Rockin' the Occult

RECORD HIGH

A look at rock ‘n’ rollers’ infatuation with the supernatural

By Kendall Polidori

Rock ‘n’ roll often embodies the paranormal. In the late 1960s, bands like Coven and Black Widow helped create a subgenre called occult rock that incorporated elements of hard rock, proto-metal, psychedelic rock, progressive rock and blues. The most notable example was Iron Butterfly’s 1968 track In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

The new wave of music had lyrics referencing the occult, horror movies and occult-related novels. But the otherworldly themes didn’t necessarily include worshiping the devil. Just the same, some alleged that satanic rituals led to the recent Astroworld incident, where eight concertgoers died and 300 were badly injured during a performance by Travis Scott. A TikTok video even labeled the festival a “ritual to sacrifice souls.”

Earlier this year, rapper Lil Nas X ignited an uproar when he released a video for his song MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) that showed him performing a lap dance for a satanic figure.

So, is there a deeper connection between music and the occult? It might be a matter of personal belief.

1956 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins recorded the single I Put a Spell on You, launching what seems like a thousand covers. The song and Hawkins’ onstage histrionics bring to mind Hoodoo, a set of spiritual beliefs and practices that arose among enslaved Americans.

1967 The Beatles released the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with a cover that depicts a crowd of celebrities, including Aleister Crowley, an early 20th-century English occultist who founded a religion called Thelema.

1967 The Rolling Stones album Their Satanic Majesties Request may have marked the first time the demon’s name appeared on the cover of a major pop record. The Stones’ musical career has connected with satanic imagery a number of times, including on the song Sympathy for the Devil on the 1969 album Let it Bleed. The group’s reputation for the occult worsened that same year with the accidental death of member Brian Jones.

1969 The band Coven released Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls, an album rife with occult and satanic themes. The jacket blatantly displayed satanic horns and inverted crosses. It broke ground for the occult in rock but was soon removed from stores during the hysteria surrounding the Manson Family murders.

1970 Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page bought Boleskine House, a home in Scotland that occultist Aleister Crowley once owned. The house graced the cover of Led Zeppelin III, accompanied by a Crowley quotation that matches the rock ethos: “Do what thou wilt / Shall be the whole of law.” The band was plagued by rumors of the occult, some based on the death of singer Robert Plant’s son in 1977 and the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980. And the band has had to endure rumors of their song Stairway to Heaven delivering a subliminal message when played backward: “There is no escaping / Whose path will make me sad, whose power is Satan / He will give you 666 / Here’s to my sweet Satan.”

1970 Conspiracy theories arose surrounding the death of Jimi Hendrix, one of a number of notable people who died at the age of 27. The so-called “27 Club” also includes musicians Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain.

1972 Blue Öyster Cult, the band whose logo became a symbol of the supernatural, released its self-titled debut album. The band went on to inspire a host of occult rock bands, including Ghost.

1977 Members of KISS lent their band’s name and their likenesses to a Marvel comic series, which was said to be printed with their blood. The band has denied rumors that its name is an acronym for Knights in Satan’s Service.

1978 Black Sabbath released the album Never Say Die, one of its many collections of music devoted to demonism and the supernatural. Guitarist Tony Iommi recalls that members of the band once returned to their hotel after a show and found the corridor outside their rooms full of followers wearing black coats. The band’s devotees were sitting on the floor holding candles and chanting.

Rage Against the Machine spliced footage from Donald Trump’s abortive first campaign for president into a 1999 music video, presaging what was to come.

Songs that Seemed to Foretell the Future

Rage Against the Machine appeared to predict the Donald Trump presidency 18 years before he took office. In 1999, the video that accompanied the band’s track Sleep Now In The Fire showed activists brandishing Trump signs on Wall Street.

Jimi Hendrix seemed to predict climate change in 1967 with his song Up From The Skies, which included the lyrics, “The smell of a world that has burned / Well, maybe, maybe it’s just a change of climate.”

Radiohead probably predicted society’s reliance on technology with their 1997 album OK Computer.

Wilco seemingly predicted 9-11 on the 2001 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which was supposed to be released on Sept. 11, 2001, but was pushed back a week at the last minute. The album includes tracks like Poor Places, with noisy waves of feedback and radio-like static overpowering the instruments, perhaps foreshadowing 9-11. The song Jesus, etc. had these lyrics: “Tall buildings shake / Voices escape, singing sad, sad songs.” The track Ashes of American Flags seemed to foretell the tragedy, and War on War addressed the post-9-11 world, including the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

2006 The occult rock act Ghost was formed in Linköping, Sweden, in the belief that music can bring salvation and that live shows can serve as religious services. Frontman Tobias Forge plays the role of a satanic priest, while backing band members are referred to as “nameless ghouls.” Notably, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl once took on the role of a ghoul in a Ghost performance. On stage, members wear skull makeup and three-pointed papal mitres while playing odes to Lucifer and songs about zombie queens, psychic powers and Hungarian countesses bathing in the blood of virgins.