For as long as it’s existed, heavy metal has been singing about the Devil. The self-titled song by Black Sabbath, which opens the Brummies’ first album and pioneered this genre of music, sees Ozzy Osbourne observe in terror, “Satan’s sitting there – he’s smiling.” And since then, from Iron Maiden through Mayhem to Green Lung, the Great Horned One has refused to go away.
It makes sense, of course: metal and the Devil are a match made in Heav...er, Hell. In the Bible, Satan was cast out of paradise for rebelling against God. Similarly, metal has long considered itself to be countercultural, making an obnoxious racket that often comes with anti-establishment lyrics. Within months of singing their first satanic verse, Sabbath were reviled by mainstream music critics and writing the song War Pigs in protest against the Vietnam War.
