I'd like to share with you a column I wrote for "
Legion For Satan", A Brotherhood of Satan affiliated site.
From the dungeon of Bloodlock:
I Play ALL My Records Backwards (sdrawkcab sdrocer ym lla yalp I)
by Stephanie Cutrere
Has Satan been mocked? Fuck Yes and this disciple isn't at all pleased. It isn't just Satanism but other occult practices, paganism, shamanism have been cursed by the various fundamentalist christian circles including mainstream organizations like Focus on The Family, Family Research Council and nut jobs like Alex Jones, David Icke and Texx Marrs.
Okay, let's bring forth some light on the subject. First off... (sniff sniff) you smell that? Smells like someone's burning a copy of Led Zeppelin IV outside my apartment. No they're not burning a CD for someone, they're... NO, They're burning the Vinyl! Literally! Are these people crazy? Yes, We take you back to the fundamentalist christians and their record burning days.
Examples? Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Alice Cooper, KISS and Coven. In the late 60s and early 70s, these bands hit the scene and religious fanatics got their panties in wads. Jinx Dawson of Coven introduced the classic “Sign of the horns” and religious figures, political suckers, and wannabe conspiracy theorists decry whoever flashes it as a person saying “Fuck The World” and bringing forth the end of it.
Many of these groups or singers have caused christians to get their panties in wads over acts they see as Satanic. These acts include Alice Cooper's unrehearsed concert incident where he threw a live stray chicken into the audience in the 1970s, Ozzy Osbourne's infamous biting off a bat's head in 1982 that he thought was a rubber bat, Coven's portrayal of the black mass at their shows, the list goes on and on. To gain attention, the christians went so far as to hold record burnings of albums by mostly rock and heavy metal artists. Such examples of album's burned were as follows and the reasons why...
Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards (Title)
Led Zeppelin – All Albums (Jimmy Page's endorsement of Aleister Crowley)
Ozzy Osbourne – All Albums (Imagery used in video and on stage, that Ozzy does not endorse)
Many others were burned for no reason except for the fact that they were just Rock albums like...
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
Steely Dan – Can't Buy A Thrill
Were these albums burned because of Highway 61's satire of the biblical story of Abraham at the title track's beginning? Did the Dark Side of The Moon actually represent Hell? Or was it that the name Steely Dan came from the sexual device mentioned in William S. Burroughs' “Naked Lunch”? No. They were just burned under the fundamentalist idea that ALL Rock music was of the devil.
The band KISS has been a target for years about what their name stands for. Fundamentalist christians have accused KISS of standing for “Knights In Satan's Service”, but the name according to Gene Simmons has always stood for “Keep It Simple, Stupid” and nothing else. Also, the classic stage antics, make-up and costumes worn by the band has been decried by these christians as promoting Satanism, Sadism & Masochism, Sexual thought & imagery and Homosexuality. All members wore high heeled boots, BDSM leather tops, and make-up meant to symbolize a band member's personality. Gene Simmon's make-up and antics caused the most outcry because he is known on stage as “The Demon” who would extend his tongue, spit blood and play a bass guitar in the shape of an battle axe. The band's logo was also criticized for it's “SS” resembling the Nazi party's military symbol of their army, which is turn was based on a single rune that was doubled by Adolf Hitler. However, as a “Theatrical” rock group, members of KISS never publicly acknowledged that they endorsed the occult.
But it wasn't just these examples where this fine vinyl was burned, ALL Rock & Pop alums were bought and burned by religious fanatics because they believed rock & roll was of the devil. This continues today in some circles, even with Compact Discs and old vinyl that could be preserved or donated instead of wasted. The controversy surrounding popular music containing Satanic lyrics elevated when the PMRC was formed and musical acts that used Occult imagery, but didn't endorse the practices were called into question. Two amongst them were Dee Snider and Frank Zappa, who defended their lyrics against what they claim was censorship in a political witch hunt.
However, one of the most high profile cases of Satanic involvement in music involved the band “Judas Priest” where, in the summer of 1990, the band was involved in a civil action that alleged they were responsible for the self-inflicted gunshot wounds in 1985 of 20-year old James Vance and 18-year old Raymond Belknap in Reno, Nevada, USA. On December 23, 1985, Vance and Belknap, after hours of drinking beer, smoking marijuana and allegedly listening to Judas Priest music, went to a playground at a church in Reno with a 12-gauge shotgun to end their lives. Belknap was the first to place the shotgun under his chin. He died instantly after pulling the trigger. Vance was the next to follow suit but only blew away the lower half of his face. This was possibly because the weapon was slippery with blood.
The men's parents and their legal team alleged that a subliminal message of "do it" had been included in the Judas Priest song "Better By You, Better Than Me" from the Stained Class album (actually a cover of a Spooky Tooth number). They alleged the command in the song triggered the suicide attempt. The trial lasted from July 16 to August 24, 1990, when the suit was dismissed. One of the defense witnesses, Dr. Timothy E. Moore, wrote an article for Skeptical Inquirer chronicling the trial.
The trial was covered in the 1991 documentary Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance Vs. Judas Priest. In the documentary, Rob Halford commented that if they wanted to insert subliminal commands in their music, killing their fans would be counterproductive and they would prefer to insert the command "Buy more of our records." Regarding the plaintiff's assertions that the statement "do it" was a command to commit suicide, Halford pointed out "do it" had no direct message.
The assault continues against many music performers today, in Heavy Metal or other genres of music, whether or not they serve Satan. Fuck man, I saw a picture of Amy Grant in concert flashing “The Horns”. It's ironic that many christians in other music genres have decried what they would call Satanic acts, but have done things while hiding behind the ornaments and badges of authority that conceal the nakedness that is alone acceptable to our lord Satan. What have they done you ask? Oh I don't know... Marital Infidelity?
So many in the music industry have been targets of fanaticism by fundamentalist christians, but in many of these cases and situations cited, the media has defended the artists and their supporters, who in turn defended their favorite bands.
As we entered the 80s, the burning of Rock albums by christians became intensified by the allegations of Led Zeppelin's “Stairway To Heaven” containing a back-masked message in the lyrics...
“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 path you're on.”
When allegedly back-masked, sound like this...
“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 tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.”
"To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway to Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music." -Robert Plant (1983)
And other mentions to Satanism were questioned, but never answered. David Lee Roth's “Yankee Rose” was allegedly a reference to the last word in “The Satanic Bible” by Anton LeVay, but nobody knows exactly what the last words meant and the decision of Roth to title his song really had no relation to the text.
You know, I could go on with many other examples of Satanic allegations. Some performers have acts of darkness in their stage shows only for artistic aspect while some have the same setups and do it for what they believe. In other words, some are Satanic and some are not. Either way it's sliced and served, it still makes for good music. But sometimes I wonder as many of you do... Why don't these morons try listening to these albums instead of burning them? Because as long as they are led by the television evangelists and preachers that spread fear within their followers and attendees, the vinyl and plastic will continue to be burned in vain. Not to mention that they can be fined by the city for burning a substance made from oil.
This won't stop for a long time, but even if it does to this day... I Play ALL My Records Backwards (sdrawkcab sdrocer ym lla yalp I)!
HAIL SATAN!
-Bloodlock/Stephanie
AVE SATANAS!
