Seemingly, every generation of parents detests the music their children enjoy. This has always been true for the many forms of rock and roll. Generations of parents have looked at the new generation’s rock as “the devil’s music” or “just noise.” This was as true for Elvis Presley and The Beatles as it was for Slayer and Cannibal Corpse. As a result, some Millennials will remember the 1990s as a decade full of rock bands they weren’t allowed to listen to.
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The rock bands listed below were banned in households across the country in the 1990s. While our parents were still enjoying bands like KISS and Guns N’ Roses, a tape or CD from one of these bands was likely to get kids grounded from their Nintendo 64 and not allowed to go to the skating rink for two weeks. Whether they looked or sounded frightening or were at the center of a moral panic, countless parents said “no” to these bands
1. Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may have been one of the most controversial rock bands of the 1990s. The group’s frontman found himself at the center of a moral panic after the band released their 1996 breakthrough album Antichrist Superstar. The album’s title, cover art, and the videos for “The Beautiful People,” “Tourniquet,” and “Man That You Fear” sparked fear and outrage in conservative parents.
Then, rumors of Satanic rituals and animal abuse taking place at the band’s shows started to circulate. These things were enough to make many parents ban Manson albums in their homes. Those who hadn’t decided that Marilyn Manson was “the devil’s music” joined the crowd in 1998 when they saw images from the album Mechanical Animals.
The ban on Marilyn Manson carried into the new millennium in many households after the media blamed Marilyn Manson for inspiring the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.
2. Slayer
Slayer isn’t a 1990s rock band, but plenty of parents said “no” when it came to bringing their albums home from the record store. All they needed was to take one look at the titles and covers of the band’s records to know the music was evil. Titles like Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, and South of Heaven made many believe this group was teaching kids to worship Satan.
Then, in 1994, they released Divine Intervention. The album cover included the backronym “Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot.” However, the image of a fan carving the band’s logo into his forearm inside the CD case was more disturbing. While it was hidden in the disc tray, talk of the image made the rounds and triggered a new level of outrage.
3. Rage Against the Machine
If parents thought Slayer and Marilyn Manson had shocking album covers, their jaws hit the floor when they saw Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 self-titled debut album in record stores. The cover features a photo of the Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức committing suicide by self-immolation.
If that shocking photo wasn’t enough, the album’s lead single, ”Killing in the Name,” sealed the deal. More specifically, the repetition of the phrase “F**k you, I won’t do what you tell me,” led many parents to ban the album from their home.
4. Slipknot
Slipknot is barely a 1990s rock band. They released their self-titled debut album in the summer of 1999, and parents weren’t having it. Nine masked guys making loud, aggressive, violent music that sounded like “just a bunch of noise” to most who didn’t get it made this group off-limits for countless angst-ridden kids and teens across the country.
Those who weren’t put off by the band’s image were likely ready to protest the Iowa-based group when their debut single, “Wait and Bleed,” hit rock radio and MTV.
Featured Image by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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