10 Weird Backwards Messages In Rock Songs

As the Parental Advisory sticker became more of a thing as the '80s went on, you couldn't have pictured a more sinister band than Slayer. From the band's name down to the songs about demons and destruction, this was the one thrash act that seemed designed to piss off the PMRC on every single record. When you flipped the record over though, they did at least seem to be practicing what they preached.

Just to mess with some heads, the beginning of the song Hell Awaits featured bits and pieces of backwards dialogue, which amounts to the band saying "JOIN US" before the song kicks in. Given the context of the rest of the song, it almost acts as a bit of mood music, as if the members are each a separate demon waiting to lure you into the deepest depths of the underworld.

You also have to admire the guts that Slayer had to even do something like this. Remember, this was around the same time that Judas Priest were coming off of the criminal cases that they had, which accused them of slipping pro suicide messages into their music. Compared to the bands that would downplay the sinister side, Slayer was not even thinking about looking back any time soon. They named their band Slayer, and they were going to do exactly what that says on the tin.