From the very conception of heavy metal, supernatural and occult influences have continued to be siphoned into the music of countless bands, either as a way of embedding spiritual thought into their work, such as the ritualistic Satanic duo Twin Temple, or for metaphorical and creative means.
For Mötley Crüe, their interest in the dark side was largely artistic, though this didn't stop them from the tsunami of backlash from religious groups and pearl-clutching parents following the release of their 1983 second album, Shout At The Devil - an album not only steeped in 'sinful' lyrical messaging, but emblazoned with a large pentagram on its cover. Its title too, was obviously problematic, though originally under a slightly different name - Shout With The Devil - and it sparked even more ire from those around them, scared of whatever "evil" forces the band were perhaps inviting in to shout "with" through the release.
The Satanic sheen of the album and subsequent tour was the result of Nikki Sixx's infatuation with dark imagery, fittingly falling in line with America's Satanic Panic phenomenon. The bassist believed that the concept of evil, or standing up against it, was an ideal metaphor for standing up against authority. Specifically, it was used as a vessel for expressing his disdain for President Ronald Wilson Reagan, the individual that he believed was the true epitome of corruption, who's name, Sixx points out, each contained six letters (666).
In Mötley Crüe's 2001 memoire The Dirt, Sixx noted: "He was the devil I wanted everybody to shout at".
Tom Zutaut, the A&R rep who signed the hair metallers to Elektra/Asylum Records, was particularly concerned with the album's occult angle. “It was upsetting to the label, and it was upsetting to me", he explains in the book, noting how Sixx told him that "it just looks cool. It’s meaningless symbols and shit. I’m just doing it to piss people off. It’s not like I worship Satan or something.”
In spite of the bass player's attempt to defuse the situation, it was unsuccessful, with Zutaut issuing a stern warning after experiencing some strange happenings at Sixx's house, which allegedly exhibited poltergeist activity on a regular basis.
One moment in particular "freaked" the rep out to such an extent that he feared for the bassist's life. After one visit to Sixx's home, who he shared with Lita Ford at the time, he allegedly witnessed a knife and fork rise off the table and stick into the ceiling.
He recalled in the book: "I looked at Nikki and freaked out, saying ‘There is no more Shout With the Devil. If you keep shouting with the devil, you’re going to get killed.’
"I truly believe that Nikki had unknowingly tapped into something evil, something more dangerous than he could control that was on the verge of seriously hurting him. Nikki must have realised the same thing, because he decided on his own to change the album title to Shout At the Devil.”
In a 1984 interview, Sixx explained exactly why listeners should not be concerned over the album's title - adding further clarity behind the name change. "We tell these religious fanatics: 'Read this: 'Shout at the Devil", he said, presenting the cover. "It doesn't say 'Shout With the Devil' — 'at the devil.'"
While singer Vince Neil concluded, "And that's why we put the pentagram right on the front. A lot of things, if you stand in the middle of it, the evil can't get in to you."
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