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Many have come to call the tragic events of September 11, 2001 “Hell on Earth” and accuse the terrorist forces behind it as being in league with Satan. While this may be the case or not, it has prompted me to think about the meaning of Hell as accepted by society., as to analyze the impact this has on our music.
“Where do bad folks go when they die/They don’t go to heaven where the angels fly/They go to a lake of fire and fry/Won’t see ‘em again ‘til the Fourth of July” This line from “Lake of Fire” by Nirvana poses an excellent question. Where do bad folks go when they die? What does the “lake of fire” symbolize? Does seeing them again on the Fourth of July mean that they will return? Many artists have written songs about the afterlife, some describing Hell or Purgatory, in fear of or even embracing what is to come.
Beginning with the example above, we can see the late Kurt Cobain’s depiction of Hell in those few short sentences. We can infer that by asking, “Where do bad folks go when they die?” Cobain is either discussing Hell, or possibly Purgatory. The description of a lake of fire leads me to believe that Hell is being described as the commonly accepted visualization of being burned alive. However, the line “Won’t see ‘em again ‘til the Fourth of July” might argue that the description is of Purgatory, and is implying that the torment is only temporary.
Here is a good example of Purgatory, as written by the band In Flames. “Yoúll never be alone again/Yoúll never die again/Yoúll never be born again/Yoúll forever be, stuck here in eternity.” That seems to be pretty straightforward. “Dead Eternity” describes the descent into the eternal afterlife, and from reading other lines of lyric, one could deduce that the writer is discussing more of a limbo state rather than a state of torment. However, it could be argued that the same feeling of limbo described could be torment within itself.
Many artists embrace the idea of Hell or its messengers. “Creeping Death” by Metallica is a good example of that. Laced with mythological references, the song implies that perhaps its writer is the “Angel of Death” or “Death” itself. “Die by my hand/I creep across the land/Killing first born man.” Although at first glance, these three lines seem quite murderous, a study of the entire lyric would show that “killing first born man” is one of many references to ancient Hebrew history, and retells part of the story of Passover. Just the thrilling part, mind you, the only part of the story described is the plague coming down upon those houses which were not marked with lamb’s blood, and killing the first-born child within. “Engel(Angel)” by the German band Rammstein puts it this way. Translated from German, “Who was good during lifetime on earth/Will become an angel after death/... God knows I don’t want to be an angel.” Other songs that come to mind are AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells”, Judas Priest’s “Hell Bent for Leather”, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Hellraiser.” It seems that the heavy metal genre has made Hell a fun concept.
This analysis barely scratches the surface. Songwriters have been writing about Hell, Purgatory, even Heaven for ages. They put their own fears into music, and we , the listeners, can identify with them. In a way, it becomes a sort of catharsis for both the writer, and the listener. It is up to each of us to formulate our own perspective of Hell or Heaven. It also up to us to choose where our destiny may lie. Will you be visiting the “Lake of Fire”?
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