When rock and roll arrived, there were mutterings from Christian fundamentalists about it being the sound of Satan. Different it may have been, but devilish it was not, with roots firmly planted in gospel music.

But in the half century since rock began, the assertions of evil lurking behind the lyrics of songs should not be dismissed. Satanists and pseudo-Satanists have sought to air their credo to music. The result is somewhat ominous emergence of black metal, an offspring of heavy metal.

Sensationalism And Hype

Plenty of groups publicly embraced Satanism, cashing in on the shock value of black antics. Stories of Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper biting the heads of live animals on stage held teenagers in thrall. (The animals were, ofcourse, imitation. Although Ozzy Osbourne has admitted to biting the head of a ‘real’ animal that was thrown to him from the crowd, believing the object was imitation at the time of the incident.) Names of groups like Black Sabbath and AC/DC- reputed to stand for Anti-Christ, Devil’s Child – were calculated to excite rebellious youths. There were reports of Satanic messages incorporated into heavy metal and only revealed when the music was played backwards. It was a coup for record company publicity people who could not resist fostering ‘evil’ images. And thus could we say the band’s themselves were not the cause of the hysteria?

When a couple of youths killed themselves after listening to Judas Priest, their families sought damages from the group and the record company, claiming the lyrics had subliminally compelled the youngsters to turn guns on themselves. The legal manoeuvres on behalf of the families failed on the grounds that listeners responded to dark lyrics only if they were predisposed towards violence – but not before dangerous Satanic symbols had been found dotted all over the group’s albums.

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was absorbed by the works of Aleister Crowley, while Marc Bolan spent two years living with a black magician in Paris. He believed the spells he learned in his youth were partly responsible for his success. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1972, Bolan said,

A successful rock and roll record is a spell… There are words, there are spells and rites and masses to conjure up or call down elemental forces and beings and even gods.

Rivalry And Murder

However, the home of die-hard Satanic rockers seems to be Norway where fans seized on Black Metal and made it their own. Luridly named bands, including Morbid Angel, Dark Throne and Impaled, flourished. The Black Metal scene in Scandinavia was uncovered following the murder of Oystein Aarseth, known by as Euronymous, lead singer of the band Mayhem. He was stabbed 23 times on 10th of August 1993 by Varg Vikernes, alias Count Grishnackh, the leader of rival band Burzum, and contender for the headship of Norway’s flourishing Black Metal movement that was held by Aarseth. Vikernes reputedly wore a necklace made from splinters of the skull of Dead, the Mayhemlead singer who put a bullet through his head in 1991. Before his arrest Vikernes outlined his beliefs to the music magazine Kerrang!.

All Norwegians are the sons of Satan by nature. I consider it blasphemous to build churches on Odin’s soil. Norway is Odin’s soil. The ones building the churches are the criminals.

Police believed he was planning to dynamite a Norwegian church during mass. Church-burning in Norway had already become something of a national pastime. In 1994 four members of a British band called Necropolis were jailed for causing 100,000 pounds worth of damage to Kent churches. During their attacks they painted their faces black and white in the style of the Norwegian Black Metal devotees and carried ceremonial weapons, including swords and scythes.

Heavy Metal – 2009

Heavy metal as we know it today is much broader in style and less generalized to a certain form or agenda. From Black Metal to Christian Metal, you can find a rock and roll path to suit your belief. While the core of metal bands concentrate on aggression and dark themes, the message they bring is often related to awareness, well-being and good old fun. Or to put it simply, just rocking out! Perhaps the way it was meant to be perceived when rock and roll first emerged in the late 50’s.

Sources: Hamlyn History, Supernatural by Karen Farrington