The following is a list of backmasked messages in music. The list includes notable recordings or notable artists, and is ordered by the group's name or the artist's last name.
Artist Source Message CommentsAsh "Evil Eye" (album) "She's giving me the evil eye, suck Satan's cock." Said at the beginning of the song. Lead singer Tim Wheeler remarked that "Yeah, we did hide a secret message in 'Evil Eye', but it's not that bad..."At the Drive-In "300 MHz" (EP) "...your enamel / made no reflection in our mirror / coughing up the coffins / cotton candy coated teeth / these pockets were clinching all filled with teeth / amnesia proletariat / in the unlikely event / that sarcasm is an unfitting dress / amnesia proletariat / amnesia proletariat / amnesia / coughing up the coffins / cotton candy coated teeth / these pockets were clinching / all filled with teeth / sharpened on the fucking hides of men..." Heard by reversing the song starting at the 94-second mark. The message is composed of rearranged verses from earlier in the song.The B-52s"Detour Thru Your Mind" (album)"I buried my parakeet in the backyard. Oh, no, you're playing the record backward. Watch out—you might ruin your needle."A reversed message in Fred Schneider's voice, starting at the 4:35 mark. Quoted in Patterson (2004): "The B-52s used the same approach at subliminal humor by placing a backward track on 'Detour Through Your Mind' from the LP Bouncing off the Satellites. When the track is reversed, the listener can hear Fred Schneider’s voice saying, 'I buried my parakeet in the backyard. Oh, no, you’re playing the record backward. Watch out—you might ruin your needle.'"The Beatles "Rain" "...the sun shines. Raaain. If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads" Gibberish occurs during the fade-out (accompanying music is not reversed), actually sections of the vocal melody. This was one of the earliest instances of backmasking. The deliberate reversal was repeatedly acknowledged by John Lennon and others. "Free as a Bird" (album) "Turned out nice again." Can be heard during the song's fade-out. Was commented upon by many newspapers after the album's release in 1995 and the discovery of the message by BBC Radio 5 Live producer Simon Clifford. Paul McCartney said, "We even put one of those spoof backwards recordings on the end of the single for a laugh, to give all those Beatles nuts something to do."Beck "Loser" (album) "Soy un perdedor. I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?" (entire chorus reversed) After the last time Beck says "I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?" and before the vocal "I'm a driver. I'm a winner."Boards of Canada "1969" (album) "David Koresh" In the sentence "Although not a follower of David Koresh, she's a devoted Branch Davidian." The rest of the sentence is not backmasked.Bloodhound Gang "Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out)" (album) "Devil child, wake up and eat Chef Boyardee Beefaroni" (4x) This message was included as a response to the accusations of backwards messages in songs.The Brothers Johnson "The Devil" (album) "Your mother sucks cocks in hell! Give us your ass, ah, ah" A quote from the demon Pazuzu in the film The Exorcist (1973).Butthole Surfers "Pepper" (album) "I don't mind the sun sometimes, the images it shows. I can taste you on my lips and smell you in my clothes. Cinnamon and sugary and softly spoken lies. You never know just how you look through other people's eyes." Between the second chorus and the third verse.Cake "Jesus Wrote a Blank Check" (album) "Don't forget to breathe in." This occurs after the song ends (about 3:06 of the track).Choking Victim "Hate Yer State" (album) "You think you're alive, motherfucker? You're just the walking fucking dead, you're a fucking sheep, stepping on my back to stay alive. West Coast, East Coast, you're all just a bunch of fucking fools, you and the rest of this greedy fucking world. Kill yourself! So stay in school, say no to drugs, oh yeah! Hail Satan! Good night boys and girls, pleasant dreams." At the beginning of the song.Jay Chou "You Can Hear" (album) "Only you can hear it" Following the same line forwards. This is done intentionally, so if you play it backwards, "only you can hear it".Chumbawamba "Mary, Mary" (album) A woman recites the Hail Mary. "Mary" recites the Hail Mary.Coldplay "❍ (Music of the Spheres II)" (album) "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Music of the Spheres! Remember, everyone is an alien somewhere." Each line is individually reversed and placed in reverse order as to say "Everyone is an alien somewhere / remember / Spheres / of the / Music / Welcome to / Ladies and gentlemen."Cradle of Filth "Dinner at Deviant's Palace" (EP) Unusual sounds and a reversed reading of the Lord's Prayer. Backwards readings of the Lord's Prayer are allegedly used in certain demonic rites.Deep Purple "Stormbringer" (album) "Cocksucker, motherfucker, stormbringer!" Occurs at the beginning of the song before the first verse.Def Leppard "Rocket" (album) "We are fighting with the gods of war" A preview of another song, "Gods of War", on the album Hysteria. "White Lightning" (album) "She's got the rhythm of love" From the song "Heaven Is", recorded backwards.Deicide "Satan Spawn, the Caco-Daemon" (album) "Satan spawn, cacodaemon, cacodaemon, cacodaemon, satan spawn, cacodaemon, cacodaemon, cacodaemon." At the beginning of the track, accompanied by bleating of sheep. Effectively the same as the chorus.Dio "Shame on the Night" (album) "Crucify the diver" Starting at the 4:57 minute mark. Only the first two words are reversed.Drowning Pool "Sermon" (album) "Ladies and gentlemen, tell me what you believe" A reversal of earlier parts of the song. Drummer Mike Luce said, "It's just a homage. A tribute back to the old school."The Dukes of Stratosphear "The Mole from the Ministry" (mini-album) "Hey go fuck yourself with your atom bomb." Sped up excerpt at the very end of the track, taken from a radio interview of The Fugs' Tuli Kupferberg.Electric Light Orchestra "Down Home Town" (album) "Face the mighty waterfall" (2x) At the beginning of the track. This album was released in 1975 following allegations of a hidden message in 1974's Eldorado, and was a satirical response. "Fire on High" (album) "The music is reversible, but time... (violin note) is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!" Reversal of a deep mumbling spoken by drummer Bev Bevan. Another response to the Eldorado controversy. Various songs from Secret Messages (Those are "Secret Messages", "Time After Time", "Stranger", "Danger Ahead", "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" and the intended side D track for a double album "Hello My Old Friend") "Welcome to the show" (2x), "Thank you for listening," "Look out, there's danger ahead," "Listen to music," "Hup two three four," "Time after time," "You're playing me backwards," "Plant a tree," and "Backward(s) messages can be fun" Contains many backwards and hidden messages, both visual and auditory. It was a further response to the Satanic backmasking controversy. The British release contains a parody warning label about the backward messages, but this was deleted by CBS Records for the United States version.Missy Elliott "Work It" (album) "I put my thing down, flip it, and reverse it." and "Watch the way Missy like to take it backwards" Reversed version of the preceding line. The "Watch the way Missy like to take it backwards" message can be heard in the middle of the second verse.Eminem "Stimulate" (album) "I'm not here to save you / I'm only here for the ride / So let me entertain you / And everything will be fine." At the end of the track.Eurythmics "This City Never Sleeps" (album) "I enjoyed making that, er, record. Very good, very good" At the end of the song, after some seconds of silence.Filter "The 4th" (album) "Ooh what a hell of a price, what a hell of a price." This part is most clear for the first 1:30 of the song.Five Iron Frenzy "Get Your Riot Gear" (EP) "Brad is dead, let's kill Brad" The backwards message references Nathanael "Brad" Dunham, who was missing at a concert. As people began to spread the rumor that he was dead, the band jokingly included this message in the song.Franz Ferdinand "Michael" (album) "She's worried about you, call your mother." Right before the second verse. A reference to bassist Bob Hardy's homesickness during the recording of the album. The band "wanted to do the exact opposite [of Satanic backmasking], put the most positive thing we could think of as a backwards message."Robert Fripp "Hååden Two" (album) "One thing is for sure – the sheep is not a creature of the air. Baaaaaaaah!" This line is a sample of Graham Chapman in a sketch from the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.Nelly Furtado "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)" (album) "Oh my God! Descending to the 13th floor, 14, 16, we’re on the 11th floor, descending to the 12th floor. Oh my God! Descending to the 13th floor, 14, 16, we’re on the 11th floor, descending to the 12th floor" Occurs at the very end of the song, after the breakdown. The message is more noticeable on the a cappella version of the song.Grim Reaper "Final Scream" (album) "See you in hell!" Half Man Half Biscuit "Christian Rock Concert" (album) "The body of Shane Fenton is in the laundry chute of the New Ambassadors Hotel near Euston Station" Iced Earth "Damien" (album) "Your pain on the cross was but a splinter compared to the agony of my father. I will drive deeper the thorns into your rancid carcass, you profaner of vices. You have done nothing." Reversed lyrics from earlier in the song.Incubus "Azwethinkweiz" (EP) "Thursday night we smoked indica, and 'azwethinkweizm' was born" At 3:40 in the song. The sentence is spoken by lead vocalist Brandon Boyd.Information Society "Are Friends Electric" (album) "Obey your parents. Do your homework. Winners don't do drugs." Heard between the songs "Are Friends Electric" and "Ozar Midrashim". The back of the album cover features the disclaimer "InSoc can accept no responsibility for the mental effect of the backwards message."Insane Clown Posse "Echo Side" (album) "Fuck the Devil! Fuck that shit! We believe in life legit. If you diggin' what we say, why you throw your soul away?" Heard after "licked the back of his neck and said..." "Everybody Rize" (album) "Yeah, if you flip this message cuz you think there's some secret message, there ain't shit!" Reversal of gibberish at the end of the track. Said by Violent J.Iron Maiden "Still Life" (album) "Hmm, hmmm, what ho sed de t'ing wid de t'ree bonce. Don't meddle wid t'ings you don't understand", followed by a belch. Found between the songs "The Trooper" and "Still Life", on Piece of Mind. It is an inebriated Nicko McBrain (the drummer) doing his "famous" impression of Idi Amin. It translates to the following: "'What ho,' said the monster with the three heads, 'don't meddle with things you don't understand.'"The message was included by the band in response to allegations of Satanism that were surrounding them at the time.The J. Geils Band "No Anchovies, Please" (album) "It doesn't take a genius to know the difference between chicken shit and chicken salad." Reversed speech heard after the line "Upon awakening, she finds herself in a strange, foreign speaking nation."Journey "Message of Love" (album) "Message of love" The song title is backmasked in the opening 30 seconds of the song.Judas Priest "Love Bites" (album) "In the dead of the night, love bites" Admitted to by Rob Halford during the subliminal message trial. Halford said that "When you're composing songs, you're always looking for new ideas, new sounds."Klaatu "Silly Boys" (album) The lyrics to "Anus Of Uranus" from a previous album. Admitted in an interview with one of the band members. They took the lyrics from "Anus Of Uranus", reversed them, and one of the band members wrote out what the "new" lyrics sounded like.KMFDM "Sucks" (album) "Hey, Satan, it's En Esch talking now; let me