I have a friend who's really into Rock and Metal music. A lot of the music I see him post online, has names that seem to worship demons or Satanic beings. So, I wanted to know if the idea behind Rock music, is mainly to talk about dark or sort of 'evil' things like that. If that's true, why is it so?
3
-
4I don't have enough material to write a whole answer, but basically, they want to disturb sensitive minds, to shock establishment and religion. Historically, Rock was always anti-conformist so being anti-religion is one way to express rebellion.– BebsCommented Feb 18, 2020 at 22:02
-
1oh ok, I get it 👍– karun mathewsCommented Feb 19, 2020 at 3:05
-
"everyone knows all the best bands are affiliated with Satan" --Bart Simpson– YorikCommented Dec 1, 2022 at 20:36
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Rock was originally created as a way of expression of youth, rebellion and protest, denial and revision of the moral and material values of the world.
Throughout its history, rock has shown the unsolvable eternal dilemma of fathers and children. As a means of self-expression of the young generation, rock in the eyes of the older generation looks only like children's entertainment, sometimes dangerous and destructive.
And the branch of rock towards Satanism is already as a separate branch of style. To the original rock, this has no relation, only a heavy sound.
-
So by "By denial and revision of the moral and material values of the world", you mean that rock provides another outlook on life and how to live. Could you give an example of the changes rock proposes? Thanks for your answer ) Commented Mar 5, 2020 at 13:06
Regarding heavy metal:
Metal pioneers like Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper deliberately attempted to make scary, controversial or shocking music, inspired by horror movies and seeking to bring similar themes into music.
Black Sabbath's first, self-titled album (often credited as the first metal album) was such an attempt to make a musical equivalent of horror movies. The songs Black Sabbath and N.I.B in particular are explicitly influenced by satanism, people encountering or worshipping the devil - and ending up in trouble because of it.
The satanism themes were always tongue in cheek, though calling it "anti-religious" is inaccurate - Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is Catholic and always goes on stage wearing a big Christian cross around his neck, decorates his guitar with crosses and so on. Although lyrics questioning God's existence or motives is a recurring pattern both in Black Sabbath lyrics and in metal in general.
In the 1980s, Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio was also credited for popularizing the "devil horns" gesture nowadays used by literally all metal fans. It was supposedly (according to Dio) a gesture to ward off evil, though it goes back to various and diverse origins.
A lot of metal bands were inspired by these themes and took them further, inventing all manner of devils and demons both in lyrics and on album covers. It's nowadays so common in the genre that it has turned completely uncontroversial.
