (at least according to the Book of Revelations). In any case, scholars know that the number 666 was actually a numerical (Gammatra) code for the Roman Emperor Nero, who vehemently and violently persecuted the early Christians. Indeed, the very book that so many look to for insight to the future is in fact a prophecy about events that had already passed nearly two millennia ago. And some say Satan himself has got a bad rap. In fact, while “Ha Satan” means the Adversary in Hebrew, it did not originally mean the adversary of God, but rather of wicked people, with Satan as the Avenging Angel of Death who roamed the world, bringing punishment to the evil ones. That is why Hell is a place of punishment. Just read Job, where in the beginning section, Satan is called one of “the Sons of God”, and where he was part of the court of the Almighty. Somewhere the mythology got confused, and added to, probably during such events as when the concept intermingled with other mythological figures and religous ideas, such as the Eygytian desert god Set, Persian Zoroastrian demonology and the idea of Ahriman (the Dark God), later contact with Greek and Roman pagan gods such as Pan and Hades, and still later during the Christian crusades in Europe, when gods such as Thor (as in Kiss’ “God of Thunder”) and Loki were encountered.
And let us not forget Serj Tankian’s reminder on System of a Down’s “Ddevil” that “Evil lives in the motherf***ing skin!”
Cheers!
Having grown up in the era when such nonsense was all the rage, it seems even more silly now. Yeah, I did my share of vinyl spinning too, and even briefly convinced myself the Zep line was deliberate. What was everyone so up in arms about? And Page selling his soul to play guitar as he did? Yeah, right…no disrespect to Pages’ obvious greatness, but if he sold his soul to play as he played, he was taken! Even back then I thought it far more likely that his playing evolved from his own ingeniuty, vision, drive, hard work (and a deft hand at stealing from hordes of other–usually uncredited–sources). And I’m not going near Priest!
Yah, I remember when this stuff was actually taken seriously for a while. It was a very silly time. Glad there’ll be no Tipper Gore for 1st Lady. Btw - Bon Scott’s successor, Brian Johnson, sang “Hell’s Bells”. Bon sang “Highway to Hell”, but he also sang “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be”.
Boy, does this bring back some memories. In the end, I find it even more amusing now than ever. It goes to show you, that if you really put your mind to something, you can make it happen. I certainly hope that people don’t actually take this type of information as verbatim. Life is lived in forward motion, and anything that feeds-on going backwards is simply a waste of time.
this article is absolutley ridiculous…….styx and e.l.o. with subliminal backwards messages…..give me a break…….i’ll admit it has happened with other bands but this is a stretch……halloween hype,here here
weird…espclly the stairway
such stuff seems meaningful only if you know what the backmasked lyrics are supposed to be…i did this (reverse playing) with stairway when i didnt know the allegedly backmasked lyrics…it didnt seem to spell out anything… after reading this, the lyrics in reverse seemed to be close to the alleged satanic message…but i still think none of this is done on purpose…
In regards to the song Hotel California, a radio ministry back in the ’80’s took it apart line by line and “proved” that the song is actually about Anton LeVey and the Satanic Church. The most telling line is the one about “Please bring me my wine / We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969.”
LeVey’s First Church of Satan was founded on California Street in San Francisco in 1969. Wine is often seen symbolically as representing the Holy Spirit, and is one of the two elements of Christian communion.
Do I believe this? Well . . . not really. I still think it’s about heroin, which is satanic enough without any help from LeVey. My band even does the song, which we refer to as “Hotel Chloroform-ya.” And, I liked the Eagles better before Joe Walsh joined. But, as he would say, so what?
excellent article!, back in the 80’s when I was a kid in south america this was also a huge controversy… later, they even blamed brazilian Xuxa for worshipping satan in her records too (lol) !! you could include that one! … After all, i think we should really give credit to those who spend their time listening songs backwards and making up suitable satanic lyrics.. i reckon it’s quite a hard task and demands lots of imagination, and loving for Satan too!
In the mid-’80s when I was a mid-teenager (14-15), a friend of mine’s father was super fundamentalist and he had this audio cassette of a fire-and-brimstone evangelist picking apart most of the songs mentioned in this article. I found it hilarious even then, although the tape was clearly meant to “scare straight” the metal and rock loving teenagers.
Although not Satanic, the evangelist also pointed to Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”, which he spun backwards to reveal Freddie jubilantly shouting, “it’s fun to smoke marijuana!”
I believe it’s a testament to the power of rock’n'roll in that it still makes the squares uncomfortable after 50+ years. Great article, AMG! I’ve been an avid fan and user of this site for many years (and I own a few of your books as well) - and consider it THE online bible of music!
No wonder vinyl is making a comeback.
Didn’t the B-52s or a like-minded band put in a backwards message along the lines of “Hey! You’re playing this backwards! Don’t do that — you’ll ruin the needle!”
Regarding Stairway. Take it one step further into the unknown. Spin your favourite Zep vinyl boot, “Destroyer” for example, backwards and you will hear the Satanic message as well! So, no “recorded” message, just pure coincidence or Plant being one hell of a linguist :-)
I few years ago I taught a radio and video class at a rural high school in Indiana. Every once in a while kids would ask about backwards masking (another teacher there touched on it), so I’d bring in my own copies of “Face the Music”, the Beatles’ white album, and “Sgt. Peppers” and Zep’s ZOSO album. I LOVED to watch these kids’ faces when I played “the music is reversible, but time is not. Turn back…!” Or “here’s to my sweet Satan.” They use to freak. I think I may have warped a few minds.
A few in here I didn’t know about. Good stuff!
Why would you want to play a record backwards anyway. The whole idea and purpose is to play the foward and enjoy the music, whatever it may be. Playing a record backwards totally defeats the purpose it was intended for.
replace “the” with “it” in 1st line 2nd sentence sorry ’bout that :)
nos resulto muy interesante su lista de algunas de las canciones con mensajes subliminales; en Mexico contamos con obedece a la morsa en la cual se dice contiene no solo un mensaje auditivo ademas de que es visual asi como juan gabriel con su tema de querida y el noa noa…como podemos recibir este blog en correo gracias
So people are still out there actively looking for this, at least as of when Biggie’s Life after Death album came out? Whose job is this?
hola soy chili willi Y me gusto mucho su articulo me gustaria que tomaran en cuenta los mensajes de musica en español besos y gracias por todo los quiero mucho
This site has a few more backwards tunes, not all of them satanic, I especially like the idea of Britney having backwards messages. She doesnt really have that much to say when her lyrics are played correctly.
http://www3.telus.net/jefmil/stairwaybackwards.htm
Hello, my name is Gudvin, I like yours blog.
Always fun to read of crazy conspiracies. There’s another that you may want to add to the list - albeit one that doesn’t require backmasking of any sort: Coven’s ‘Satanic Mass’.
weird al made the parody of “stairway to heaven” and its backward message too lol