A while back , I was browsing at a favourite used Scripture shop and found a paperback book calledBackward mask Unmasked . write in 1983 by a juvenility minister of religion named Jacob Aranza , it ’s an accidentally hilarious attempt to queer the alleged backward Satanic messages in rock music music .
For lesson , in the chapter called “ Which Way Are The eagle flee ? ” Aranza reprobate the southern California grouping as “ occultic ” [ sic ] and as “ having had dealings with members of the Satanic church . ” He claim their song “ Hotel California , ” an ode to devil adoration , hold in this startlingly formal backward message : “ Yes , Satan machinate his own religion . ”
As Aranza denounces subliminal messages that encourage everything from homoeroticism to marijuana use , he bring up the common suspects – Zeppelin , Stones , Sabbath – as well as such unlikely one as Hall & Oates ( “ They often portray woman and attempt to issue forth across to their audiences as women ” ) and the Bee Gees ( “ Robin Gibb confess to the hobby of adult draught ” ) .
His book made me curious about the history of not only backmasking , but rearwards register phone in universal .
It begin , as many things do , with Thomas Edison . After manufacture the record player in 1877 , old Tom remark that music in reversal vocalise “ refreshing and odorous but all told different . ” In the early 1950s , avant - garde musician begin incorporate that difference of opinion into their piece . They run Virginia reel - to - spool tape measure recorders backwards , and presto - the unsettling sound of a hundred little Hoovers sucking up a melody and lyric .
A decade later , The Beatles labour backward sounds into the mainstream with such songs as “ rainwater ” and “ Tomorrow Never have it away . ” afterwards , their audio reversal came back to haunt them with the Paul Is Dead rumors . But that ’s a matter for another 24-hour interval .
The backmasking - Satanism connexion can be traced to a 1913 book by mystic Aleister Crowley , who recommended that those interested in black magic would do well to “ learn how to imagine and speak backwards . ” Sixty long time later , Led Zeppelin guitar player Jimmy Page moved into Crowley ’s sometime mansion . To borrow one of Aranza ’s pet phrases : “ conjunction ? ”
As Aranza show out in the “ staircase To Heaven ? ” chapter , Zep ’s classic tune is full of feebleminded substance like : “ So here ’s to my fresh Satan . ” And such words tainted impressible idea .
Backmasking on the Brain
allow ’s pause here to ask two questions . Can any songwriter actually write lyric that scan forward and backwards ? And does the brain even embrace backward messages ? No to the first . And despite claims by pseudo - scientists like David John Oates that the subconscious thinker can decipher phonetic reversals , there is no proof that it can , or that a person ’s behaviour would be influenced in any way , if it could .
That said , the mentality will look for placeable patterns in noise or gibber . A strain played backward offers many possibilities , peculiarly when you ’re told what to listen for . As an experiment , I fiddle Louis Armstrong ’s “ What A fantastic public ” backwards . As unlikely a song for malevolent subject matter as I could think of . I braced myself for Satchmo start out infernal , but the only line that leapt out from the gibber was this : “ Where ’s the sandwich , dear Dolly ? ” A sly reference point to one of his earlier hit ? Coincidence ?
After a ten of government endeavor to legislate against backmasking ( remember the PMRC ? ) , the phenomenon peaked in 1990 , when a polite action against Judas Priest allege that they were responsible for the suicide of a adolescent fan . Apparently , in the call “ Better By You , Better Than Me , ” they ’d planted a rearwards subliminal message of “ Do it . ” The case was can .
What makes backmasking – specially the fiendish - related material - seem quaint today is the superfluity of malign songs by expiry metal set who put their messages front and core . To see what I mean , fall into place around at random on the death metal archive web site DarkLyrics.com . Yikes .
In tribute to the golden age of backmasking , here are three of Aranza ’s top offenders :
Led Zeppelin – “Stairway To Heaven”
The Eagles – “Hotel California”
E.L.O – “Fire On High”
experience free to weigh in with your own favourite backmasked songs .
Kcor malefic gnol .
