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A print zine founded MMXXIII, run primarily by Lolth and published by the Eastern Black Metal Inner Circle (E.B.M.I.C.), and distributed by Cult of Oblivion Recordings. Issues are compiled and published quarterly, and include content pertaining to dark underground music and other black arts.
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Taken from various issues. Most articles are published in print form only. Purchase a physical copy to read more.
Articles
Satanism in Black Metal
Has devil-worship & blasphemy become stale in 2025?
Taken from Spectral Sorcery Issue #6, Winter MMXXV
Ever since tropes in black metal were established (themes of Satanism, anti-Christianity, and other blasphemy), people both from within and outside of the metal subculture have criticized their prevalence. Many say that it’s a tired subject and that everything that can be said has been said. Witches, demons, and hailing the devil are no longer as controversial as they once were. Others, usually of the more traditionalist bent, argue that there isn’t enough evil and Satanism in modern black metal, which has ventured to far into the vampyric romanticism that has now in itself become a bit of a tired cliché. What’s the way forward? Has the Overton window of religiosity shifted far enough from where it was in the ‘80s that we ought to abandon our roots?
For evidence that Satanic themes are growing tired and sterile, look no further than BEHEMOTH. The supposed torchbearers of modern black metal (according to the mainstream metal press), haven’t composed any thematically or lyrically interesting material since at least 2015’s The Satanist. Their formula as of late has been thus: together some stanzas about how Satan is good and “cancel culture” is bad, misspell a few words with some extra “V”s, and throw in some Hebrew or Latin for good measure. There’s nothing truly radical about what they’re saying—they still operate within a Christian understanding of the world, just with some names and aesthetic choices flipped around so they can monetize minor run-ins with the theocratic Polish authorities. Nothing about Nergal’s (recent) lyrics are engaging beyond “Oh look, a name they took from some obscure Abrahamic text,” and they leave it at that.
This kind of simplistic, sanitized Satanism is a poor attempt at recreating the shock value of the 1980s, which both arose in response to and contributed heavily to the Satanic Panic of the age. Artists of all kind were actively censored, from hair bands to death metal to Frank Zappa.
Today, every other shitty mainstream rapper has slapped a pentagram on a hoodie and sold it for $75 on their web-store. The effect isn’t quite the same. But has the Satanic Panic truly ended?
Censorship is on the rise, both in the private and public sectors, and never before (in the US, at least) have openly theocratic politicians had so much power. Every day, some Oklahoman politician or Floridian government office is instituting some policy which mandates Christian beliefs be enforced or taught in schools, libraries, or public offices. In fact, retard-in-chief Trump just recently signed an order to “fight Anti-Christian bias,” by “fully prosecut[ing] anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society.” Conspiratorial nut-jobs are at the wheel, and everyone they don’t like is a baby-eating devil-worshipper. Corporate and social media conglomerates are consolidating, and their filter of control on information is unparalleled in human history. Every branch and finger of the government and corporate oligarchy is cracking down on dissenters and nonbelievers; we never really defeated Tipper Gore and Bennett Braun, their moral hysteria just morphed to fit with the cultural zeitgeist of today. Today, more than ever, we need a counter-culture that goes beyond mere shock value.
I must clarify that I don’t mean every black metal band has to write exclusively (or even at all) about Satan or go about worshipping Him in everyday life. As Gaahl once put it, "We use the word 'Satanist' because it is Christian world and we have to speak their language. To the world I am a satanist, which means resistance to everything that holds you down.” Satan is an archetype; his name means “adversary.” If that is what this culture is meant to be, then I see no issue with bearing that name. But there is so much more than simple pop-Satanic themes to be explored.
I leave you with this: don’t follow trends. Write about what you want, but KEEP BLACK METAL EVIL!!
-Lolth