The pentagram has a very long history that is now admittedly skewed. Technically, a pentagram is drawn with five straight stokes and creates a pentagon in the center. The star alone is also known as a pentacle or pentangle. The pentagram has been used in a myriad of religions including Christianity and Wicca, but it's use in Satanism has essentially robbed the symbol from any other association.
Metal music has used the symbol to the point where it's a laughable cliché, however non-metal bands have also used it. Please add any albums that have a pentagram on the cover and are not included here to the comments.
Click album art for a larger version.
Listen to select tracks here.
Anton LaVey - The Satanic Mass
I suppose if you are going to do a list of album covers that have a pentagram on them you need to start it with The Satanic Mass as performed by the founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey. I haven't personally heard the record, but I am sure it's a combination of dark creepiness and campy hilarity.
Rush - 2112
Although not a true pentagram, the cover of 2112 was mean to combine the witchy, supernatural feeling of the occult with space age science fiction. Released in 1977, 2112 is one of the pinnacle moments in prog rock and is the first pentagram-laced album I ever saw as well as the first I ever bought.
Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil
Although the cover of "Shout At The Devil" was later changed to feature the mug shots of the 4 band members in full glam mode, originally it was a simple matte black background with a glossy black pentagram. Kind of like Spinal Tap, but for real. I still think this was the Crue's best album, but it was downhill from here.
Tenacious D - Tenacious D
Jack Black's hilarious and suprisingly musically talented band Tenacious D got their name from a Mike Ditka line for good football defense. The cover of their debut album is a satire on metal (much of the music is as well). The boys are standing naked on a pentagram with a demon arising behind them. Make sure to check out the track "Dio".
Venom - Welcome To Hell
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Matt
I soaked up ever Alex Lifeson riff and every Neil Peart drum fill on 2112 when I was in high school. Listening to it now, I still think the music is fucking brilliant, but the concept behind 2112, that a guy finds a guitar after the government outlaws music, and how he tries to bring music back in the face of an opposition from the "Priests of the Temple of Syrinx" is one of the most ponderous, self-indulgent things I've ever heard.
I still like it, though.
2 - Borat
What a waste of time. Dumb topic.
3 - godoggo
Evil topic.
4 - BRICKLAYER
BEST.POST.EVER.
5 - Vern Halen
Let's take it up a notch - someone should do an article on "Album Covers with a Six Pointed Star of David."
Rush 2112 - sorry, lost interest after the beautiful "Lakeside Park" on Caress of Steel.
6 - Robert
See?
Do you see the kind of disagreement this causes? Satan is surely at work here!
7 - Vern Halen
Like the t-shirt says: 665 - the neighbor of the beast.
8 - JayMoo
I'd say that the pentagram really had not much to do with the success of these bands. Maybe there overall bad image influenced...but I don't think they convert anyone to satanism. Basically, kids who feel rebelious check out music that they think reflects their attitudes. I know I did, Pantera was my first concert. But its not a religion to most...just an image that dies when they grow up. Only the music remains important after that (if its good).
9 - uao
The LaVey album is a pretty disappointing listen for non-adepts. It's a lot of mumbling, barely intelligible, and not very spooky or creepy.
LaVey also was an accomplished therimin palyer, and released some albums of his music. Those are somewhat more entertaining.
The earliest "satanic" band probably was Black Widow, a British act from '69-'70, although I don't recall them employing pentagrams on their covers. Neither did Black Sabbath, who weren't really satanic, although they used some iconography.
Venom was the first band I remember that wore their satanism on their sleeve,so to speak.
As a teen, I was curious about this stuff, and its mainstream non-acceptance appealed to me. But I outgrew it fast.
10 - The Duke
If God doesn't exist, neither does Satan, so it's all a waste. Right?
Freedom from Religion means this too.
BTW Pentagram was out of Falls Church Virginia originally. A couple of the players graduated in 1973 and 1972 from JEB Stuart High School. They would be Vince McAllister and Greg Main, might have been David Main.
Vince lived a couple of streets over. I used to lend Vince guitars to record with, since I had a couple lying around that would give different sounds that the Les Paul standard he owned.
If you ever heard Pentagram, they were an early shred kind of group. What was REALLY impressive was that they could flippin' kick butt on a Pink Floyd jam.
I remember hearing most of them playing Cooper's "Eighteen" at a school talent show.
I hooked up with Vince the last night he was in Virginia, his Ford Pinto was packed and he was headed out to California to enroll at G.I.T. he came over to the house and messed around on a 1950's Fender steel I had at the time. Never heard from him or about him since. Don't know what happened. A couple of obscure websites list the early stuff and some other stuff from a later iteration of the group.
There were other groups at JEB Stuart HS, and all of them were pretty good. Greasy Pig, with my favorite bassist Jeff Crespi (he was an early influence for me). Crossroads with Jeff Fratus on guitar, George Bruhl on Bass (another rockin' bassist), Forrest Payne on drums (he was crazy tho') and Doug Ball on Organ. They had a really great vocalist but I can't recall his name. Let's see, oh yeah Road Apple, a rockin' keyboard trio, and a few groups with the likes of Knox Cockrall, John Jennings, a bunch of folks ALL very talented. It's amazing how many good bands and musicians we had at that school, with none of them really ever trying to break into the music scene. Crossroads played around and in D.C. for a while until 1975 or 76, but I think Disco killed them off.
Greasy Pig was a great party band, but they too disbanded after '73, with Carl Davis going down to Florida, Crespi drifted west. Larry (keys) was a Duron paint supplier for years.
Disco killed a lot of bands off. Plus D.C. had been known to kind of shuffle bands and talent off to NYC. LA or Nashville, it was a fact that if you hung around DC, you would fall into obscurity. Look at Danny Gatton and Roy Buchannan... top flight musicians, both passed away virtually unknown, except to a extremely loyal following of mostly guitar players... as those two were great influences on the instrument, much like the Eric Johnsons, of today. Maestro's if you will.
Additionally, for some unknown reason, the DC metropolitin area harbored more bands on the Maryland side of the Potomac than on the Virginia side. I could never figure that out.
11 - Scarecrow
THIS POST IST AWESOME!!!!!!
12 - Prokiller
Tool's album Lateralus also displays a pentagram. its not too visible on the cover but inside the booklet it is easily seen. There are two, one right side up, and the other inverted within the other one. They are used as background images.
13 - roberto
Turbonegro-Vaya con satan
14 - blahblahblah!!
come on guys... how many years have people been arguing about this issue.. 1st of all pentagrams are not evil... witchcraft is from the religion wicca and is not what you see on tv... and lastly the devil doesn't exist... these bands are just trying to get a reaction from audiences, and guess what??? it's working... they're being rebellious and trying to break away from the norm...... i myself am not in any sort of pagan religion but because of religious stupidity i am losing faith in my own religion.... now if that's happening to me, guess how many other people that's happening to..... have a nice !$#%^ day.
15 - Menohaveone
satan like weenie
16 - menohaveone
umm is this thing on? Satan licks weenies, just like MJ. Yucky huh? thatswhatIsay!
17 - anyonomous(the devil)
[edited] I'm crazy dont mess with me !! Im the devil NOGa!
18 - trick
People don't waste their times doing something unless there is a payoff. Rush, was originally a not so talented band, according to a famous dj in the Cleveland area, with little promise for National Fame. With the addition of a new drummer that was into the occult, these guitar wizards were extremely talented musicians in a very short period of time. This cannot be done. As a life long musician myself, I have seen players over a 35 year span, and almost all, sound the same that they did, two years after they picked up the instrument as children! Rock Bands are like beautiful women, they are catty as heck and very competetive with each other although they try not to show it. Every rock band wants to be THE rock band, over their counterparts. The fact that these same competetive individuals, while having nothing in common, use a pentagram, means there is power within the symbol. Bands are more foes than they are friends in regards to wanting to upstage the other acts. They do have one thing in common, they all made a deal with the scum down below in the underworld to make them stars. One other thing, read the next posts and see if I didn't stike a nerve with an occultists. They will bury this post with a hatchet.
19 - Robert
Trick,
You need help
20 - gonzo marx
as per comment #18
firstly...the DJ is just plain wrong about Rush, as are the implication that comment is attempting about their talent
if you actually listen to the first album with drummer John Rutledge, you can hear all the beginnings of the trademark Rush string sound
it was the addition of drummer Neal Peart along with his Objectivist work ethic and ability as a lyric writer that elevated the band to work harder, learn more and play better
yet still, more than 30 years after the band formed, you can see the basics of techique used on the first album...
example...after all these years, all those incredible guitar solos are played on a single string...why?...because that is Alex's style...he just improved it every year
Rush have NEVER been about the occult, listen to the song "Anthem" and you will get a clue
there's more, but i think you get the Idea...
Excelsior!
21 - AJ
This is my first time here and the only thing I have to say is this article & topic sucks. Also if your going to try to sound smart, at least make sure your facts are right.
22 - hmm
this topic sucks.
23 - Slash is sex with a guitar
METAL RULES... go and eat pork ya buch of jews.
24 - Satan Himself
You guys Are Ignorant Seriously
look at this SHit!
some of these bands dont even relate to the fucking topic
If Your Going TO Post Something Like THis Your GOing TO Get HAtemail You DIckwad
SO Anyways Im Not A Satanist But Im A Pagan And I DOnt Agree With this Bullshit
25 - Arboron
What exactly don't you agree with Mr. Pagan Pants?
If you tards would read before you open you mouth you would see this was simply a playlist of albums that have a Pentagram on the cover. There is nothing here to argue with.