Backmasking (also known as backward masking) is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward on to a track that is meant to be played forward. Backmasking is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.
Backmasking was popularized by The Beatles, who used backward instrumentation on their 1966 album Revolver. Artists have since used backmasking for artistic, comedic, and satiric effect, on both analog and digital recordings. The technique has also been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of songs.
Backmasking has been a controversial topic in the United States since the 1980s, when allegations from Christian groups of its use for Satanic purposes were made against prominentrock musicians, leading to record-burning protests and proposed anti-backmasking legislation by state and federal governments. Whether backmasking can be used subliminally to affect listeners is in debate by both sides.
Satanic backmasking
Although the Satanic backmasking controversy involved mainly classic rock songs whose authors denied any intent to promote Satanism, backmasking has been used by heavy metal bands to deliberately insert messages in their lyrics or imagery. Bands have utilized Satanic imagery for commercial reasons.For example, thrash metal band Slayer included at the start of the band's 1985 album Hell Awaits a deep backmasked voice chanting "Join Us" over and over.(listen (info)). However, Slayer vocalist Tom Araya states that the band's use of Satanic imagery was "solely for effect". Cradle of Filth, another band that has employed Satanic imagery, released a song entitled "Dinner at Deviant's Palace", consisting almost entirely of ambient sounds and a reversed reading of the Lord's Prayer (a backwards reading of the Lord's Prayer is reportedly a major part of the Black Mass). Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden parodied the pheomenon of Satanic backmasking on their 1989 album Ultramega OK. When played backwards, the songs "665" and "667" reveal a song about Santa.
Accusations
Artists who have been accused of backmasking include Led Zeppelin The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Electric Light Orchestra,Queen, Styx, AC/DC, Judas Priest, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Starship, Black Oak Arkansas, Rush, Britney Spears, and Eminem.
Electric Light Orchestra was accused of hiding a backward Satanic message in their 1974 album Eldorado. The title track, "Eldorado", was said to contain the message "He is the nasty one / Christ, you're infernal / It is said we're dead men / Everyone who has the mark will live." ELO singer and songwriter Jeff Lynne responded by calling this accusation (and the related charge of being "devil-worshippers") "skcollob", and stating that the message "is absolutely manufactured by whoever said, 'That's what it said.' It doesn't say anything of the sort." The group included several backward messages in later albums in response to the accusations.
In 1981, Styx was accused of putting the backward message "Satan move through our voices" (listen (info)) on the song "Snowblind", from Paradise Theater.Guitarist James Youngcalled these charges "rubbish", and responded, "If we want to make a statement, we'll do it in a way that people can understand us and not in a way where you have to go out and buy a $400 tape player to understand us." In 1983, the band released a concept album, Kilroy Was Here, satirizing the Moral Majority.
A well-known alleged message is found in rock group Led Zeppelin's 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven". The backwards playing of a portion of the song purportedly results in words beginning with "Here's to my sweet Satan" (listen (info)). But Swan Song Records issued a statement to the contrary: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards". And Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant denied the accusations in an interview: "To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music." Another widely-known alleged message, "It's fun to smoke marijuana", in Queen's song "Another One Bites the Dust", is similarly disclaimed by the group's spokesperson.
Subliminal stimuli (pronounced /sʌbˈlɪmɨnəl/, literally "below threshold"), contrary to supraliminal stimuli or "above threshold", are any sensory stimuli below an individual's absolute threshold for conscious perception. Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an individual may process them, or flashed and then masked, thereby interrupting the processing. Audio stimuli may be played below audible volumes, similarly masked by other stimuli, or recorded backwards in a process called backmasking. Introduced in 1897, the concept became controversial as "subliminal messages" in 1957 when marketing practitioners claimed its potential use in persuasion. Subsequent scientific research, however, has been unable to replicate most of these marketing claims beyond a mere placebo effect. Apart from their controversial use in marketing, subliminal stimuli are employed in scientific research on perception without awareness, or unconscious perception.
Audio
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. During the 1970s, media reports raised a series of concerns of its impact on listeners, stating that satanic messages were calling its listeners to commit suicide, murder, abuse drugs, or engage in sex—which were all rising at the time.
In a series of scientific studies, individuals listening to messages played backwards with no accompanying music could discern: the gender of the speaker; whether the message was in English, French, or German; whether the sentence was declarative or a question; and occasionally a word or meaning of a sentence. However when comparing sentence pairs, individuals were more likely to be incorrect than if their response were by pure chance: if the message were spoken by different speakers; whether two sentences were semantically related; and label beyond pure chance whether a message was positive or negative in nature—suggesting that individual expectations influenced their response. Across a variety of tasks, the studies were unable to find evidence that such messages affected an individual's behavior, and reasoned that if the individual could not discern the meaning of the message, then the presence of these messages would be more likely due to the listener's expectations than the existence of these messages in themselves.
Some businesses claim improving an individual's memory or self-esteem while offering subliminal self-help tapes. These tapes did not produce an effect beyond a placebo, or an individual's expectation of their effectiveness
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backmasking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_message
For samples of Backmasked Songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8eFq7RJYN0&playnext=1&list=PL751828EEAEE5ECED
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