WORKED BY DEMONS

They have been happy ruining young people and gradually destroying their own lives as well. Yet this is understandable; for demons are not only working on the minds and bodies of those who attend their services,—they are working on the composers, musicians, and singers as well. Demons do not mind destroying their own.

This helps explain the strange hypnotic spell which seems to fall on those willing to attend. It explains the weird sensations which pass through their bodies—and cause them to go wild during the concert and eager to return again for more.

In this chapter, we will consider additional causes of the bewitching fascination in rock music.

Because rock, more than any other previous form of popular music, was able to create such mass hysteria and behavior changes in those who listened to it, worried authorities began investigating it.

In the hope of finding a cause of the national teenage monomania, studies were made and reports compiled. Researchers, journalists, and news­paper reporters began putting in personal appearances at rock concerts in order to get an inside view.

Here was part of one report:

"After an hour or so, even I felt drugged. But 20,000 people, most of them high on marijuana, if nothing stronger, were rocking the whole building, swaying, standing on their seats, arms around each other . . The crowd seemed hypnotized. It was part of a mass frenzy."—Reader's Digest, July 1973, p. 173.

At these concerts, Satan not only works directly on minds and bodies, but he also works through the music—a music which he earlier invented.

Rock has a heavy, incessant, throbbing beat, the same beat that people in primitive cultures use in their demonic rites and dances. If the beat is monotonous enough and the volume loud enough, it can induce a type of hypnosis.

Dr. Walter Wright, Ontario psychiatrist, in a report to the Canadian Association of Music Therapy, compared rock to voodoo drums:

"The tempo of the voodoo drums has been known to make a listener powerless to resist the music's pounding beat . . At rock concerts when the tempo of the music hits a certain pitch, it brings a psychological response which the audience is unable to resist."—Walter Wright, M.D., Calgary Herald, May 19, 1976.

"When a listener submits himself to the beat, he loosens his mind from its moorings in space and time . . The difficult world of external objects is blurred and unreal; only the inner pulse is real, the beat its outer projection. Earthly worries are submerged in a rising tide of exultation."—Jeremy Larner, quoted in Ira Peck, The New Sound, Yes, p. 112.

At the request of the Seattle Times, Dr. Bernard Saibel, child guidance expert for the Washington State Division of Community Services, attended a concert of the Beatles. After the performance he wrote:

"The experience of being with 14,000 teenagers to see the Beatles is unbelievable and frightening . . The hysteria and loss of control go far beyond the impact of the music. Many of those present became frantic, hostile, uncontrolled, screaming, unrecognizable beings . . This is not simply a release, as I first thought it would be, but a very destructive process.

"Normally recognizable girls behaved as if possessed by some demonic urge, defying in emotional ecstasy the restraints which authorities and common sense would place on them."—Seattle Times, August 22, 1964.

A supernatural power is at work here. His satanic majesty, the devil, is using these strange sounds to captivate the senses and lead into sin.

This use of continuous beating sounds, as the medium for communication with evil spirits, has had a long history.

"Those cultures that choose to access the domains of the spirit world have often used some form of rhythmically controlled noise to facilitate the communion.

"The shamans say they 'ride their drum' to the World Tree. The classic possession cultures say that the Orisha, the ancestor spirits, ride the rhythm of the drum down into the dancing bodies. It is called the trance drum.

"How does rhythmic music serve as a catalyst for the transformation? What role does the musician play? What quality of balance is needed before we can dance at the edge of music—and not slip into captivity?"—Hart, Lieberman, and Sonneborn, Planet Drum, p. 102.

The path led from the East and Africa—to the shores of America. It began with ragtime, led to blues, and then jazz, later rock 'n' roll, and finally various forms of rock. But it was the intensity of the drums which hurtled it into the greatest shock attack on the souls of men and women.

"Some scholars connect the West African possession cultures with the ancient Neolithic mother goddess culture, which over 3,000 years ago stretched from eastern Europe into what is now the Sahara desert . .

"When they came to America, in those places where Africans were allowed to keep their drums, it mutated into candomblé, santería, and vóden. In America, where the drums were prohibited for many generations, this legacy of possession-trance dance rhythm became jazz, rock and roll, rock, and then hard rock."—Ibid., p. 138.

"The importance of jazz as a contribution to modern music is a greatly debated question . . Jazz is, of course, a stimulus coming from primitive art."—Karl Nef, An Outline of the History of Music.

The incessant, monotonous drum beat was the key to reviving the possession cults of the East and Africa in America. From America, through rock, it has been carried around the world.

John Chernoff, a sociologist, in his book, African Rhythm and African Sensibility, comments on how, during his time in Africa, when he played the drums with possession-cult members, he could always play them perfectly and satisfy the spirits. But, when alone in his hut, he could not do so. He recognized that there was a mysterious, over­ruling presence where the cult drums were played.

He was experiencing a type of rock concert in Africa. It had the incessant, confusing beat which, although lacking sound amplifying equipment, was still an intense sound to the encircling natives who swayed, danced, screamed in frenzy, and fell to the ground.

Dr. Juanita McElwain, in her book, Demon Possession and Music, explains it further:

"Having established that spirit possession does take place, the possibility of the role of music in possession may be examined. Satan has always been highly involved with music, beginning in heaven. 'Satan had led the heavenly choir.' Story of Redemption, p. 25. This suggests that Satan is the most intelligent being regarding music in our world. He knows how to make the best use of it to achieve his ends. He does things with music that seem strange and even impossible.

"The search for the use of music in devil possession resulted in finding two main avenues. One is the use of beats in music to call the spirits or gods. The other is the altered state of consciousness."—Demon Possession and Music, by Dr. Juanita McElwain.

Immediately after the above statement, Dr. McElwain discusses the use of beats in music by demons. That which African ritual musicians and dancers refer to as "gods" are actually demons. By coming to the "drum trance" area, the natives were entering into a compact with demons that would permit them to take control of their minds and bodies. When men and women in Western lands consent to attend the offspring of those African drum trances (various forms of rock concerts), they are also giving permission to demons to enter their bodies and fill them with a strange excitement and craving for sensual satisfactions.

"Music Beats: The role of the drums is to call the gods and thus bring on spirit possession, which is the ultimate purpose of most rituals. Drums are usually played in a battery of three. The largest drum is played by the master drummer and is the most important, because it is specific in spirit possession. Specific rhythms correspond to specific gods.

"It is the rhythm identified with each god that is a primary instrument in summoning him. And no worship of the gods is possible without the rhythms that call and speak for the god. (See Harold Courlander, A Treasury of Afro­American Folklore, 1976.)

"The drums have the primary religious function of calling the gods, and thus of bringing on spirit possession. (See G. Behague, "Patterns of Condomble Music Performance: An Afro-Brazilian Religious Setting," Performance Practice Ethno-musicological Perspectives, 1984, p. 231.) . .

"Altered State of Consciousness: The other mainstream technique, in which the devil uses music to bring about spirit possession, is that of the altered state of consciousness. 'Thoughts naturally flit across the mind, and considering an idea generally brings up related thoughts. Occultists teach that this natural flow of thoughts can be interrupted. As this occurs, subjects slip into an altered state of consciousness which we have identified as the corridor of the mind' (T.E. Wade, Spirit Possession, 1991, pp. 74-75).

"This is called by various names such as illumination, enlightenment, trance, tuning in, and hypnotism. Wade further states: 'Any type of concentration on sensual stimulation may alter consciousness. Music with a strong rhythm, or concentration on the relaxation of different parts of the body, can induce it. The apparently innocent concentration on a mental image of Jesus standing in your favorite spot can bring the same effect' (ibid.).

"Entrainment: Before proceeding, it is important to understand the ways in which music facilitates an altered state of consciousness. One important element of the process is called entrainment. In 1665, the Dutch scientist Huy­gens noticed that if two clocks were placed next to each other, they would soon begin ticking synchronously—and so was discovered the Law of Entrainment. Rhythms in close proximity will entrain. Because of entrainment, music is often used beneficially to control heart rate and other rhythms in the body. Since this is true, it is also possible to use the rhythm of sound to control the rhythm of brain waves. Neuro-chemical cortical brain activity may be measured. A set of descriptors has been developed and identified as Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta.

"Beta is predominantly present when the individual is attending to a task, particularly such a task as mathematics. This is also the state of the brain during critical thinking. When Alpha is predominant, the individual is in a relaxed state. There are some claims that hypnotism takes place in higher levels of Alpha. One description is alert relaxation. The Theta condition is extremely relaxed. Meditation conditions could take place here. Lower levels might include approaching sleep. Delta is the sleep condition. It is an extremely low level of brain activity.

"Neurons are constantly firing at various rates all over the brain, but one of these levels may be predominant at any given time under given circumstances. Brain waves are vibrations measured in Hertz (Hz), or cycles per second.

"Vibrations: Music is also vibration which is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz, which determines frequency or pitch.

"Another element, which the demons employ in their arsenal, is that of difference tones. This is a phenomena commonly explained in psychology of music texts whereby a phantom tone is heard. Under certain conditions, when two tones are sounded simultaneously, a tone equal to the difference in Hz (cycles per seconds) between the two tones may be heard even though it is not being played. If tones of 100 Hz and 106 Hz were sounded, a phantom tone of 6 Hz might be heard. Or if a C and a G above it were played simultaneously, the C an octave lower might be heard.

"To combine these three (entrainment, difference tones and brain waves), consider the following: Notes producing difference tones of very low or small frequency could be played and embedded just below the audible sound of the music. When the listener hears the music, the embedded difference tones (although inaudible to him) will entrain with the listener's brain waves, thus controlling them or causing them to match the difference tones. Without realizing what is happening to him, the listener's brain waves may be led to an Alpha, Theta, or Delta state according to the whim of the controller. Some believe that the devil has been using techniques such as these since the beginning of the world and is still using them."—Demon Possession and Music, by Dr. Juanita McElwain.

Dr. McElwain then provides us with additional information on how this hypnotic trance works:

"All this leads to the present. Twentieth-century people discovered an ancient usage of difference tones and entrainment and successfully used them to produce an altered state of consciousness.

"A man named Monroe first discovered the use of specific frequencies to entrain the brain. He discovered that certain frequencies, which were in the same spectrum as brain waves, could produce entrainment of brain waves. These are too low for the human ear to hear, but by using higher sounds he could produce difference tones.

" 'If the frequencies of two sound sources are applied separately, one to each ear, an abinaural beat frequency is created. As explained above, this is not an actual sound, but only a frequency difference between two actual sounds. The sound is heard within the brain itself. The binaural beat frequency is created by both brain hemispheres working simultaneously. The entrainment or frequency following response did not take place only in the area of the brain responsible for hearing, or only in the left or right hemispheres: The entire brain resonated, the waveforms of both hemispheres becoming identical in frequency,' thus achieving an altered state of consciousness (Don Campbell, Music Physician for Times to Come, Quest Books, Wheaton, IL, 1991, pp. 228-229).

"Subliminal Programming: There is a phenomenon used in meditation techniques. The music on meditation tapes uses two technologies: sound phasing and subliminal programming.

"The subliminals use such messages as: 'I am one. I am love. I am peace. I am the source of my experience. I am existence . . consciousness . . ecstasy . . peace.' These are mantras that have come down through the centuries, which make up a very holistic program of non-dual, I-Consciousness.

"Sound phasing is defined as 'a vibrate sound, a tone that contains two tones, the top and bottom of the vibration. Phasing is the interval between the tones. The sound we call the interval is heard only in the brain. Your brain creates that sound from the two tones' (Patrick Harbula, Sounds of Transformation: A talk with Brother Charles, Meditation, 2(4), 1987, pp. 20-29). This is, what is called, difference tones.

"Guarding the Mind: Tone wave generators have been built which can insert any difference tones in desired musical carriers. They are called binaural tone generators. They are available for anybody to purchase and are very easy to use. This means that this technique which can open the mind to demon possession is readily available to any that choose to use it. It is to be found in videotapes, cassette tapes, etc., which are being used.

"The only protection available to counteract these wiles of Satan is found in Isaiah 26:20, which speaks about the present days: 'Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over­past.' "—Demon Possession and Music, by Dr. Juanita McElwain.