Monday, April 6, 2015

Music Video Monday: Sacrifice

Next up on the "worst book of the 1980's" survival kit playlist: "Sacrifice" by Venom.


Seems appropriate, since it also features a bloody sacrifice to Satan--and although the victim is a "virgin," I don't get the impression that she's an actual minor child here. Nor does Satan speak in rhyme. I approve. I also approve of the moral-crusader-baiting nature of the song. Interestingly, the outrage factor was probably partially what saved Venom from obscurity. They weren't the most skilled or talented band out there and relied heavily on gimmicks to make their stage performances memorable (I love the idea of the portable fans to make their hair flow constantly. I may have to steal that for the Devil Music sequel.) yet that same lack of technical skills forced them to go for speed rather than proficiency in playing, letting them create something that was uniquely their own.

Not to mention that they made the perfect kind of music to get heavy-metal-fearing parents' knickers in a twist, thus further encouraging rebellious teens to seek out their work. And of course the fact that the band's "Satanism" is nothing but a gimmick (confirmed by the band members themselves, according to my trusty Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal) didn't register with those panicky parents.

By the way, anti-metal moral crusaders? If someone mentions using images of Baphomet in their eeeeevil rituals like this song does, they're almost certainly trolling you. Baphomet started life as a "deity" made up of whole cloth to make the Knights Templar look like filthy idol-worshiping pagans so the king of France would have an excuse to steal their land and money. The only group I can think of off the top of my head that seriously uses Baphomet as a religious/ritual symbol today is the Church of Satan, and they were pretty much formed for the express purpose of trolling you. Then again, if Michelle Remembers is anything to go by, trolling you is depressingly easy.   

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