Lucifer Rising : A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll [Paperback]

Gavin Baddeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 1999

With photographs and artwork from self- described Satanists, this elaborately researched look at the nature of evil sheds light on -- and makes light of -- popular culture's darkest secret. Lucifer Rising includes a history of occult- influenced rock music as well as candid interviews with modern- day Satanists and controversial rock stars who confirm that the dark side is indeed the religion of the rebel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Baddeley (a British journalist and occult specialist) brings wit and authority to anything from Hitler's occult fascinations to The Exorcist ..." -- January 2000

"The ultimate guide to the influence of Satan in the world of rock music, and all manner of devilish culture ... author and king goth Baddeley may be considered to be one of the leading experts on Satanism ..." -- Kerrang! December 18, 1999

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Plexus Publishing (November 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859652807
• ISBN-13: 978-0859652803
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource of diabolical information, November 19, 2000

By 

Chiron (....) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lucifer Rising : A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll (Paperback)

This book covers the wide spectrum of multi-faceted Satanic beliefs and practices, ranging from the The Church of Satan and Anton LaVey (with interviews) to modern black metal music. It contains interviews with many people involved in Satanism, including:

Boyd Rice, the founder of the Abraxas Foundation and the star of the band Non

An interview with Glenn Danzig and his metal outfit

Blanche Barton, the current High Priestess of the Church Of Satan since Anton LaVey's death on October 1997

Details of Aleister Crowley's sordid life

The myth of Satanic ritual abuse and reasons why the media wanted you to believe every word of it

Marilyn Manson, one of today's premier musicians.

"Lucifer Rising" is immaculately reseached, well written and enjoyable. Most other books on this subject pale drastically in comparison. With that said, I'm awaiting another book by this writer- judging from his past material and this offering, he has an eye for quality and adroitness- more than worth the money!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good midnight read., September 18, 2000

By 

Amanda Grefski (Rincon, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lucifer Rising : A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll (Paperback)

I found this book to be quite interesting and well balanced. I was pleased to find as much pro-Church Of Satan material as con. The sections on Black Metal were packed with great interviews and rare photos but seemed to lack a logical flow or sense of organization. The book is entertaining but is largely a collection of interviews strung together without a great deal of continuity. Would have been nice to have more on pre-nineteenth century Satanism, but this was still a fine read.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for newcomers in the field, November 25, 2002

By 

JRBruun (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lucifer Rising : A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll (Paperback)

This book by a «card-carrying» member of the Church of Satan has been 8 years in the making. Had it come out before Moynihan and Søderlind's «Lords of Chaos» it would've been viewed as a major addition to the literature on popular, modern-day satanism. But as it stands now, it's mostly an entertaining read, not offering much enlightenment for anyone with a little former knowledge of the field. Also, the author's not very objective position sometimes taint the book, as it paints Anton LaVey and his organization as the «true» satanists and all others as merely wanna-bes.

Having said that, this is a well written book, and very cleverly edited, with short interviews with central figures strategically placed throughout the book, along with a huge amount of photos and drawings. The index is useful, but somewhat lacking. For example, bands like Death In June and Psychic TV are discussed in the book, but not listed in the index.

The book is divided into three parts, the first being the history of satanism, the second deals with satanism in the 20th century, while the third examines today's social darwinist bands and black metal culture. He's trying to cover a lot of ground for a 256 page book, but succeeds fairly well. Among the people interviewed are Kenneth Anger, Anton LaVey, Blance Barton, David Austen (Temple of Set), King Diamond, Abaddon (Venom), Quorthon (Bathory), Boyd Rice, Michael Moynihan, Paul Valentine (Church of Satanic Liberation), Glen Benton (Deicide), Carl Abrahamsson (White Stains), Thomas Thorn (Electric Hellfire Club), Glenn Danzig and Coop.

The interviews with norwegian black-metallers Euronymous/Øystein Aarseth and Count Grishnackh/Varg Vikernes reveal their particular brand of satanic «philosophy» to be some of the most pathetic drivel ever spouted. The only rule seems to be that everyone (including themselves) should suffer as much as possible all the time. They certainly got that fulfilled. Vikernes stabbed Aarseth to death and is now serving a 21 year jail sentence.

Baddaley seems to have been working on the book until last minute before going to press, so it's pretty well updated on recent events like the Colorado school slaughter and the aftermath of LaVey's death.