Musicians Talking About Satanism

When you play the devil’s music, you tend to get asked about Satanism in interviews. Here’s what rock and metal musicians have to say about the Devil and the topic of Satanism.

Who’s been accused of being a devil worshipper more than Ozzy Osbourne? Though Black Sabbath never went anywhere without their crosses, the band’s dark music and Ozzy’s colorful antics often labeled the singer as Satanic.

“I just take it as tongue-in-cheek,” Ozzy said in an interview during the 1980s. “I am not into Satanism, I am not a devil worshipper, I’ve never been involved in black magic at all. It takes me all my time to conjure myself out of bed in the morning.”

One musician who did used to dabble in black magic was Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine. Before he renounced the practice and found Jesus, Mustaine would find himself participating in black magic when he was drinking. “Every time I drank, I did not always do activities that were Satanic, but any time I had been doing anything that was Satanic, I had been drinking,” Mustaine said in an interview with ABC.

Though also a devout Christian, Alice Cooper has a very lighthearted outlook on rock and metal bands who use Satan and Satanism as metaphors. “If you’re looking for [real] Satanism, you don’t look to rock ’n’ roll… a bunch of kids running around playing loud guitars. That’s Halloween.” Cooper said.

Watch these artists and others talk about Satanism in the video Loud List below.

Musicians Talking About Satanism