What follows are the top ten most-referenced instances of hidden Satanic messages found in Rock music during the 70s ‘Satanic Panic’ era. What’s difficult to understand, however, is how these nonsensical statements actually caused such a stir yes, they referenced the Devil yes, they were placed in our kids’ favorite songs covertly, but… They sure don’t seem to add up to much.

His message was hopelessly muddled by his process. Looking back at his best work decades later, it’s easy to see why Satan’s plot failed: The Devil had outsmarted himself. This method carried with it some considerable vocabulary and grammatical limitations, and often left Satan’s message severely compromised. Think about it: These lyrics needed to be meticulously constructed syllable-by-syllable words and phrases carefully chosen and intricately placed so as to flow understandably forward and backward each stanza containing not one but two ideas, each flowing simultaneously in opposite directions. However, the Devil’s poetic voice lost much of its persuasive force in translation. Science! BAH!Ĭrafting a lyric where Don Henley sings about rehab and also references Satanism when reversed by the brain is an enormous artistic achievement, if not Grammy-worthy. However, this didn’t stop Satan from moving forward with the project in earnest. This idea finds little validation in hard science, and remains at best a grey area in the field of cognitive theory. Satan subscribed to the idea that the subconscious mind will attempt to interpret messages in several different contexts, including by reversing information, and that the mind will be subliminally influenced by said messages because they are not perceived consciously and are therefore not subject to analysis and critical thinking processes available to the conscious mind. The true genius of Lucifer’s plan was his use of ‘phonetic reversal’, a key component in the theory of ‘reverse speech’. Satan would then insert Satanic ideas and messages into the artist’s songs, brainwash the masses into worshiping him forever, overthrow God, bring forth the Apocalypse, etc etc.

It was probably easy enough to find writing partners among the biggest stars of the era the standard ‘deal with the devil’ was fairly commonplace, and if the promise of unlimited fame and fortune didn’t work, there was always the ‘strippers and blow’ approach. For the most part, Satan chose established artists and bands with ready access to large audiences and a track record of success on the radio. He would find popular songwriters and record producers willing to collaborate with the Prince of Darkness. But Ol’ Scratch retired from the music biz in the early 80s, and opted to watch from the sidelines as his message devolved into shtick, leaving behind a void that was quickly filled by a seemingly endless parade of Venoms and Motleys and Slayers, all peddling phony evil and bogus damnation… What prompted his sudden departure from the world of Rock n’ Roll? My guess is that Satan retired from the music biz after the embarrassing failure of one of this most ambitious and creative projects: Writing backwards Rock and Roll lyrics with some of the biggest artists of the 70s. Such was the impact of his work, that, in his own way, The Devil himself became one of the biggest rock starts of the 1970s.

But alas, the headlines actually referenced the NWOBHM band called Satan, and NOT The Father Of All Lies. I thought, ‘great, now we’ll get to see what he’s really all about musically.’ After decades of collaborating with other artists, it was finally time for the Horned One to step out on his own and pursue his own unique artistic vision. When internet news sources began announcing that Satan would be releasing an album in September of this year, I was immediately interested.

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