The Dark Arts.

In his prequel to The Lord of the Rings - The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien tells of the evil Melkor who rebelled against his creator Eru Iluvitar and turned to the dark arts as a source of power.

Melkor is contrasted with the good god  Manwe who does not suspect his rival of treachery because of his own good nature.

Melkor was said to reject the goodness of his creator and embrace evil as his natural domain.

Likewise those rock stars who sell their souls to the devil study the occult and the dark arts and use their knowledge in their music and videos.

Death, darkness, night, sleep, blindness, discord, suicide, and war are common themes.

But Satainsm in rock music wears a mask.

It may appear good, idealistic, wise, or sympathetic on the surface but beneath is malevolence, evil, and sabotage.

They use backtracking and subliminal messages.

So do not take their music at face value.

Evil and death lie beneath.

Photo Credit: rinthcog Flickr via Compfight cc

(The image has been slightly modified.)