You know that ringing in your ears?

Am I evil?

By Carly Onofrio » Exploring the history of witches in metal.

Bands with “witch” in their name are only a fraction of metal’s obsession with the occult and women—song titles, lyrics, or general imagery are countless alone. We all know the long love metal has had for the occult, but I am curious as to why such a male-dominated scene has long been fascinated with a historically female entity.

Those without experience within or knowledge of metal may view it as possessing little respect for femininity, and certain subgenres do embrace this stance, but with the exception of this division lies a strange longing for a particular sort of woman. Witches have been defined as some of the following:

“One that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers, especially a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar,” “A charming or alluring girl or woman,” “An old ugly woman.”

The vision of each may vary, but their power remains, whether in desire or fear. The associations between witchcraft and evil, certainly the most dominant of metal themes, makes me wonder if witches are only present as the supposed incarnation of evil in the female form. Is it just that witches are safe to sing about because they are the believed to be the most sinister of women, and therefore acceptable among men who believe themselves to be the most sinister? Is a woman who is not a witch sung about only in the ways of sex and not idolatry, with exceptions such as Elizabeth Bathory?

As I am no scholar, who better to use as research experts than men in metal? I asked several guys heavily invested to consider what the preoccupation may stem from, what it may mean, and what it says about women.

“I think it’s because evil dudes like evil chicks, and it’s cool imagery. Also, you’re gonna sing about chicks, and if you don’t want to sound like Van Halen, it’s gonna be about witches.”

“The witch, especially in her darkest, ugliest incarnations is the quintessential occult female figure, and there have to be at least a few chicks invited to this sausage fest. Furthermore, the witch's mythos offers as diverse collection of traits as the countless subgenres found in metal. Be it the forest-dwelling, ritualistic nature of black metal, the fantasy-laden magical elements of classic/power metal, or the spell-casting, slime soaked psychedelia of stoner and doom, there is an element of the witch to be found throughout.”

“Cause witches are hot and dudes like tits, magic, and evil.”

“Dudes are obsessed with the premise of a woman having "powers" over them. Traditionally, man's desire to be dominated and controlled by a female has been psychologically repressed and hidden behind an entity with MAGIC abilities do to so.”

“It's sexy, it's unknown to us, its dark and it lures us in. It's got a little bit of everything a guy wants, especially a metalhead. When I think of the word witch, I don’t think of the childhood Halloween imagery, I think of a sultry, more charismatic figure.”

“Not enough metal does. Fuck that gore metal, it should be about witches, pagans, forests, etc. Stuff that really scares coward Christians and normals. Think about metalheads in the past; outcasts and shit; everyone else is partying, they are creeping around the woods, doing things to bum people out, using religion to really scare people. Imagine seeing Pentagram in the 70s—you’d have to be so badass to even know they were playing. With regards to what it says about males and females in metal, go back to the beginning, when dudes in metal bands weren’t getting any kind of girls. I guess worshipping powerful females was their contact with a woman they could relate to.”

A female friend also suggested that the term “witch” is loosely used these days, not taken as seriously as it had for bands starting out in the 60’s when occult topics were starting to be heavily explored. Or perhaps as a vicarious outlet for the men writing these songs, in that while they may identify with the concept, the surface of actual witchcraft is only scratched, not its true meanings.

At least most metal has some respect for it. Ask the average person what their opinion or vision of witchcraft may be, and they’ll probably resort to discussing Wicca. The terminology is safer and more accepted as a belief and practice. Do you think one is more inclined to take someone seriously who is self-described as a “witch” or a “Wiccan”? And yet, never in my life have I encountered someone in metal who has said anything but “witch” in serious conversation. There’s no need to dodge the most well known term, to try and evolve it into something more widely accepted. Every metalhead I know personally has a certain reverence for the history and practice of witchcraft. While it may not be the most finely articulated point (witches have boobs! cool!), they are still able to delve further into the identity of the witch and her effect on the male psyche. To this day, the continuing stream of band names, lyrical content, and imagery show no sign of the decline of the witch in metal.