THE DEVIL’S ROOTS: THEISTIC SATANISM

IN METAL
DEEP DIVE AKERCOCKE AVANT-GARDE BLACK METAL BLACK METAL
BLACKENED DEATH METAL DISSECTION LAVEY LUCIFER MAYHEM
MELODIC BLACK METAL SATANISM

Kieran Fisher

The trait which unites most branches of Satanism is rejection of a Judeo-Christian deity and the
embracing of one’s individualism and strength.  Satanism, for the most part, is just a sexier way
of being an atheist and any notion of a Devil is merely symbolic.  However, theistic Satanic
belief is traditional, the type that believes the Dark Lord is a real entity whom many objectively
worship and revere, and while this Satan is accepted as an extension of Christian belief, the
teaching’s of the big man upstairs are rejected in favor of the Fallen One.  That said, theistic
Satanism is also complex; while the Devil is revered as a deity, what He actually represents
di ers from thought pattern to thought pattern, with some such as Mayhem’s Euronymous
believing in a horned one whose followers should be enslaved to, while others don’t even
necessarily believe that the Devil’s roots are Judeo-Christian at all.  So, just because they all
believe in and worship a Satan, that doesn’t mean that all theistic folks embrace the same
variation of Him.  However, for the case of simplicity, all theistic Satanism rejections atheism as
they believe in a deity of some kind.

Throughout history, Christianity has skewered the logic and rationale behind independent
theological thinking.  Satanism is a prime example of this, due to it being considered an
umbrella term by followers of Christ to describe ‘devil worshippers’ who adhere to evil
principles.  As most of us know by now, that couldn’t be further from the truth, and even those
who do believe in a supernatural entity aren’t the robe-clad, blood-drinking baby sacri cers
some would lead you to believe.  Most theistic Satanic doctrine doesn’t encourage harm or
crime whatsoever, and most who disagree with Christianity also disagree with some of what it
constitutes as ‘evil.’  There are even a large contingent of theistic Satanists who, despite
acknowledging the existence of a god (or many), still embrace the facets atheist branches

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encourage – individualism, free thought, empowerment and exploration of knowledge, even
the sort that’s deemed forbidden.

The rst group to call itself “traditional Satanist” in its published works was the Order of the
Nine Angles (ONA), an extremist political fringe group which was prominent (mostly in Britain)
in the late 1980s and early 1990s which claimed to have existed for generations.  Despite
promoting neo-Nazi ideologies, their doctrine rests Hermetic and neo-Pagan belief as well.
 The ONA believe that humanity will be run by a militaristic order, and that the teachings Adolf
Hitler and Lucifer will lead humanity to greatness.  They are also one of the rare brands of
Satanic thought who advocate violence and other forms of criminal activity.

There is a song by Akercocke named after the order titled “Ceremony of Nine Angles” on their
2001 album The Goat of Mendes, though the band themselves don’t correspond with the ONA’s
ideology.  But there is an ugly side of metal which does share similar ideals of fascism in
relation to Satanism, and the ONA are merely one of a number of subsets of white supremacist
Satanic groups.  The in uence of these movements can be found in the most revolting aspects
of the black and death metal communities, such as National Socialist Black Metal.  However,
like Satanism is everywhere else, it’s complex among fascists as well.  Some theistic believers
see Satan as an Aryan god, while others consider Him to be symbolic, much like most brands
of Satanism.  However, theistic identi ers include Chraesvelgoron of The True Frost, who views
Nazism as the political appearance of Satanism and the collective dei cation of man.

The popularity of theistic Satanism surged with the advent and subsequent growth of the
internet, as diverse groups had a platform to broadcast their message and grow their networks.
 Take for example the Black Goat Cabal, which existed from 2003 to 2007, was an online-based
network of Satanists who rejected dogma-based de nitions popularized by LaVey and the idea
that all Satanism was merely an antithesis of Christianity. Their focus was to “raise the public
visibility of those law-abiding forms of Satanism which do not adhere to popular branches, and
which preferably also have more to o er in terms of intellectual substance and/or a sane and
well-developed system of occult practice.”

Although merely one branch of theistic Satanism, the ideology is strongly intertwined with the
Temple of Set and the writings of its founder Michael Aquino.  A high-ranker in LaVey’s Church
of Satan, Aquino would leave following dissatisfaction with the direction it was taking and
invoked the a real manifestation of the Devil on his own accord. The Devil revealed to Aquino a
sacred text called The Book of Coming Forth by Night, which revealed his true name of Set, a
pre-Abrahamic Egyptian god who was interpreted as the Devil in Christian and Hebrew texts.

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 However, like the LaVeyan brand of Satanism, the teachings of Set also encourage self-
ful llment and individualism.  While Set is viewed as the one true god, he does not seek
humanity’s veneration; instead he has aided us by giving us questioning intellect.  Most Setians
no longer identify themselves as Satanists, even though their association to an actual deity
viewed as oppositional to god is similar.  Additionally, the Greek god Prometheus and the
Sumerian deity Enki have also been interpreted as Satan, and thus their followers might also
identify as theistic Satanists.

Pantheism is the belief that the universe itself is a deity. In turn, a similar view is that of
panentheism, which is the viewpoint that all things in the universe are part of God but God is so
much more than that. In some circles, these values also apply to Satanism and some believe
that it is the Devil who is the ultimate cosmic sum of all things.  Additionally, there is polytheistic
Satanism which identi es Satan is the focal point of reverence, although He is just one of many
gods.  Some polytheists overlap with pantheistic belief as they believe that Satan is one of
many gods who, along with the others, are extensions of a singular entity who make up one
uni ed cosmic whole. However, others believe that all of the gods are distinct entities.  It’s
confusing stu .

Despite the myriad of philosophies within theistic Satanism, the shared attribute is that a Satan,
in some form, does exist.  In metal, the interpretation of what this literal Satan represents also
di ers.  For example, Watain identify themselves as devil-worshipers associated with the
Misanthropic Luciferian Orders, proponents of chaos that condone animal abuse through
magical practices.  Dissection vocalist Jon Nödtveidt also associated with this brand prior to his
death and was a practicing black magician who was connected to a homophobic murder in
1997.  Euronymous, the pleasant chap we mentioned earlier, is of the belief that the Judeo-
Christian Satan is real and should be worshiped unadulterated.  He rejects the pursuit of
individualism that’s apparent in most theistic schools of Satanic thought and believes that we
should be slaves to the Devil.

Overall, even theistic Satanism is strongly rooted in the pursuit of individualism, self-
empowerment and free thought.  Satan is viewed as a teacher for the most part who is a real
entity, but also one who encourages people to break free of the shackles of idyllic worship.
 However, as is the case with all belief systems, there are multiple iterations which range from
intellectual and non-dangerous, to fringe extremes who favour sinister ideologies.  If anything,
theistic Satanism in metal has exposed more of its worst facets and overshadowed the non-
harmful mentalities which make up the majority of its varied belief systems elsewhere.  That
said, theistic Satanism is further evidence that no religion is black and white and like all forms
of Satanism, is misunderstood.

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