Atheists, Pagans, and Satanists, What Do You Listen To?

Question

I was curious as to some musical artists you listen to whose songs reflect your beliefs.

OK, I understand many of you listen to stuff that doesn't reflect your beliefs. What I was asking was out of all the artists you do listen to, which of them reflects your beliefs?
And I gotta say this is the most answers I've received in such a short time.

A lot of you want to know why I group Pagans, Atheists, and Satanists together. It's mostly because they make up the majority of my peers and I was curious the kind of music they listened to outside of my immediate circle of friends.
Also in my own mind I see these as "unconventional religions" and though they have major differences, I do see a few similarities.

Answer 1

Satanist


Rob Zombie
Judas Priest
Dio
Iron Maiden
Witchfinder General
Danzig
King Diamond
Iced Earth
Angelwitch
Pantera
Slayer
Overkill
Megadeth
Old Metallica
The Doors

I also listen to alot of Southern Rock and Outlaw Country

Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Allman Brothers
David Allen Coe
Johnny Cash
Charlie Daniels
Merle Haggard
Waylon Jennings


The list really goes on and on for me. Metal, Classic rock, Southern Rock, Outlaw Country, Classical

Answer 2

I am a celtic reconstructionist (a flavor of overly bookish pagan) and I respond well to anything with a driving beat and decent lyrics. I lean towards heavy and hard rather than loud. Every now and then some of those lyrics will grab me and I will make a connection to my faith or my practices. So a few examples of that:

Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up" is about the best description of magic I've ever run across, and I'm certain that wasn't what he was going for.

Nightwish's album "Once" is epic in feel and reflects my spirituality- it has a feel of being on a journey, and not necessarily a happy one. There is danger, and hope, a search for knowledge, and the pain of knowledge lost. What better description of anyone's spiritual journey?

Iris, a synthpop band (they deny the term "goth" but their arguments are hollow), echoes my thoughts on so many matters it's almost creepy. Many of their songs are about searching as well, and also, they often touch upon a knowledge so vast that you can't explain what it is you've just learned. Ever had that happen?

The band Faith and the Muse touches upon matters of general pagan concern, as well as specifically Celtic myths, so it's no big shock I think they're incredible. Songs to get an idea: Prodigal and Sredni Vashtar.

So these are a few of the things that live in my cd player.

Answer 3

I'm an atheist: I believe there is no god.

I listen to a wide variety of music: '80's pop, folk rock, melodic heavy metal, even religious choral music. The religious part doesn't bother me, it's still good music. Most of the stuff I listen to doesn't reflect my beliefs on spiritual matters, but here are a few examples that do:


"You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose free will"
-- Rush, "Free Will"


"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky..."
-- John Lennon, "Imagine"


"I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in a crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine"
-- Indigo Girls, "Closer to fine"

Oh, and for what it's worth, it's a bit silly to lump atheists and satanists together. ;-)

Answer 4

I am an Atheist.

I misunderstood the question at first, sorry.

Which of my favorite artists share my beliefs? I suspect that Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson do. I don't like their music, though, I just like them. I do love Ozzy, although I don't know if he is an Atheist. Their religions aren't something I know much about.

I guess, if I wanted to listen to something that could be considered nonreligious, I'd listen to Leonard Cohen, but I'm past my Leonard phase and there is a lot of spirituality in his stuff.

Maybe John Lennon. Yes, he said "no religion" in "Imagine" So yes, John Lennon reflects my beliefs.

I listen to all kinds of music. It doesn't have to reflect my beliefs. It can be religious too, I don't have to believe it to like it. I don't believe in the Purple People Eater, but I did like the song. So religious music doesn't bother me, although I often find the lyrics puzzling or humorous.

This week I am listening to Rob Zombie, the Fighting Temptations soundtrack, and some new Koda Kumi songs that I haven't heard before, also a really nice song called "Hi'ilawe", by Sudden Rush.

Answer 5

The music I listen to has no bearing on my lack of belief. I listen it it as I enjoy it and also brought up on the music. However for your curosity these are:

Deep Purple
Led Zeplin
David Bowie
Pink Floyd
PJ Harvey
Bjork
Sigor Ros
Classical
Opera
Furture Sound of London
Uncle
Jurassic 5
Morcheeba
Ramstein
Madonna (I was a child of the 80's enough said!)
Paula Cole
Marlyn Manson
Gorillaz
Madeleine Payroux
The Magic Numbers
Jeff Buckley
Sheryl Crow

This is only a small selection of the music I listen to......

Answer 6

Atheist; There was that Lennon song, Imagine, that I think accurately reflects my atheistic tendencies. "Yes" did a song that I don't remember the name of that had a line something like, "How can you believe God makes you breathe, then why did he lose 6 million Jews." That stuck in my head as I grew up. Of course, I'll listen to just about anything; there's a lot of good Christian rock out there. Blood Sweat and Tears was (in hindsight) fairly God oriented, and I loved the group, although they did do "Lucretia McEvil". Most of the music I listen to has a somewhat secular nature though, being about love, or instrumental jazz, or screaming rock that I can't understand the words to anyway, or classical.

Answer 7

I'm an atheist.

Jethro Tull, Bad Religion, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, David Gilmour

Proclaim http://www.proclaimcreations.com/

and some individual songs by

NoFX "The Idiots are Taking Over"

Creator from Stratosfaction "Infidel"

John Lennon "Imagine"

Sarah McLachlan covering XTC tune "Dear God"

Of course i listen to all kinds of other godless music too.

Edit*

Oh how could i forget MC Hawking!

http://www.telemark.net/atheistmusic/toc.dbm

^^^^List of music by atheists.

Lisa - Errmm Alice Cooper is a Christian...as far as i am concerned though..they can have him :)

Answer 8

Atheist:

Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Kiss, Dokken, Jim Breuer, Ozzy, Dream Theater, Loituma, Frank Zappa...

Answer 9

Although I'm not sure why you would classify atheists with Pagans and Satanists, I listen to a lot of 70's & 60's classic rock. Cream, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Allman Brothers, Santana, CCR, Grateful Dead, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Foghat, Jefferson Airplane, and Beatles are all just some of my favorites. I suppose Black Sabbath kind of reflects an atheist. idk

Answer 10

I listen to a lot of heavy metal (the more 'acid' the better), some country, lots of classical stuff, a bit of christian music, some humorous stuff, lots of stuff from the 80's, 90's, and today, some golden oldies that struck a chord.

I listen to just about anything at least once.