L e d Ze p pe l i n a n d L uci fe r
How rock and roll nearly tore America apart at the seams. words by Luke Maddren illustration by Lance Evans
P
astors accusing teenagers of drinking human blood. Parents claiming teachers were involved in a ritualistic sex cult. Ever-present rumors of a nationwide Satanism corrupting our kids and ultimately destroying America. In the 1980s, America was facing a full-on nation-wide “Satanic Panic.” Concerned parents and religious leaders accused everyone and everything that could maybe, hypothetically, have some nominal connection to Satanism of being involved in a global Satanist conspiracy — complete with ritual sacrifice, sex trafficking, and murder — with absolutely zero evidence. In the 80s, “the rules were shifting, and society is never comfortable when that happens,” said Mary deYoung, a professor of sociology at Grand Valley State University. “The easiest way to deal with that anxiety was to find someone or something to blame.” While Satanism was connected to all kinds of culture, one of the most popular cultural phenomena to fall victim to these accusations was rock and metal music. Teenagers started to cast aside the records by rock musicians like Elvis Presley in favor of those by Black Sabbath and Slayer. This new rock and roll was fast, loud, and abrasive. Songs were commonly about violence, sex, and drugs, which flew in the face of everything Christian. As a result of this new, unholy trend, concerned Christians tried to find any connection between the rise in rock and roll music and Satanic ritual sacrifice. One particularly common technique of identifying “Satanic messages” in rock music was playing records backwards. Some listeners, for example thought that when played in reverse, Led Zeppelin's 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven” repeated the words “my sweet Satan.” A group of perturbed parents called the Parents
Music Resource Center put together a list of 15 songs they considered to be obscene or violent, which they called the “Filthy Fifteen” — nine of the fifteen songs were heavy metal songs. The PMRC even testified in front of Congress in 1985 about the lyrics used in rock songs with the goal of forming a warning label system for explicit content. Despite backlash, the PMRC got their way and the Parental Advisory: Explicit Content label we all love to ignore was created. Under this new system, bands had to change or completely omit parts of their previously-mixed albums In order to keep their records in stores. While this might seem like parents just being parents, the Satanic Panic had real consequences. In 1993, three teenagers were convicted of murdering three children in the woods — and one of the accused’s favorite bands was Metallica, which played into the prosecution’s favor, said deYoung. With years upon years of campaigning by rock musicians and the release of several HBO documentaries, the trio, called the West Memphis Three, were exonerated. At the end of the day, the rock and roll genre survived the public outcry. For some, however, the experience gives rock music a special place in their heart, such as Les Rose, a professor of broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University who’s been to over 1,300 rock concerts in his life. “I’m 64 years old, and I’ve been listening to rock music since I was ten, including hardcore heavy metal,” Rose said. “To this day, I have not killed anyone, and I haven’t worshipped Satan. I just enjoy it for what it is.” Despite all odds and the wrath of bornagain parents, the rock and roll genre came out on top — and it’s safe to say that America hasn’t been destroyed… yet.
