I love Satan.

September 18, 2009 7:31 AM

Help me discover Satanic music?

I love Satan, or at least the concept thereof. I have been a fan of Satanic-themed anything for as long as I can remember. I capitalize the word Satan, but not god.

Currently, I am trying to find Satanic music that is NOT metal. Jazz, blues, country, whatever. Searching the internet for such a thing has proven quite a difficult task, so I ask here.

Filters: No metal. Sure, it can be kinda metal, like Diablo Swing Orchestra or whatever, but ultimately I am looking for non-metal, maybe even non-rock music that praises and/or sings in tribute to Satan. Also, you can suggest songs that people may have performed in tribute of the Dark Lord, but I am really looking for musicians and bands who have (mostly) completely devoted their work to the Devil.

posted by Palerale to media & arts (57 comments total)

I hate to stereotype, but I've never heard of a band or musician that claimed to worship Satan that WASN'T metal. There are a few groups stateside that claim it, but if you want the ones who seriously practice Satanism, you want to look at Norwegian black metal. Those dude make the American bands look like a junior high marching band.

Personally, I'm Christian, but I still think these guys are nutjobs, but, maybe you can get some ideas from it.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 7:47 AM on September 18

Although I'm an aficionado myself, I just can't come up with many on the spur of the moment / while I'm not at home.

Not-metal but rock: Alkaline Trio's 'Hell Yes' is one of the most blatant songs I've heard, and for good reason.

I. Berlin's 'Stay Down Here Where You Belong,' is a WWI response and has an interesting premise. It may not be what you're looking for, though.
In the over-the-top cheesy comedy song route, Stephen Lynch did a song ('Satan'). It is a comedy song, no doubt about it.

Of course, if you want songs from people who have, ahem, switched allegiances, you could do worse than buying HP Gilmore's classical-style compositions.

I'll have to check my library when I get home. It's a lot easier for me to come up with 'anti-g' than 'pro-S' specifically.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 7:49 AM on September 18

The legend goes that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil, and his music is blues and most definitely not metal.

Any reason for the non-metal requirement? Because that really brings down the options here.
posted by theichibun at 7:55 AM on September 18

It's not strictly hail-Satan, more general occult imagery, but the debut "Come, Reap" EP from Devil's Blood is good stuff. Musically, it's a sort of 70s psychedelic-rock sound, and real good stuff.

Danzig's "Black Aria" is another EP, and despite the source it's not metal either--it's synth orchestral, and intended to be an orchestral score to the revolt of Lucifer and the rebel angels, so that should count. There's also a sequel, apparently, which I can't attest to.
posted by Drastic at 7:56 AM on September 18

Assuming you know about the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:58 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Cake has the songs Pentagram and Satan Is My Motor, which are ostensibly pro-Satanism but are probably meant to be ironic.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:00 AM on September 18

You may enjoy Diamanda Galas. She performed her Plague Mass in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, bare-breasted and covered in blood. I enjoyed her recent album, Guilty Guilty Guilty, a great deal. (Here's her rendition of an Edith Piaf favorite.)

Diamanda is not a Satanist, but she deliberately cultivates a demonic persona in her music and performances. Here she is performing "The Litanies of Satan".
posted by hermitosis at 8:01 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

You should hear this:

'Monoliths & Dimensions' by Sunn O)))
posted by 0bvious at 8:04 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

How about Satanic ska? Mephiskapheles!
posted by Mach5 at 8:17 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

i know skinny puppy did a album in the 80s that had a satanic theme through it--VIVIsectVI.

i'm sure people are going to disagree with me here, (including the band) but insane clown posse, on tje jecky brothers album sounds awfully satanic.

i found a band called 'acid test' in a cutout bin. their abum had some suprisingly satanic lyrics for a pop-like band.
posted by lester at 8:19 AM on September 18

The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton by the Mountain Goats, kinda sorta.

Hail Satan!
posted by elder18 at 8:21 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]

Although I think it's more Satanic in the Satan as anti-Christian/occult figurehead kind of way, check out some of the weirder stuff by ex-Teardrop Explodes' Julian Cope.

Jehovahkill and maybe Peggy Suicide in particular.

(Cope being the crazy rambling guy on Sunn O)))'s White1, which is what jogged my memory.)
posted by man why you even got to do a thing at 8:22 AM on September 18

You could try the Mountain Goats' song, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton," which is actually an acoustic song and unlikely to actually advocate Satanism. It does feature some killer singing of "Hail Satan," though.
posted by hilaritas at 8:25 AM on September 18

And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend be sure to tell her... SATAN
(by orbital)
posted by mkdg at 8:27 AM on September 18

*Stuart Davis, Even The Devil Is God
*Stuart Davis, Wizard of Isn’t
*Beck, Satan Gave Me a Taco
posted by goethean at 8:32 AM on September 18

He's been mentioned, but Glenn Danzig (of Danzig, natch) is explicitly a satanist (some sort of priest, I think), and some if his more bluesy songs are definitely not metal.
posted by signal at 8:35 AM on September 18

Nobody said "Hotel California" yet?
posted by jbickers at 8:35 AM on September 18

I was going to suggest Diamanda Galas, but that's already been done so I'll turn my attention to the one world that at first glance may not seem satanic at all: classical music. There were a plethora of pieces in the 19C particularly that dealt with all subjects dark. First, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. The last movement is called "Dreams of a Witch's Sabbath" and is a musical depiction of a satanic ritual. He uses the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) plainchant to get the point across that this is a truly doom-laden scene. Next Liszt: Mephisto Waltzes. These are a set of piano pieces all about Mephisto, the demon from the Faust legend. To all intents and purposes the dark one himself.

The above are just off the top of my head but a good place to get started. I should mention that both composers were into this kind of thing (Berlioz wrote The Damnation of Faust) but perhaps more significantly for your purposes there's Liszt's Faust Symphony whose third movement is called Mephistopheles.

So there it is. These may not be your thing at all, but you asked for non metal/non rock. I do like giving these pieces as examples when ignorant people decry metal as the music of Satan bent on poisoning the minds of the youth. It's all there in 19C classical music.
posted by ob at 8:40 AM on September 18

Julian Cope is definitely worth looking at - and if memory serves, I believe Marc Almond flirted with the occult.

Led Zepplin?
posted by mippy at 8:42 AM on September 18

Since he hasn't appeared in the thread, Anton Szandor LaVey made a couple of records back in the day.

In your playlist, tag-team Anton with Charlie.

(self-link) Felonious Bosch has a song called Straight To Hell (but it's not about old Mr. 666).
posted by omnidrew at 8:58 AM on September 18

Just to be clear, are you are looking for non-metal that evokes the Anton LaVey conceptualization of Satan? If you are open to more general occult imagery then that kind dramatically opens up the field. As LaVey was a pretty decent organ player who frequently entertained party guests with a number or two you could go hunt down his playlist. If LaVey played a Cole Porter standard that automatically makes it Satanic!
posted by well_balanced at 8:59 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Dear, if you're willing to take electronic industrial I can proffer the Electric Hellfire Club. There might be some in my itunes.

I believe that the no-metal request was simply because Palerale does not need help in that direction, and is looking to expand tastes.
posted by bunnycup at 9:03 AM on September 18

According to one of my very musically inclined friend, the original version of "The Omen" soundtrack is the only satanic liturgical music he's ever heard.... "Dies irae" and all that stuff.
posted by zizzle at 9:04 AM on September 18

I don't know if this is really what you're looking for, but I've always been interested in Satan as Lucifer, less a cartoonish evil, and more as a fallen angel. In that vein, your question immediately made me think of Tool's Right in Two on the 10,000 Days album.
posted by explosion at 9:04 AM on September 18

Perhaps shell out for the new Bobby Beausoleil box set of his sessions for Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising.
posted by galaksit at 9:11 AM on September 18

LaVey was friends with Boyd Rice, a lot of whose music and ideas fit the bill. He even did a track with Rice, "Tony & Xerxes At The Shortstop".
posted by galaksit at 9:18 AM on September 18

Elements of Night on Bald Mountain were inspired by russian folk tales of a witches sabbath and general satanic doings.
posted by freya_lamb at 9:22 AM on September 18

Sunn O))) for sure.
Bohren und Der Club of Gore is a doom-ey ambient jazz band.
Might want to check out the Noir Jazz tag on last.fm.
I might have some more later if I search around my collection and remember stuff.
posted by azarbayejani at 9:22 AM on September 18

Coven?
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:34 AM on September 18

J Church have a song called The Satanists Convene

And, yes, Marc Almond was inducted into the Church of Satan by Boyd Rice, who made some pretty evil sounding music himself.
posted by K.P. at 9:42 AM on September 18

Witchcraft have some satanic references in their songs. I found a couple of videos of another band with the same name and similar references, but they sound so different I think they must be different bands.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:00 AM on September 18

John Zorn's Magick, with the Crowley Quartet, and Rituals, based on the writings of Crowley.
posted by Gortuk at 10:02 AM on September 18

Perhaps shell out for the new Bobby Beausoleil box set of his sessions for Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising.

Better yet, try the unused soundtrack Jimmy Page did for Anger's Lucifer Rising.

Part 1
Part 2
posted by well_balanced at 10:04 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

The Future by Leonard Cohen.
Chirstmas with the Devil by Spinal Tap. (The link is to a great acoustic version by Harry Shearer and his wife.)
posted by Sculthorpe at 10:08 AM on September 18

Bruce Haack's Electronic Lucifer - Great album.
posted by Asbestos McPinto at 10:16 AM on September 18

This is great.
To follow up: I am a metalhead. It will not be easy for you to find metal, or metal-related stuff that I haven't heard. I'm trying to broaden my horizons a bit, as I have a wide range of taste. Lyrical content ruins a lot of music for me, so I'm curious as to what is out there I can truly get behind.

Comedy, irony, and gimmicks are all welcome, but it is important that the content is pro-Satan. All forms and beliefs of Satan are also welcome, from LaVey to the bible.

Thanks! I can't wait to get home from work and investigate all these great suggestions.
posted by Palerale at 10:20 AM on September 18

The soundtrack for Kenneth Anger's film, "Lucifer Rising" is really good. It's by Bobby Beausoleil, known for his association with Charles Manson.
posted by parilous at 10:24 AM on September 18

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire (I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE!)
posted by hydrophonic at 10:24 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

ETA: It's more psychedelic than metal.
posted by parilous at 10:25 AM on September 18

(by orbital)

Sorry, but it's by the Butthole Surfers. The "Satan!" part is just a punch line, though.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:34 AM on September 18

I know this isn't exactly what you are looking for but The Louvin Brothers have some golden age country about Satan (see Satan Is Real). They are, of course, against Satan, but they take Satan seriously, so you may be interested.
posted by Falconetti at 10:42 AM on September 18

These aren't exactly what you're looking for, but you might enjoy them anyway.

The Louvin Brother's Satan is Real is a Christian song, but it's easy to ignore the gospel message and enjoy the lyrics about how powerful Satan is. At any rate, you should see the album cover.

I'd heard Bobby Conn's United Nations before I found out that some Fundamentalists believe the UN ("one world government") is ushering in the end times, so I didn't get what he was getting at and though he was on Satan's side.

My office mate suggested Roky Erickson's Don't Shake Me Lucifer, but we don't really understand what he's going on about. Stand for the Fire Demon seems like a better fit.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:03 AM on September 18

Ah yes, The Louvin Brothers' Satan Is Real cover is a true classic.
posted by well_balanced at 11:04 AM on September 18

Christian Death is a folk-goth band that is pretty much all about Satan and not metal.


If you're into metal you've probably already heard a lot of the drone bands like Sunn O))), but if not check out Earth. Their newest album (The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull) is one of the heaviest and evilest things I've heard, but it is so not typically "heavy".
posted by bradbane at 11:05 AM on September 18

It isn't Robert Johnson who is supposed to have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads, but Tommy Johnson, as dramatized in O Brother, Where Art Thou; the two are often conflated, probably because Robert is better known and his tale is so tragic.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:09 AM on September 18

Probably a bit too obvious, but there's always The Court of the Crimson King.

As you're a metalhead, you're likely familiar with this list.

And more, from King Crimson: The Great Deceiver.
posted by darth_tedious at 11:13 AM on September 18

It doesn't look like anyone else linked this, the Official Church of Satan website has a musicians listing on it's Links Page (you'll have to navigate through and find links on the left-hand menu of the main page, no direct link). I now believe, because only Satan could be responsible for that web design. I'm sure many of them are metal but I imagine there are some other genres.
posted by nanojath at 11:21 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Definitely more in the vein of a joke song, but enjoyable nonetheless. As for genre, all I can tell you is that accordion is heavily featured. Hill of Beans - Satan, Lend Me a Dollar
posted by wuzandfuzz at 11:28 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]

I love that Bruce Haack and Arthur Brown are mentioned above.

You definitely should check out Satan and Deciples' (sic) 1969 album Underground. It's a great, danceable garage/psych rock album. I'm bopping in my chair right now to the chorus of "I'm the Devil!"
posted by stachemaster at 12:23 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Jazz Butcher's "The Devil is my Friend".
posted by Evangeline at 1:39 PM on September 18

Barry Adamson's "Jazz Devil" is about as cool as they come.
posted by jbickers at 2:25 PM on September 18

Electric Hellfire Club
Xorcist
Famine
Phallus Dei
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:57 PM on September 18

My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:19 PM on September 18

2nd Diamonda Galas. Saw her at Royce Hall a few years back. Interesting show, but not my thing.
posted by 6:1 at 3:26 PM on September 18

Os Mutantes - Ave Lucifer
posted by hydrophonic at 5:21 PM on September 18

Great Big Sea has a song called Straight to Hell. Lyrics here
posted by nalyd at 7:34 PM on September 18

Tenacious D professes love for Satan. In fact, they claim to be FUELED by Satan and heirs apparent to Ronnie James Dio, about which they've written an excellent song. Of course, all of Tenacious D's songs are excellent...they are fueled by Satan.
HAIL STAN!!! (sic)
posted by Jezebella at 11:34 PM on September 19