Songs Accused of Satanic Backmasking
Backmasking in popular music became infamous in the 1980s when fundamentalist preachers started saying that Satan was speaking to teenagers through subliminal messages hidden in rock music. One only needed to play the record backwards to hear such diabolical ranting as "It's fun to smoke marijuana", "I am Satan", "Serve the beast for money", "I love Satan", "Satan knows I love Him" and who can forget the famous, "Glory, glory to my sweet Satan, there was a little child born, it makes me sad, whose power is Satan", from Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven".
There were 3 trains of thought at the time in regard to backmasking in popular music:
1. Satan was using musicians as demonic pawns. The messages were put in the music unwillingly by the devil himself.
2. The musicians were Satan worshipers who purposefully planted the messages into the songs.
3. Hogwash
The controversy instigated teenagers across the country to play their records backwards in search of the next new "Satanic message". Most certainly a boon for the record industry as well as record needle manufactures.
On the not-so-humorous side, the band Judas Priest actually had to defend themselves in court for the suicide pact of Raymond Belknap, 18, and James Vance, 20 in 1985.
Supposedly, the subliminal messages "Try Suicide," "Let's Be Dead," and "Do it, Do it" found on the band’s "Stained Class" album drove the youths to put shotguns to their heads and pull the trigger. Not only did the band win the lawsuit, but the case helped set a precedent. Law students study the case to this day in order to help them understand the difference between real science and junk science.
After this all unfolded musicians did what you would expect them to do. They began putting more subliminal messages into their songs on purpose. Sometimes in jest, sometimes as a marketing device and yes, even to glorify the devil.
You can listen to backwards clips and discover more at Backmaskonline.com.
The Playlist:
1. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
3. Fire On High - Electric Light Orchestra
4. Gonna Raise Hell - Cheap Trick
5. Perfect Sense, Part I - Roger Waters
8. When Electricity Came To Arkansas - Black Oak Arkansas
10. Anthem - Rush
11. No Anchovies, Please - The J. Geils Band
12. Better By You, Better Than Me - Judas Priest
14. Bloodbath In Paradise - Ozzy Osbourne
15. Down In The Park - Marilyn Manson
19. Jesus Wrote A Blank Check - Cake
20. The 4th - Filter
21. Loser - Beck
22. Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out) - The Bloodhound Gang
23. Pain Lies On The Riverside - Live
24. Subliminal - They Might Be Giants
25. Oops!...I Did It Again - Britney Spears
29. Final Scream - Grim Reaper
30. Stairway To Heaven (Remastered) - Led Zeppelin
Yes, what started as a gag (maybe to sell more albums) with The Beatles song "Number 9" = ""Paul is dead," did turn into a practice done by very few as a way to practice Satanism by using backwards messages in their music. I was shocked at hearing The Eagles' "Hotel California" played backwards. Here was a "clean-cut" band with a clearly satanic message, a first! If you listen to the song played forwards, it doesn't surprize you so much, as it is about the founding of the (U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned) Church of Satan.
Remember this: To enter the Church of Satan you have to recite The Lord's Prayer backwards, hold a cross upside down and break it to renounce your prior Christian views. Backwards speech IS a part of Satanism, and therefore some music containing intelligible speech when played backwards IS suspect of being satanic. Often times the speech isn't understandable, and as such MAY be the result of researchers looking too hard to find it. Still, I'm leary of musicians that intentionally put it into their music, as many should be.
I was once lost as well,and played in classic rock bands, most of the music we played was harmless I thought, maybe not so. I was once a big Eagles fan too, very good musicians, so was Lucifer. I am definitely not a fan of his.
Glad you do care! Yup, a lot of this life is just a mask. But when The Church of Satan was sanctioned by the Supreme Court it also meant more than a tax break for them. They are allowed all the perks of a legitimate church. On the battlefield a dying or dead soldier must be read his last rites from The Satanic Bible by a Catholic (or whatever) priest/clergyman because of this 1969 ruling. It's obvious more than tax evasion was at stake here.
I'll probably buy the new Eagles album; I like their harmonies. But I'll never forget their message (when played forward) on "Hotel California": they sing, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969." Coincidence that matches what you just said was the date for the founding of The Church of Satan? Doubtful. Back when I was a singer/guitarist in various bands I only refused to play two widely popular songs: "Stairway to Heaven" and "Hotel California." Never had a bandmate complain!
The Freakin Eagles? WHYY!!