Ozzy Osbourne’s first lines of the song Mr. Crowley are familiar to most metal heads:
Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head?
Oh, Mr. Crowley, did you talk to the dead?
In his style, Ozzy is taking the mickey out of the man that has been labeled as ‘The Great Beast 666’ and ‘the wickedest man in the world.’ This song, featuring on his solo debut Blizzard of Ozz (1980), puts under the spotlight the credibility of the British occultist, poet, ceremonial magician and mountain climber, Aleister Crowley. Ozzy was not the only to fall under the spell of Crowley, as we shall see later in this article. But first a few lines about the man himself. This is by no means a biography of Crowley but some highlights of his life to give a bit of context.
Aleister Crowley
Born in 1875, Aleister Crowley was brought up in a fundamentalist Christian environment and this explains a lot on his rebellious character and disregard to rules, later in life. Coming from a well-off family he could afford a life of luxury devoted to the subjects that really interested him. At the beginning of the twentieth century there was a resurgence in esoteric societies and soon Crowley was rising through the ranks of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis.
Crowley’s strong headedness and dubious methods soon led him to be donned as a black sheep, even to fellow occultists, and soon he branched out with this own spiritual philosophy, Thelema, to which he appointed himself as prophet. Crowley added the k to magic, to differentiate the practice of occult workings from prestige parlor tricks. Following a path of experimentation, he journeyed to India and North Africa, amongst other countries. He did not hold back from sexual hedonism, drug abuse and sadomasochism in the attempt to reach his goals.
Crowley published many books throughout his life, amongst of which we find Magick in Theory and Practice (1929), Moonchild (1929) and The Book of Thoth (1944). Other books were published posthumously. Crowley has been and still is the subject of may researched articles and books. Hate him or love him, you cannot be neutral about The Beast. From reams of paper that he has published, he is remembered best for his maxim “Do what thaou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” And what phrase could resound more to the rebellious nature of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.
Aleister Crowley passed away in 1947, aged 72.
Influenced parties.
The Beast makes an appearance on the cover of one of the most influential rock albums in history – The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the upper-left-hand corner, between Indian guru Sri Yukteswar Giri and actress Mae West, there is The Beast himself. Another huge figure in hard rock, Jimmy Page, showed a keen interest in Crowley and purchased Boleskine, the magician’s former home on Loch Ness.
David Bowie mentions Crowley in the lyrics of ‘Quicksand’, featured in his 1971 record Hunky Dory:
I’m closer to the Golden Dawn
Immersed in Crowley’s uniform
Of Imagery.
Another reference to Crowley can be found in Sly and the Family Stone song “Everybody is a Star” where they quote one of the opening lines of The Book of The Law – “Every man and every woman is a star.”
Iron Maiden’s song “Moonchild” from their 1988 album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is based on Crowley’s novel with the same name and one of their famous songs “The Number of the Beast”, might allude to The Beast himself. Over and above, lead singer Bruce Dickinson is the script writer to a tongue-in-cheek horror film, Chemical Wedding (2008), in which the occultist is reincarnated through a modern-day Cambridge professor. Some of Bruce Dickinson’s songs from his fifth solo album The Chemical Wedding (1998) feature in the movie. There are songs from this album that are also inspired by Crowley.
Celtic Frost’s classic “To Mega Therion” (1985) might refer to one of Crowley’s pseudonyms “The Great Beast”, in Greek. Their song “Os Absmi vel Daath” is influenced by Crowley’s writings. Another reference can be found in Marilyn Manson’s “Misery Machine’, during which he sings “down Highway 666 …… to the Abbey of Thelema.”
A track by Ministry, “Golden Dawn”, from their album The Land of Rape and Honey (1988), makes reference to the British-based occult society, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, from which Crowley was booted out for his excesses.
The Beast’s spiritual philosophy is also reflected in Behemoth’s “O Father, O Satan, O Sun” (2014).
Exhorder’s “The Law” (1992), starts off with Crowley’s maxim “Do what thou wilt shall be whole of the law.” The same verse is cited in Mercyful Fate’s “The Oath”, from their 1984 album Don’t Break the Oath.
Samael, cite Crowley’s poem “The Titanic”, as part of the lyrics for their song “Crown” (1994) – “A crown of thorns is still a crown.”
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive list of songs and/or bands that were influenced by British occultist Aleister Crowley and his spiritual philosophy. He who is proclaimed as a blasphemer by most, stands as a model of rebellion against the established norms - and is that not what Metal music stands for? No wonder The Beast, through his deeds and philosophy, still holds court in the realm of the darkest music of all.
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