# Records played backwards... satanic messages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2001, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933 "2001-11-17T13:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/21 "2001-11-18T18:14:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by otto3883 \* > **Wow i always knew that rock and roll stars were very talented. I just thought it was because they could play and write meaningful music and lyrics that entertained. But WOW this whole time they were writing music that made sense forwards and made sense when played backwards. That takes major talent.** I guess that’s sarcasm. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oh well. Just think of how little there would be to talk about on this board if there were no freaky coincidences. \*\* Yep, combine a freaky coincidence (and it can be as little a few syllables) with a mindset that’s bound and determined to find a specific thing and the SDMB will have a ton to talk about. So will Snopes, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Drake\_Christensen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/96bed5/32.png) [@Drake\_Christensen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drake_Christensen)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/22 "2001-11-18T19:17:49Z")
I saw the same documentary that engineer\_comp\_geek saw. The band commented that back when the album in question was recorded back-masking was very expensive and difficult to do. The band was literally living out of their van at the time and had no money to spare for any advanced technology on their albums. The silly phrases the band found on their own album were hilarious, in context. The “satanic” phrase took a great deal of imagination to hear. I think I only picked out one or two syllables that were supposed to be there. The silly phrases were remarkably clear. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/23 "2001-11-18T22:15:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Romanadvoratrelundar \* > \*\*There is an ELO record that contained some backward > masking \*\* ELO’s records are **full** of backwards masking. Some of which do take the mickey with stuff about the devil. They were having a laugh and it was kind of a running joke with them to see how much they could get away with. They got more and more blatant about it until it got rumbled and publicised. Then they released the album ‘Secret Messages’ which clearly admits to the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/24 "2001-11-19T01:50:58Z")
This file is really cool. [http://reversespeech.com/rev/stairmai.ra](http://reversespeech.com/rev/stairmai.ra) The famous piece of Stairway To Heaven forward then backwards twice. Backwards it says: > [@](#): > > \*\*Oh, it’s my sweet Satan. The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is fake…(babbling)…There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan. \*\* Sounds to me like a reference to the Bible verse which refers to the narrow path which leads to Christ and the wide path which does not. The one whose little path makes me sad (Jesus) whose power is fake. There is then a reference to being tortured by Satan in a toolshed, maybe a soul-selling ritual? P.S.- I don’t believe in this stuff, I don’t believe in Satan or Jesus, but I think that’s pretty cool. Especially because it already has the purportedly anti-christian line “Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there is still time to change the road” when played forward. Fun fun. LC ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/25 "2001-11-23T08:40:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cap’n Crude \* > \*\*It’s all true! If you play the _Deathtongue_ single “Hell’s Bells” backwards, you get terrible messages: > Goooo to church … > Saaay yoour prayers … > Tithe! Tithe! > 😉 \*\* Ahhh yes, _Deathtongue_. They were never the same after they changed their name to _Billy and the Boingers_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/26 "2001-11-23T14:01:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by engineer\_comp\_geek \* > Somewhere around here I have an iron maiden record that clearly has some backward voice stuff on it. I had a reel to reel tape deck back in those days that could play in either direction (and could even do quadrophonic sound! woohoo!) so of course I taped it then played it backwards. It said something very silly like “forsooth said the thing with three bumps…” I don’t remember the rest, but I always wondered if it was a famous quote from somewhere. What you have is Piece of Mind, the song is Still Life. It says something like “Don’t meddle with things you don’t understand” or something very close to that. It was in responce to them being called satenists because of Number of the Beast. ---
**Author:** ![Gmork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Gmork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gmork)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933/27 "2003-12-01T15:30:03Z")
For the record - the Butthole Surfers song ‘Pepper’ has an obvious piece of backward masking in the middle - so I of course wasted my time converting the mp3 file to wav and then reversing it. Yawn. He just says two lines which are the ‘forward’ lines of the song anyway. _Sigh_ See? I have too much time on my dirty little hands. The dirt comes off with soap…the time doesn’t. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/records-played-backwards-satanic-messages/93933.md?page=1)