Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

Heavy Metal Music 105
According to the story, humanity’s seeming inability
to avoid temptation and sin prompted the angels
to make some less-than-complimentary remarks
about humankind. God, it is said, responded that
angels would fail as miserably as human beings if
placed under the same conditions. As an answer to
God’s challenge, Harut and Marut were chosen to
come down to earth, with strict instructions to
avoid the most severe sins of murder, idolatry, the
drinking of alcohol, and illicit sexual relations.
Almost immediately, Harut and Marut were
overcome by desire for an attractive woman.
Caught in the act by a passerby, they killed him so
that no one could testify to their sin. However, as
one might anticipate, the all-knowing God was
perfectly aware of their actions. Furthermore, He
arranged it so that the angels in heaven would
witness the reprehensible actions of their brothers
on earth. Having miserably failed the test, Harut
and Marut were punished by being hung upside
down in a well in Babylon, this being preferable to
eternal punishment in hell. The other angels had
to admit that God was right, and, presumably,
snide remarks about the weakness of humanity
ceased to be made within the precincts of heaven.
As for Harut and Marut, they occupied their time
teaching sorcery to humanity, although they never
failed to warn human beings of the ultimate
consequence of practicing the forbidden arts.
See also Iblis; Islam
For Further Reading:
The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978.
Glassé, Cyril. The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. San
Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1989.
Heavy Metal Music
Next to horror movies and conservative Christian
literature, the most significant source of diabolical
images in contemporary popular culture is heavy
metal music and some of heavy metal’s darker
musical relatives. This pattern began earlier
among certain rock music groups. The initial
motivation for adopting Satanic trappings was
simply to increase record sales, particularly among
rebellious adolescents who wanted to shock family
and friends. Few of the early rock musicians were
actually interested in promoting Satanism.
As one might anticipate, many Christians took
such infernal images with deadly seriousness.
According to some conservative Christians who
disliked the genre, rock music companies
routinely incorporated Satanic rhythms into their
albums for the purpose of leading innocent young
people into the service of the Prince of Darkness.
This was supposedly accomplished via the unconscious
influence of what was described as rock
music’s “Druid beat.” The Druid beat strategy for
denouncing rock became unnecessary after musicians
began flaunting their association with the
Devil.
The Rolling Stones was one of the first major
rock groups to flirt with Satan. The pivotal event
in this flirtation was the Altamont Rock Festival in
1969. The Stones had hired members of the Hell’s
Angels motorcycle club to handle security during
the festival. Although there are conflicting
accounts about exactly how it transpired, the
Hell’s Angels murdered a young black man while
the Rolling Stones were performing “Sympathy for
the Devil.” The group subsequently backed away
from the Prince of Darkness.
Heavy metal came into being in the late 1960s,
through the music of groups like Led Zeppelin
and Black Sabbath. It was rumored that Led
Zeppelin had entered into a pact with the Devil,
but the group’s association with the occult
derived from interest in Aleister Crowley and
other non-Satanist occultists. Black Sabbath, on
the other hand, actually sang about matters associated
with Satanism, but not in an approving
manner. Their song “Black Sabbath,” for instance,
is a song of terror about witnessing a Black Mass.
Listeners are, furthermore, advised to turn to a
loving God.
Although neither Led Zeppelin nor Black
Sabbath came close to pretending to promote
Satanism, the Australian group AC/DC did. Even
in AC/DC, however, it is clear that the Devil is
being used more as a symbol of rebelliousness
than as a deity to be invoked. This is reflected in
the title of their popular song, “Highway to Hell,”
which refers to a dissolute lifestyle—not to Satan
worship. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that AC/DC
will ever shake off its infernal associations because
of their association with the serial killer Richard