Bebergal argues in Season of the Witch that a lot of occult influence on rock was just theater, with performers like Alice Cooper (who these days is now most often seen playing golf) putting on a corny horror show for the audience. But he also explores the musicians who lost their minds and perhaps even their souls.
Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd, ruined his mind with drugs and became a recluse. The Rolling Stones toyed with Satanic images in their music and then unleashed real evil at Altamont, their concert that ended in chaos and death. Tony Iommi, the guitarist for Black Sabbath, was given a book on witchcraft. He claims he woke up at 3 a.m. to find a dark figure hovering at the edge of his bed. At one point in the early 1970s David Bowie said he thought the devil was living in his L.A. swimming pool.
As a guy who has been listening to Ozzy since I was 15, I say this to the Prince of Darkness: The Jesus you talk about in your song, that you imply belief in even if you have experiences that seem to drive you from him, is real. So is hell. Jesus is the only way off the crazy train.
[Judge has some nuggets about horror-glam rock that were new to me, and quite interesting. It’s well worth a click. — Ed]
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