[Rocks with a guitar]
Uh, sorry, got carried away by all this satanic energy. Because heavy metal is Satanic… right?
Well, I guess we’ve got to find out! [Music]
Hello everyone, I’m Dr Angela Puca and welcome to my Symposium. I’m a PhD and
a University Lecturer and this is your online resource for the academic study of
Magick, Paganism, Shamanism and all things occult.
Before we start, I’d like to dedicate this video to the long-time supporter of this
project and dear friend, Dave! ‘Ey up, mate, hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, we will explore the alleged Satanic elements in Rock and Heavy Metal music,
based on a book chapter authored by Kennet Granholm and published in
“Hermes Explains” by Amsterdam University Press.
To start the conversation, Granholm explains that there isn’t much in terms of Satanism,
in a narrow sense, in Heavy Metal. What you can find would be better described as
themes related to Satan, Demons and the occult more generally.
Still, Heavy Metal is often perceived as inherently Satanic, often accused as such
in its entirety. Meaning that everything associated with it – artists, fans,
and the scene more generally, is Satanic or somewhat linked to the Devil and the Occult,
in total disregard of the diversities present within the genre as well as other subgenres.
This has occurred since Metal emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Interestingly, its precursors, blues and rock, were similarly perceived as being Devil’s music,
facing analogous allegations of engaging with the immoral, the Satanic,
and the occult - earlier in the twentieth century.
For instance, there were speculations of a Faustian pact with the Devil to explain
the extraordinary talent of blues artist Robert Johnson as well as his untimely death,
based on the interpretation that “Crossroads Blues” was about making
a pact with the Devil. That said, the blues legend was indeed fascinated by the Occult
as shown by songs such as “Hellhound on my Trail” or “Me and the Devil Blues”.
Speaking of Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath is often seen as the first Heavy Metal
band and openly included Satanic and dark occult themes starting with its very name
and continuing with the songs' lyrics and imagery. On his debut solo album, “Blizzard of Ozz”,
lead singer Ozzy Osbourne included the song “Mr. Crowley” named after Aleister Crowley.
Led Zeppelin is another band often deemed as the first one in the Heavy Metal genre and
similarly mentions Crowley in a number of songs. Indeed, it seems that guitar player Jimmy Page
had been fascinated by the self-professed “Great Beast 666” from an early age,
so much so that he bought Crowley’s old Boleskine House on the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland.
We find recurring occult themes in the music of later bands,
I'll name a few influential works as reference:
“Runnin’ with the Devil” by Van Halen, AC/DC’s album (and title track) “Highway to Hell,”
Iron Maiden’s album (and title track) “Number of the Beast,”
Glam Metal band Mötley Crüe’s album (and title track) “Shout at the Devil,”
and Christian metal band Stryper’s album (and title track) “To Hell with the Devil.”
And let’s not forget the glorious “Beelzeboss” by Tenacious D.
Interesting to notice that, apart from Jimmy Page,
the aforementioned artists were not particularly interested or involved
in the study or practice of Esotericism. The use of certain occult symbolism is
more allegorical and is articulated differently by different artists.
Van Halen’s “Running with the Devil,” tells the story of an
outsider who leads a lawless and destructive life.
AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” is similarly about living outside societal conventions,
yet here a voluntary choice of partying and disregarding consequences
in the pursuit of a rock star lifestyle.
Iron Maiden’s the “Number of the Beast” is kind of a horror story,
seeing someone who recalls, almost in disbelief, a somewhat Satanic,
demonic, or pagan ritual along with sacrifice that he may or may not have witnessed.
Mötley Crüe’s “Shout at the Devil” describes an entity or force, possibly the Devil,
through a number of discomforting and enticing allegories, while Stryper’s “To
Hell with the Devil” is a straightforward disparaging denouncement of the Devil.
As you may recall from a previous video https://youtu.be/_0A8evr6hOc, Satan has
started to be seen as a Romantic hero after the Enlightenment's progressive secularisation
and the later association with political uprisings.
And it seems to me that across the satanic,
demonic and occult themes employed in Metal songs there is an overarching connotation of rebellion
and being at the edges of societal norms, which echoes that sentiment quite nicely. But
why are Satan, demons, esoteric and occult topics so pervasive in Heavy Metal music?
Granholm offers, as a theoretical tool for understanding the matter,
the analytical distinction between Rock and Pop made by Sociologist of music Simon Frith.
Let's first premise that this distinction is not based on the music and how it sounds but rather on
the discursive elements underlying the lyrics and the narratives conveyed by said music. According
to Frith, Rock is centred around a yearning for authenticity and artistic integrity. Pop music,
defined in contrast to Rock instead that in its own right, is seen as its antithesis,
as lacking depth of meaning and mainly interested in following popular trends to make a profit.
Thus, if Pop represents adherence to the status quo, Rock embodies the rebellion against it. In
an attempt to interpret this dichotomy in symbolic terms and in reference to most of Western culture,
the dominant trend - what is deemed to be right and appropriate - could be symbolically linked
to the Christian values, its concept of God, societal laws, rules of conduct and propriety.
Basically, Pop would be the musical embodiment of the idea of fitting in within a given
community. Conversely, Rock – here deemed as the precursor to Metal - symbolically represents
being your own free-thinking being, regardless of, or in deliberate opposition to the mainstream
ideals. And who epitomises such a rebellious nature better than demonic entities, Satan
or the Devil? The one who, in the popular understanding, dared to rebel against God?
Equally, occult and supernatural themes, Magick and Esotericism,
can all be perceived as expressing an allegorical connection with the unseen,
the hidden, the arcane. They voice the sentiment of not being content with a
shallow understanding or a standardised experience of the world and a yearning for
alternative avenues of knowledge and more profound exploration of the human experience.
To sum it up, in Granholm’s words, "while there certainly are Heavy Metal bands that project an
overtly Satanic image, and even some that can be directly linked to occult philosophies, practices,
and groups, they are the exception rather than the rule. Exemplifying the discursive core
of Rock music as categorised by Simon Frith, the prominence of transgressive subject matter
and portrayals in Heavy Metal represents a natural progression in the evolving pursuit
of rebelliousness, authenticity, and artistic integrity that distinguishes Rock music. Even
in the face of secularisation, Satanic subject matter holds sufficient power to cause outrage,
with the Devil epitomising freedom and independence in rebellion, and a refusal
to submit to older generations, to established society, and to mainstream norms and values."
This is it for today’s video.
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Bye for now.
[Music]