I was playing some Brutal Legend and I got a hankering to go back and watch some of those VH1 Metal documentaries (the really awesome multi-part ones where they interview basically EVERYone from the 70s-80s metal scene), and there was something that struck me more this time around: 1) Rob Halford knows his shit. The dude is MAD informed and really clever. 2) The groups that protested metal (mostly Christian, but I don't want to over-generalize) came up with some pretty hilarious ways that metal was corrupting our youth (just like rock and roll before it and the blues before that etc etc), but one of the funniest, for me, was the idea that Judas Priest (of which Mr. Halford is the frontman) had recorded backward (and therefore subliminal...of course) messages that would cause the hapless teenagers listening to it to be overwhelmed with the urge to kill themselves. This was in the wake of two teenagers listening to some Judas Priest, and then killing themselves.

Now obviously, this is a patent lie. If subliminal messages could be so easily and effectively implanted in someone, it would have been acquired and weaponized by someone at some point. There was some kind of musical anomaly that made it sound like the background of the track was saying "Do it, do it" but as Halford pointed out "Do what? Why would you assume it meant kill yourself?" He then went on to "If we could program teenagers to do our bidding, why would we have them kill themselves?! Why wouldn't it be 'Go buy lots more Judas Priest albums, and pick up a t-shirt while you're at it!'" And I realized: it's because these groups think that bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Slayer are evil for its own sake. Which is something that doesn't exist.

Stalin's governing led to the deaths of 20,000,000 Russians, but he thought it would lead to Russia being stronger than it ever was. Even serial killers have motives, twisted and sometimes incomprehensible though they are, beyond "Cause I'm the BADGUY." But that's not how these people see the artists and us, their fans. They see us as either victims or enablers, depending on our age and whatnot, but they see these people as EVIL. They are pure evil for its own sake, they are from the devil, they want us to die for no reason. It doesn't make sense otherwise, why WOULD you program your fans, the people who have made your career, to self-destruct? There's no purpose and there's no point. I find it frightening that these people have been so indoctrinated by whatever drives them that they truly believe that there is a scourge like this and that it isn't some genocidal dictator, or an abusive family, or even a madman with a knife.

They really believe it's a bunch of musicians. Or filmmakers. Or videogame developers.

You should read some of the Epistles to the Apostle Paul in a scholarly edition of the Bible. He basically does an Ann Landers of Christendom from his prison cell, and when he finds out Christians are killing themselves to get to heaven faster, he back-peddles and says suicide is the gravest of sins. Which is really fucking weird in its own right since Christianity is at its core, about self-sacrifice. In fact, I've often wondered why Christians don't absolutely love metal music! Metal-heads and Christians have a lot in common! (For example, both are huge fans of Crucifixion.)

srepoleved emagoediv ro, the last line in your blog backwards is kind of creepy. They're only trying to justify their own beliefs. If I child kills or commits suicide, they're too afraid to look in the mirror and face the truth of what could have went wrong. They look elsewhere to place blame.

I approve of this thread, but have nothing constructive to add myself.
 
 
I'll be leaving now.

I watched a documentary on Judas Priest where two kids has shot themselves and one survived and blamed it on the music, his mother took the band to court and said there were messages in the song when played backwards, lets just say she got owned over and over, the band members were even trying not to laugh during one part.

I still appreciate it!

@Bucketdeth:

I've seen you around the forums. I like your style. And yeah, Rob Halford especially is a GREAT spokesman for Metal.

I remember watching that a while ago. I've never bought into this, anyone can hear what they want to hear in record played backwards, but some are, well, just listen.....
 

Has anyone heard I'm So Tired by the Beatles backwards?
 

HAW! Still not the suicide anthem they'd like us to believe.

@jonnyboy: