Lords of Chaos Quotes

“Entombed, Hypocrisy, Dismember, and Unleashed from Sweden; Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary, and Deicide from the swampy netherworld of Florida. Other areas of the States also spat out bands of notoriety—misogynist gore fans Cannibal Corpse from upstate New York, equally rude and savage Autopsy from California—but the two aforementioned cities had specific recording studios and record producers which indelibly shaped the sonic boundaries of the genre.”
― Michael Moynihan, Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground

“Music serves as both a balm and excitant, soothing the savage or awakening dormant passions. In spiritual terms music is a magical operation, a vehicle for man to communicate with the gods. Depending on whom the celebrants invoke, this can mean soaring to heaven on the voices of angels or raising beasts from the pits of hell.”
― Michael Moynihan, Lords of Chaos

“Nationalism is the political manifestation of a folk's collective unconscious; heathenism/ satanism is the spiritual manifestation. Both ascend from the same source. Its therefore no coincidence that occultism and nationalism/facism have both claimed common adherents prior to the present interest in both by youth.”
― Michael Moynihan, Lords of Chaos

“Heavy Metal has been forced to create its own underworld. It plays by its own rules, follows its own aesthetic prerogatives… Metal is no longer a staple of FM radio, nor are record labels publishing it like they used to. Watching MTV and reading popular magazines, one might not even realize Heavy Metal still existed at all. Rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated, however, as the Metal underground boils and seethes worldwide. Especially left to its own devices and relegated to independent labels run by the fans themselves, this has allowed Metal’s most antisocial and aggressive tendencies to develop unburdened by any system of moral checks and balances, which society provides–at least tenuously–for other forms of music.”
― Michael Moynihan, Lords of Chaos