Diabolus in Musica: A Satan in Music Round-up

Throughout the mythologies of the Abrahamic religions, the story of how some angels chose not to follow the word of God and were banished from Heaven has many variations.  The root cause of the fall, in particular, is not agreed upon.  Did some angels fall in love with the daughters of men, even marrying them and bearing half-angel children?  Did some angels refuse to bow down before man, God’s newest (and to their eyes, inferior) creation?  Or was it simply the endowment of free will that caused them to stray?  The only thing we know for certain is what the angels accomplished after the fall, though it took them many centuries:  They invented rock ‘n roll.

The evidence of their authorship is boundless.  We need only look at what has become rock’s universal symbol:  The Devil’s Horns.  Simply by extending the index and pinky fingers while holding the middle and ring down with the thumb, one can declare to the world:  I am metal.  But when did this tenuous connection between rock gods and demi-gods originally form?  While it’s impossible to say who truly invented the hand gesture (most likely a caveman was looking to poke another in the eyes), we can attempt to discover who popularized it. 

If you say “rock pioneer” into a candlelit mirror 13 times, Gene Simmons appears with an armful of KISS merchandise.  But while it may be true that Simmons stuck out his pointer and pinky while holding his guitar pick, his claim that a mere glimpse of him doing this led to the Devil’s Horns craze seems specious at best.  Others trace the Horns’ roots back to Spider-Man and Dr. Strange (both invented by Steve Ditko) who would stick out their fingers while casting a web or an incantation, respectively.  A similar gesture to the Horns is also found in sign language, and means “I Love You.”  Could metal-heads really be a bunch of sentimental comic book-loving softies?  But wait, both the super-heroes and the deaf stick their thumb out as opposed to curling it in.  A crucial difference.

A more fruitful path of inquiry leads us to Italy and the mano cornuta, or “horned hand.”  There the gesture has multiple meanings, from holding it behind someone’s head without their knowledge as a sign their spouse is unfaithful, to warding off (or delivering, if you point the horns directly at someone) the Evil Eye.  Throwing up the Horns at anything that may portend bad luck is commonplace in Italy, and was continued in America by Ronnie James Dio’s immigrant grandmother. 

While Dio was frontman of Rainbow, he was looking for something to bring the audience together, in a similar fashion to Ozzy Osbourne’s use of the peace sign with Black Sabbath.  That’s when Dio decided to throw up the Horns for the first time.  Ironically, the gesture would become even more popular a couple years later when Dio took over Sabbath’s reins after Ozzy left. 

But Satan and his minions didn’t wait until the 20th century to begin influencing popular music.  In the 18th century, violinist Giuseppe Tartini had a dream he met the Devil, and was invited to be his servant.  The Devil, as any Charlie Daniels fan knows, is an expert violinist in his own right, and demonstrated his skill to Tartini.  The violinist was floored by the Devil’s virtuosity, and when he awoke, tried to recall the exact composition the Devil played.  The result became known as the “Devil’s Trill Sonata”, though Tartini lamented the Sonata was nowhere near the quality of the Devil’s original performance. 

Reaching back even further in time, we find the Devil’s hoof-prints embedded in, not just an individual musician or piece, but an entire musical concept.  The tritone, or Devil’s Interval, is a musical interval that spans three whole tones, such as the diminished fifth or augmented fourth (e.g. C to F#).  It has a dark, foreboding sound, and throughout the Middle Ages and beyond was banned from church music for that reason.  The heart of the interval’s problem is its invocation of dissonance, the musical principle of restless sounds; sounds that need to be resolved but aren’t – at least not immediately.  As composing matured, the “ban” on the Devil’s Interval was overturned, as artists like Wagner crafted works that wanted to make the audience uncomfortable.  In modern times, you can find tritones everywhere from Black Sabbath to the theme from The Simpsons. 

It’s not all musical theory and funny hand gestures… sometimes Satan comes out and sings the song right to you.  In 1968 the Rolling Stones released a rollicking samba called “Sympathy for the Devil,” in which singer-songwriter Mick Jagger tells a tale from the Devil’s own perspective.  He introduces himself first as “a man of wealth and taste,” before going on to describe his role throughout history, witnessing the tragedies of mankind, starting with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, through the Hundred Years War, the 1917 Russian Revolution, World War II, and the assassinations of the Kennedy’s.  But what’s “puzzling [us]” about all this, the songs asserts, is “the nature of [the Devil’s] game.”

So what, according to Jagger, is the nature of the Devil’s game anyway?  He’s been portrayed as the great tempter of mankind, trying to lead us to ruin like his own great fall.  Is this because he was cast down for refusing to bow to us, and now he desires revenge?  Like the first child who hates the beloved newborn and wishes to suffocate it in its crib, does it come down to petty jealousy?  But wait, the newborn is not so innocent in our case. 

In the song, he “made damn sure Pilate washed his hands and sealed His fate,” but this was Pilate’s own weakness, his refusal to take responsibility for whatever came next, and certainly not the fault of outside forces.  Was the Russian autocracy altogether innocent and undeserving of revolution?  The Devil “shouted out ‘Who killed the Kennedy’s?’ when after all it was you and me,” recognizing our culpability.  He may be leading us to temptation, but we’re the ones who choose to follow.  Even still, he gets 100percent of the blame. 

Maybe you can find some sympathy for him after all.  Woo woo!

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