Satanism, or at least accusations of it, has always been part of rock and metal.
Yet it seemed to come as a surprise to some when Twin Temple was recently dropped from a pair of dates opening for outlaw country artist Charley Crockett due to their “Satanic imagery.” Crockett himself was apparently caught off guard when he learned about the doo-wop revival act’s dark leanings, well after they were booked, leading to their dismissal.
READ MORE: How Jack White is Helping Satanic Act Recently Booted From Country Tour
Twin Temple joins a growing list of bands that have had shows canceled due to Satanism. At least in their case, they routinely admit that they are indeed a Satanic act.
When brutal death metal band Slaughter to Prevail had the plug pulled on two shows in Turkey earlier this year due to alleged Satanic leanings, vocalist Alex Terrible found himself on social media saying organizers made a huge mistake.
“Turkey’s people, I love you and respect your country and your religious views. But don’t call me Satanic.”
Here are eight times bands were unable to perform after being accused of being connected to “Satanism.”
Behemoth
What happened: Behemoth frontman Nergal has faced multiple blasphemy charges in his home country of Poland for incidents that have included tearing up a bible on stage. Nergal has thus far been able to beat the charges.
And despite attempts to bar them from playing, Behemoth have continued to play in Poland. Other countries, however, have stopped the extreme metal act from performing.
The most recent cancelation came in February 2026 when the Turkish government pulled the plug on two shows featuring Behemoth and Slaughter to Prevail.
“The cancellations come after pressure from religious groups who have characterized our art as Satanic propaganda and deemed it unacceptable,” Behemoth said in a statement addressing the nixed tour dates. “This is another example of ideology being used to suppress artistic expression and restrict cultural freedom.
Black Sabbath
What happened: Black Sabbath often toyed with occult themes, but Tony Iommi told Loudwire in 2014 that it was mostly out of curiosity rather than a turn toward full-fledged Satanism.
“There was this thing called ‘the occult and we wanted to soak in as much as we could about it and find out what it was about,” Iommi said. “I suppose we got wrapped up a bit too much sometimes.”
Not everyone was understanding of Black Sabbath’s multitudes when it came to Satanism. Without naming the city, Iommi said there was at least one time a local church got the metal band’s show shut down before it even started.
“The show was announced in all the papers two weeks before we got there. The church managed to ban us. And then the bloody church burned down and we got the blame. They were trying to say that we had caused it, which was just weird.”
Iron Maiden
What happened: While Iron Maiden weren’t officially banned from performing in Chile beginning in 1992, it marked a period when local venues reportedly refused to book them under pressure from religious groups.
“It’s true, Christian organizations complained about them and denounced them as Satanic, which eventually meant that no venue wanted to host the show, but the government didn’t have anything to do with it,” BraveWords.com reported.
Iron Maiden would finally return to Chile in 1996 for a show at Teatro Monumental in Santiago. By this time, Blaze Bayley had replaced longtime singer Bruce Dickinson. It was Bayley who would bear the brunt of a small group of fans who decided to pelt the band with spit.
“But [in 1996] after Bon Jovi, Metallica, Black Sabbath… all the big bands had come, the greatest metal band of them all was going to Chile,” Bayley told Metal Hammer. “So you can imagine the expectation and these guys were ruining it for everyone. “
Bayley ended up having what he described as a “meltdown,” telling the spitting fans to “fuck off.”
Marilyn Manson
What happened: Marilyn Manson’s 2014 tour of Russia ran into multiple issues, leading to canceled shows.
Weeks before a scheduled concert in Moscow, The Moscow Times reported a Russian Orthodox social movement called God’s Will was pressuring the city to stop Manson from playing.
The news outlet said God’s Will believed Manson promoted ‘religious hatred, cruelty, murder, suicide, sexual perversion and Satanism among young people, including minors.'”
While God’s Will did not succeed in directly getting the show canceled, a bomb threat at the venue that night was enough for the whole thing to be called off moments before Manson stepped on stage.
A subsequent Russian show scheduled two days later in Novosinirsk, the country’s third largest city, was also canceled.
Rotting Christ
What happened: Greek black metal band Rotting Christ had a 2019 show canceled in their home country. The reason behind the cancelation may have been due to “Satanism,” but that all depends on who you ask.
According to the Greece-based online music publication Myth of Rock, Rotting Christ’s 2019 show in Patras was called off “due to the objections of the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Efigmenou.” The website specifically called out the band’s “Satanic image” as one of the factors behind the cancelation.
Greek news website KeepTalkingGreece.com, which was also critical of the show being shut down, noted that municipal officials claimed “technical issues” led to the concert not happening.
While the show in Patras never happened in 2019, Rotting Christ continued to tour throughout Greece for the rest of 2019. They would later return to Patras two months after the cancelation to perform at a different venue.
Oddly enough, despite their band name, Rotting Christ are far less overtly Satanic than many of their black metal peers.
Sepultura
What happened: A 2019 Sepultura show in Beirut, Lebanon, never happened after the band’s visas were reportedly denied by the country’s General Security Office.
According to the Middle Eastern news outlet Al Bawaba, organizers of the concert claimed they were pressured to cancel the show due to Sepultura being “devil worshippers,” something the band denies.
“We are as outraged and angry as all of you will be,” the promoter of the show said in a statement regarding the cancelation.
A statement later released by Sepultura’s management team said “The band is not Satanic. Most of the band and crew members are Catholic. Yes, sometimes they criticize political and other injustices. That can occasionally include [criticizing] church, companies or institutions, etc… but not in a destructive way.”
Slaughter to Prevail
What happened: Slaughter to Prevail were set to play shows in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey in 2026, but both were canceled moments before the first show. Behemoth were also part of the bill for both shows.
In a statement announcing the cancelation, Behemoth said religious groups characterized their “art as Satanic propaganda and deemed it unacceptable.”
Slaughter to Prevail vocalist Alex Terrible addressed the incident on social media, saying he respects the people of Turkey, but in no way should his band be considered “Satanic.”
“We are a brutal death metal band. I personally will go to Valhalla when I die.”
Twin Temple
What happened: Twin Temple aren’t exactly hiding they’re a Satanic act. It’s kind of hard to do when your song titles include “Lucifer, My Love” and “Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy.”
But somehow, outlaw country artist Charley Crockett missed that fact until after it had been announced that the dark doo-wop revival duo would be opening for him on a 2026 tour.
Twin Temple announced on social media shortly before the shows with Crockett that he had removed them from the bill due to their “Satanic imagery.”
Crockett later doubled down on the move, saying, “I won’t conform and I’m not sorry” in a social media post. He later deactivated his Facebook and Instagram.
Things ended up turning out just fine for Twin Temple when they were later offered a spot opening for Jack White in Los Angeles after he had heard about the incident with Crockett.
Of course, there are plenty more rock and metal acts who have been associated with Satanism, witchcraft and the occult over the years. Here are 15 that fit that description.
15 Artists Associated With Witchcraft, Satanism + the Occult
Below is a gallery of 15 prominent artists in the rock and metal world who have been associated with witchcraft, Satanism and the occult in one form or another. Some may seem obvious and others may completely take you by surprise.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
