Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' Roll

Last updated
Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' Roll
Hell's Bells The Dangers of Rock 'N' Roll.jpg
Directed by
  • Erik Hollander
  • Eric Holmberg
Written by
  • Eric Holmberg
  • Mark Holmberg
  • Steve Isaac
  • W. Roy McIndoes
  • Robert Waliszewski
Produced by
  • Erik Hollander
  • Eric Holmberg
CinematographyErik Hollander
Edited by
  • Erik Hollander
  • James Gelet
  • Angela Potthoff
Production
company
American Portrait Films
Distributed byArt of The Covenant (1989, USA, VHS)
Release date
Running time
185 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock 'N' Roll is a 1989 Christian documentary film produced and directed by Eric Holmberg, founder of Reel to Real Ministries and The Apologetics Group. Holmberg also produced and directed its sequel, Hell's Bells 2 - The Power and Spirit of Popular Music (2004). [1]

Contents

Overview

The film examines the relationship of rock music to sex, violence, suicide, drug use, rebellion, the occult, and other activities considered immoral by biblical theology. [2] The film portrays various lyrics and visual imagery in rock music and rock stars as evidence that it is satanic or anti-Christian. It also alleges that satanic messages exist in several examples of popular songs and music culture. Among other acts, the film prominently features The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Madonna as examples of musicians who have knowingly introduced occult thought into American society.

Reception

Christian Film Guide referred to the film as a "classic documentary on rock music and its roots and influences." [3] Pitchfork Media also reviewed the film, saying that they did see where the film had aged since it was filmed and had multiple factual errors, but that it also "introduced thousands of viewers to Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Diamanda Galas--artists your standard youth group would never have heard otherwise." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.

Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by male musicians who wore flamboyant and feminine clothing, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter, and female musicians who wore masculine clothing. Glam artists drew on diverse sources across music and throwaway pop culture, ranging from bubblegum pop and 1950s rock and roll to cabaret, science fiction, and complex art rock. The flamboyant clothing and visual styles of performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been described as playing with other gender roles. Glitter rock was a more extreme version of glam rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Satan</span> International organization dedicated to the religion of Satanism

The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in The Satanic Bible. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, by Anton Szandor LaVey, who was the church's High Priest until his death in 1997. In 2001, Peter H. Gilmore was appointed to the position of high priest, and the church's headquarters were moved to Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City.

Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands. Many bands who perform Christian rock have ties to the contemporary Christian music labels, media outlets, and festivals, while other bands are independent.

Bob Larson is an American radio and television evangelist, and a pastor of Spiritual Freedom Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books critical of rock music and Satanism.

<i>Blue Bell Knoll</i> 1988 studio album by Cocteau Twins

Blue Bell Knoll is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 19 September 1988 by 4AD. This was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution in the United States, as it was originally licensed by Capitol Records from 4AD for North American release. After a period of being out of print while 4AD reclaimed the American distribution rights for their back catalogue, the album was remastered by guitarist Robin Guthrie and reissued in 2003. Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser named the album after a peak in southern Utah called Bluebell Knoll.

Hell's Bells or Hells Bells may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coven (band)</span> American rock band

Coven is an American rock band formed in Chicago the late 1960s. They had a top 40 hit in 1971 with the song "One Tin Soldier", the theme song of the movie Billy Jack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Plaza Central</span>

Rock Plaza Central was a band from Toronto, Canada. They came to international attention in 2007 with the release of Are We Not Horses, a critically acclaimed science fiction concept album about six-legged robotic horses in the midst of an existential crisis. They have been on hiatus since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Hard Road Out of Hell</span> 1997 single by Marilyn Manson and Sneaker Pimps

"Long Hard Road Out of Hell" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson and British trip hop band Sneaker Pimps. It was released as a single from the soundtrack to the 1997 motion picture Spawn. An arena rock and gothic rock song, "Long Hard Road Out of Hell" was written by Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez and produced by Manson and Sean Beavan. Its lyrics are about self-loathing and its title is derived from John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667). After the track was written, the Sneaker Pimps' Kelli Ali was recruited to perform background vocals on it, as the Spawn soundtrack featured collaborations between hard rock artists and electronic music artists. The Sneaker Pimps were dissatisfied with the final track and wanted a remix of it to be released as a single instead; conversely, Manson deemed it a personal favorite.

The Old Haunts are a rock music band formed in 2001 in Olympia, Washington. The band is sometimes defined as punk but exhibits additional qualities similar to southern swamp rock. Arpeggiated twangy guitar riffs, pounding bass lines and rock drumming are major features of the group's sound.

Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ty Segall</span> American musician and record producer

Ty Garrett Segall is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his solo career, during which he has released fourteen studio albums alongside various EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. Segall is also a member of the bands Fuzz, Broken Bat, the CIA, GØGGS, and Wasted Shirt. He is a former member of the Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, Sic Alps, and the Perverts.

<i>Meyrin Fields</i> 2011 EP by Broken Bells

Meyrin Fields is the first EP by the alternative rock band Broken Bells, made up of unreleased tracks from their debut album, Broken Bells. The instrumental version of "An Easy Life" was originally released as the b-side of "The High Road" single, and released with the vocals on the iTunes LP edition of their self-titled album, and "Meyrin Fields" was originally the b-side of "The Ghost Inside." "Heartless Empire" was originally released as an instrumental, with strings replacing the vocals, which could be heard upon opening the music box edition of their 2010 self-titled album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeena Schreck</span> Musical artist

Zeena Galatea Schreck, known professionally by her mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which she founded in 2002.

The Satanic panic is a moral panic about alleged widespread Satanic ritual abuse which originated around the 1980s in the United States, peaking in the early 1990s, before waning as a result of scepticism of academics and law enforcement agencies who ultimately debunked the claims. The phenomenon spread from the United States to other countries, including South Africa, where it is still evident periodically. South Africa was particularly associated with the Satanic panic because of the creation of the Occult Related Crimes Unit in 1992, described as the "world's only 'ritual murder' task force". According to anthropologist Annika Teppo, this was linked with powerful conservative Christian forces within the then-dominant white community in the last years of apartheid. Christian belief is a prerequisite to serve in the unit. The concern with the alleged presence of Satanism and occult practices has continued into the post-apartheid era.

Ola Podrida is an Austin, Texas indie rock band. They are led by film composer David Wingo. The band has released three albums, which have received favorable reviews in publications such as Pitchfork Media, Spin, Paste, and AllMusic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run-DMC</span> American hip hop group

Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.

<i>Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll</i> Book about the impact of occult on rock music

Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll is a 2014 non-fiction book by Peter Bebergal. It was released on October 16, 2014, through Tarcher and examines the occult's influence on music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavy metal lyrics</span> Themes and social perceptions of the words in heavy metal music

Heavy metal lyrics are the words used in songs by heavy metal artists. Given that there are many genres of heavy metal, it is difficult to make generalizations about the lyrics and lyrical themes. In 1989, two metal scholars wrote that heavy metal lyrics concentrate "on dark and depressing subject matter to an extent hitherto unprecedented" in any form of popular music. Jeffrey Arnett states that metal songs are "overwhelmingly dominated" by "ugly and unhappy" themes which express "no hope" for the future.

References

  1. Deusner, Stephen M. "For Whom Hell's Bells Toll". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  2. Kotarba, Joseph A (2013). Baby Boomer Rock 'n' Roll Fans: The Music Never Ends. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 51. ISBN   978-0810884830.
  3. staff. "Hell's Bells: The Dangers of Rock N' Roll (1989)". Christian Film Guide. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  4. Deusner, Stephen M. "For Whom Hell's Bells Toll". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2 October 2013.