In League with Satan

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"In League with Satan"
Song by Venom
from the album Welcome to Hell
Released19 April 1981 (single)
RecordedJanuary 1981
StudioImpulse Studios in Newcastle, England
Genre
Length7:16
LabelNeat (UK)
Songwriter(s)Conrad "Cronos" Lant
Jeffrey "Mantas" Dunn
Tony "Abaddon" Bray
Producer(s)Steve Thompson and Venom

"In League with Satan" is the first song released by English extreme metal band Venom. It was released on 19 April 1981 as a single (with B-side "Live Like and Angel") by Neat Records and later appeared on the band's debut album Welcome to Hell.[1] The song has been cited as the first black metal song and is also often cited by critics who claim a connection between heavy metal and Satanism.

Writing and recording[]

"In League with Satan" was written in 1980 and was one of Venom's first original songs.[2] An early version was recorded in October 1980 with original singer Clive Archer. Unsatisfied with that recording, the band recorded another version of the song in January 1981 with vocals by bassist Conrad Lant, after which he took on lead vocal responsibilities full time.[2]

The final version of the song opens with a demonic voice created via the backmasking technique. The voice was created by Lant intoning "Satan, raised in hell, I'm gonna burn your soul, crush your bones, I'm gonna make you bleed, you gonna bleed for me". This is one of the earliest instances of a Satanic subliminal message in a commercially released rock song.[3]

Influence[]

"In League with Satan" has been widely cited as the first black metal song,[4][5] with a profound influence on later developments in thrash metal, death metal, and extreme metal.[1] It was one of the earliest rock songs to use unapologetic satanic imagery,[5] and it is often cited by critics and moralists who believe that heavy metal music has connections to Satanism.[6][7][8][9] However, some commentators have noticed that the song's allusions to Satan were ironic and used superficially to create an image.[10][11]

Personnel[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Welcome to Hell - Venom | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 9 April 2021
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Complete History Of Venom". Official Venom Website. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. ^ "In League With Satan Lyrics". Metal Kingdom. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Stevie Chick meets Venom, the legendary heavy metal group". the Guardian. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b July 2019, Dom Lawson08. "Venom's Black Metal: From metal's black sheep to forging a new genre". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  6. ^ Introvigne, Massimo (2016). Satanism: A Social History. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill. p. 470. ISBN 978-90-04-28828-7.
  7. ^ Larson, Bob (1989). The Seduction of America's Youth. T. Nelson. p. 77. ISBN 9780840730343.
  8. ^ Baddeley, Gavin (1999). Lucifer Rising. Plexus. p. 125. ISBN 9780859652803.
  9. ^ Fisher, Kieran. "The Devil's Roots: Satanism in Black Metal – Heavy Blog Is Heavy". www.heavyblogisheavy.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Widespread "Satanism" in Black Metal and its Demons - Atmostfear Entertainment". 0514-01-15. Retrieved 2021-04-09. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Chilton, Martin (31 October 2020). "The Devil Has The Best Tunes: How Musicians Discovered The Dark Side". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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