Some musician like to conceal message or mental image in theiralbum covers ; others prefer to leave cryptic messages behind intheir album‘s lining take note ( asTaylor Swiftonce did ) . Some , however , may have taken a more subtle approach : Through a transcription technique known as “ backmasking , ” some of the most iconic ring in music history are rumored to have left secret message inside certain birdsong .
With backmasking , you commonly can‘t hear the hidden substance unless you play the rails in reverse ( it works best if you use a turntable ) . While you might pick up on plenty of Easter testicle , sometimes it ’s like an audio Rorschach test too , in that you could be hearing matter that are n’t in reality there .
From urban legend to accusations ofdevil worshipand beyond , the backmasked songs featured below have founder rise to all kind of playfulness ( and occasionally ominous ) theory .
1. and 2. “Revolution 9” and “I’m So Tired” // The Beatles
There ’s an ill-famed music confederacy theory thatPaul McCartney diedin a auto fortuity in 1966 and was supersede with a doppelgänger . Some fans point to The Beatles’Yoko Ono - influenced , avant - garde lead “ Revolution 9 ” from theWhite Albumas a major “ clue ” into the validity of this call .
If you play the song like normal , you may hearJohn Lennon ’s phonation repeat the Christian Bible “ Number 9 ” over and over again in the presentation . However , if youplay it backwards , some believe they hear him articulate “ ferment me on , utter man ” over the hugger-mugger soundscape .
This is n’t the only raceway fromThe Beatlesthat supposedly includes backmasking . At the very end of the song “ I ’m So Tired”—which incidentally , is also from the White Album — Lennon seems to be speaking in gibberish , but if youplay it in reverse , it almost sounds like he state , “ Paul is a dead human race , overlook him , pretermit him , leave out him . ”
Of course , the “ Paul is Dead ” rumour is just that , as the realPaul McCartneyis alive and well and still making new music for fan all around the world . Still , that has n’t stop McCartney from address the urban legend directly ; in 1969 , hetoldLIFEmagazinethat “ perhaps the [ rumour ] start because I have n’t been much in the press late . ”
3. “Stairway to Heaven” // Led Zeppelin
Rumors of diabolical adoration have doggedLed Zeppelinfor decennium , thanks in enceinte part to guitarist Jimmy Page and his well - known interest in occultism . ( Page famouslyownedan supernatural bookstore in London in the early seventies , as well asBoleskine House , the Scottish manor once occupied byAleister Crowley , the famed British writer who was once part of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , asecret societyfocused on mysticism . )
Although there ’s no evidence that Pagemade a dealwith the Devil , the guitarist never straight - out denied the Satanist claims , either . “ I do n’t really desire to go on about my personal opinion or my engagement in magic , ” Page oncetoldRolling Stone . “ I ’m not concerned in turning anybody on to anybody that I ’m turned on to . If people need to find things , they find them themselves . ”
on-key or not , those rumors helped buff controversy around one of the band’smost legendary songs , “ Stairway to Heaven . ” In 1982 , televangelist Paul Crouchclaimedthat there were hidden messages in it about the Devil , which could only be hear byplaying the song backwards . According to Crouch , you may hear principal singer Robert Plant croon out the bad of it starting around the 4:20 mark : “ Here ’s to my sweet Satan , the one whose little path would make me pitiful , whose index is Satan , he ’ll give you , he ’ll give you 666 , there was a piddling tool shake off where he made us suffer , sad Satan . ”
The band has long denied that there was any backmasking on the rail , with Plant even going on the record to expose the claims instantly . “ To me it ’s very sad , because ‘ Stairway to Heaven ’ was written with every good purpose , ” Plant said in a1983 consultation withMusicianmagazine . “ And as far as reversing tapes and order messages on the end , that ’s not my idea of realise music . ”
4. “Nightmare/The Dreamtime” // Motörhead
Between frontman Lemmy Kilmister ’s devil - may - charge position and the English lot ’s blister hard rock sound ( which served as a precursor toNWOBHM , the new moving ridge of British gruelling metal),Motörheadhas long had a approximative - and - tumble report . There are even accusations that the circle placedhidden messagesin their birdcall — namely on the track “ Nightmare / The Dreamtime , ” off their ninth studio apartment album,1916 .
Although the rumor backmasking on the track was n’t formally confirmed by the band , it ’s exonerated and noticeable — especially liken to some other songs featured in this tilt . Some source suggest that the backwards verse was supposedly direct at the Parents Resource Music Center ( PMRC ) , which was trying tocensor heavy metaland other music hold offensive back in the 1980s . Inone video clipping , Lemmy liken the PMRC toMcCarthyism , adding : “ hoi polloi are frightened of them , but what no one seems to understand is if you would n’t be scared of them , they could n’t do anything . ”
5. “Better by You, Better than Me” // Judas Priest
speak of the NWOBHM , Judas Priest is another British hard rock candy band that technically prey it but serve inform the sound . The group has made headlines for more than just their influence in metal , however : Back in 1990 , they wereinvolved in a lawsuitwhere the issue of backmasking and subliminal electronic messaging in vocal was the central focal point .
Thesuit allegedthat the ring and their record label , CBS , were responsible for for a shot incident that occurred in Sparks , Nevada , in December 1985 , wherein two new men—18 - twelvemonth - old Raymond Belknap and 20 - year - sure-enough James Vance — attempt death by self-annihilation using a 12 - gage scattergun .
Belknap died instantly , but Vance live ( although he meet fromextensive facial injuriesand exit three class later from a drug overdose ) . In the suit , their families claimed that there weresubliminal messages — including “ get ’s be utter ” and “ Do it”—in the banding ’s cover of the 1969 Spooky Tooth song , “ Better by You , Better than Me , ” which is what allegedly prompted Vance and Belknap to come in into the suicide pact .
After review the song ( and take on it bothbackwardand onward at varying speeds ) , audio engineers determined that there were no subliminal commands in it and the compositor’s case was eventuallydismissed . “ It was dead ridiculous . It really was , ” frontman Rob Halford latertold Yahoo Musicin 2015 . “ We love our fans . We would never put anything in our music with the intent of harming them . ”
6. “Empty Spaces” // Pink Floyd
Pink Floydis eff for observational composition and thought - hassle lyrics , so it ’s not really much of a stretch to ideate the prog - stone striation might have tinkered with backmasking in songs , too . nifty - eared auditor searching for the hidden meanings in Pink Floyd songs do n’t have to seek too intemperately : Just wait to the circle ’s 1979 rock opera , The Wall , and specifically , the track “ Empty Spaces , ” which fans claim features a in particular surreal secret content .
If youplay it backwards , you may find out bassist Roger Waters pranking the ring ’s follower with : “ Hello , Looker . praise , you ’ve just discovered the secret message . Please send your result to Old Pink , precaution of the funny farm , Chalfont . ” It even includes manufacturer James Guthrie interrupting with , “ Roger ! Carolyne ’s on the telephone set ! ” at the very end — a reference to Carolyne Christie , Roger Waters ’s wife at the time of the transcription .
7. “665” // Soundgarden
In 1988,Seattle grease bandSoundgarden free their debut albumUltramega OK , which poked fun at the suppose Satanic idea in rock euphony , namely with the backmasking on the lead “ 665 ” ( a parody of the number “ 666 , ” which is regarded as the “ routine of the animal ” ) .
If you play the songin reverse , you could see frontman Chris Cornell whistle : “ Hail Santa ! I love you , babe . Oh Santa , bugger off what I need … my Christmas king . Santa is my Billie Jean Moffitt King ! I do it you , Santa babe . Got what I require . ” In fact , Cornell even jest about the parody in aninterview withThe Guardianin 2009 . “ People involve — in all seriousness—‘Are you guys Satanist ? , ’ ” he quipped .
8. “Cut Up Angels” // The Used
In 2004 , emo rock stripe The Used released their second album , In Love and decease . Heavily determine byfrontman Bert McCrackenand the catastrophe befall in his life at the time ( hisex - girl , who was also fraught with his kid , died from a drug overdose during the record album ’s yield ) , the record was nonetheless a hit and go certified atomic number 78 .
In Love and Deathis also notable for sport the birdsong called “ sheer Up Angels , ” which some believe backmasking at the very opening of the track . When youplay it backward , you’re able to purportedly hear McCracken say , “ Happiness is a warm gun , yes it is … ” which is a computer address to yet another song from The Beatles ’ White Album .
9. “300 Mhz” // At The Drive-In
Post - hardcore set At The Drive - In releasedVayain 1999 , and the second - to - last track on the seven - song EP allegedly features somevery creepy hidden lyricsdisguised via backmasking .
Some folk who have listen to “ 300 Mhz ” backwards claim they can see lead vocalist Cedric Bixler - Zavala start to belt out out those eerie word of honor around the 94 - second mark : “ … your enamel , made no reflection in our mirror , cough up the coffins , cotton - confect coated teeth , these pouch were clinching all filled with tooth , amnesia proletariat … in the unlikely event that irony is an unfitting dress , amnesia proletariat … ”
10. “Hell Awaits” // Slayer
As one of the “ Big Four ” ofthrash metallic element bands(alongsideMetallica , Anthrax , and Megadeth ) , Slayer is decidedly capable of beseech up some veridical fire and native sulphur in their music . But according to some listeners , it ’s the title track off the banding ’s 1985 sophomore record album , Hell Awaits , that really plays into all thatSatanic Panicparanoia from the 1980s .
If you listen to it normally , the first minute or so of the birdcall sounds disordered , almost like there ’s some infernal murmuring go on . When that part isplayed in reverse , it sounds like the phrase “ Join us ! ” is being chanted , over and over again and with increase loudness . you’re able to also take heed audible wails in the screen background , as if someone is being tortured , before it all fades out and the Sung dynasty formally kicks off in all of its thrash metal glory .
