The musical interval of an augmented fourth (also called a diminished fifth or a tritone) was called the Devil's Chord (Latin: Diabolus in musica – the Devil in music) and was banned by the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Composers avoided the interval, and although it is sometimes found in secular music of the time, it was used in religious music only in very specific circumstances until the existing system of keys came into use.
The Devil is featured as a character in many musical representations from the Middle Ages to modern times. Hildegard of Bingen's 11th-century Ordo Virtutum features him, as do several baroque oratorios by composers such as Carissimi and Alessandro Scarlatti. During the 19th century, Gounod's Faust, in which the Devil goes by the name Mephistopheles, was a staple of opera houses around the world.
Highly virtuosic violin music was sometimes associated with the Devil. Tartini's Devil's Trill sonata and Paganini's Devil's Laughter caprice are examples. The theme is taken up by Stravinsky in the "Devil's Dance" from The Soldier's Tale.
Other pieces that refer to the Devil are Franz Liszt's "Mephisto Walzer" and Joseph Hellmsberger II's "Teufelstanz", as well as Haydn's lost opera "Der krumme Teufel".
"Archangel of Light" (another name for Lucifer) is a title song of the classical music band with the same name, by the composer Carlos David López Grether
Jazz was often called the Devil's music by its critics in the 1920s.
The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) features Mick Jagger speaking as the Devil.
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (1979) by the Charlie Daniels Band was the first modern popular song to feature a battle between the Devil and a musician. The theme of battling the Devil has been revisited several times in other songs.
Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is commonly associated with the devil for its use of anti-Christian lyrics and symbols commonly associated with Satanism, such as the pentagram and inverted cross.
"N.I.B." by Black Sabbath is a song about "the devil falling in love and totally changing becoming a good person." (Geezer Butler, 1992 documentary The Black Sabbath Story: Volume One) The song's chorus references Lucifer specifically: "..Look into my eyes, you will see who I am; My name is Lucifer, please take my hand."
"Lucifer" is the name of a song by U.S. rapper Jay-Z from his 2003 album, The Black Album.
The Moonspell song "Dreamless (Lilith and Lucifer)" is about a romantic relationship between Lucifer and the demoness Lilith.
The Swedish death metal band Kaamos has an album called Lucifer Rising. There is also an album of the same name by doom metal band Candlemass.
The band Inkubus Sukkubus has a song entitled "Lucifer Rising".
The final song on the Behemoth album Evangelion is called "Lucifer".
Though not directly named, Lucifer is referenced in many of the Horror punk/Deathrock Supergroup Son of Sam songs, particularly 'Michael' on Songs from the Earth.
"The Princess of Lucifer" is the official English title song of the Vocaloid song "Daughter of Evil"; one of many songs, by the composer MOTHY, known as Story of Evil.
Korean boyband SHINee released a song in 2010 called "Lucifer".
Composer Mort Garson used the pseudonym Lucifer for his 1971 Black Mass album.
Lucifer and Lewis "Cypher" are pseudonyms used since 1993 by Duncan Lewis Jowitt for solo releases, including the 10-minute orchestral "Symphony For The Devil" (2014).
Film and television
When Satan is depicted in movies and television, he is often represented as a red-skinned man with horns or pointed ears on his head, hooves or bird-legs, a forked tail (or one with a stinger), and a pitchfork. When trying to blend in or deceive somebody, he is often represented as an ordinary human being, and sometimes only his voice is heard.
Satan as a personification of evil provides many narrative opportunities. Struggles with Satan have been used to symbolize human weaknesses and temptations, as in the films Bedazzled (1967, remade 2000) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984). In horror and suspense films, Satan provides for a virtually all-powerful foe.
Anime and cartoons
In anime and cartoons, when a character is unsure what to do, a devil version and an angel version of the character may appear, representing the two sets of motives.
Blue Exorcist Lucifer is one of the Eight Demon Kings and also the strongest among all of them in the story. He is also the leader of the group 'Illuminati', who researches immortality to find a way to create a strong host for Lucifer to possess.
Demon Lord Dante (魔王ダンテ, Maō Dante), Demon Lord Satan helps Dante in his battle against God and his angels.
Digimon, known as Lucemon and one of the franchise's Seven Great Demon Lords, is based upon Lucifer; this character's backstory is similar to Lucifer's fall from grace. Digimon possesses numerous forms of increasing power, including his Chaos/Falldown Mode, Shadow Lord/Satan mode, and Larva Mode.
Metalocalypse episode "Dethreligion" has William Murderface joins the Church of Satan after nearly dying in a drunk driving accident. During a mass, one of the priests tries to summon Lucifer, along with Belial, Beelzebub, and Mephistophiles, by shouting out their names in an obnoxious, loud tone. He later appears along with the other three demon lords (with only his arm visible) to murder the church members and its inhabitants.
Satan has been featured as an occasional character in many other series, including Cow and Chicken, Family Guy, Futurama (as the "Robot Devil" who runs Robot Hell), Powerpuff Girls, Robot Chicken, Saturday Night Live and South Park.
South Park: The character first appeared in the episode Damien though his most famous appearance is the Movie and is generally the traditional view except that he is depicted as a sensitive and emotionally vulnerable person who has suffered from dependence on relationships. In the movie and various episodes, that relationship is with Saddam Hussein.
Cartoons featuring Satan have also been a recurring theme in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts, including:
Satan's Waitin', from 1954, where a satanic bulldog, hoping to acquire the cat's nine lives, goads Sylvester the Cat into chasing his prey, Tweety, into a number of violent situations.
The Hole Idea, from 1955. Satan makes a bit appearance in the ending gag, where the short's main protagonist uses a hole to cause his domineering wife to fall to Hell. Satan then appears shortly thereafter, throwing her back and saying, "Isn't it bad enough down here (in Hell) without her?" In a departure from common portrayals as a dark, sinister being, he is portrayed as henpecked and beleaguered, equally frustrated and annoyed by the woman's nagging ways.
The BBC Radio 4 comedy show Old Harry's Game features Andy Hamilton in the leading role as Satan; in the first episode of Series Six, Satan states that he's gone by many names over the centuries including Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Old Nick, Old Harry and Simon Cowell (one of his Satanic guises).
Many writers have incorporated the character of Satan into their works. Among them are, in chronological order:
In DC and Vertigo comics, the Devil is represented by Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen angel, former ruler of hell, and leader of the Unholy Trinity - although other figures, such as Neron and the First of the Fallen, sometimes portray the Devil. In Underworld Unleashed, Neron gives powers to numerous villains. Darkseid is also associated with the Devil in the forms of Lucifer, Hades, the Greek God of the underworld, and the Hindu goddess Kali.
In some Marvel Comics publications, a "Lucifer" has been mentioned as being a hell lord with the same "fallen from Heaven" backstory. In the Ghost Rider series, Johnny Blaze faces a demon who claims to be Lucifer. In other Marvel plotlines, several high-level demons, such as Mephisto, Azazel, Marduk Kurios, and Satannish, have claimed to be the biblical Satan. In Marvel Comics, the Norse trickster-god Loki is shown as the main adversary of his adopted brother Thor and a common enemy of both Earth and Asgard. Although Loki has conjured up somewhat demonic magic, he is not a demon, but a misshapen frost giant. Among the characters related to Norse mythology, the fire giant Surtur is more reminiscent of a demon. The Egyptian demon-god Seth and the Japanese demon-god Amatsu-Mikaboshi have Satan-like roles in Marvel Comics.
Satan is a main character in the manga Devilman by Go Nagai.
Jio Freed, the main character from the manga, O-Parts Hunter, contains Satan, the most powerful demon in the series.
In the manga series Bastard‼: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy by Kazushi Hagiwara, Satan appears as a large monster that has destroyed the Milky Way Galaxy by flying across it. Satan also helps Dark Schneider by telling him that he is a major part of the end times prophecy, who will lead demons and mankind to war against God and his army.
In the Image Comics comic book series Spawn, Satan is depicted as the twin brother of God. Both God and Satan are depicted as having squandered their powers as creator gods in endless fighting and were punished for it by the Mother of Creation.
The title character of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is sent to hell and has an extensive conversation with Señor Diablo (Spanish for Mr Devil). In the spinoff series Squee!, the Devil is married to a Christian woman and has a son, Pepito the Antichrist, who befriends the unwilling Squee. Squee is invited to Satan's house for dinner, where Satan and Pepito both try to get Squee to join them, but he refuses and leaves after finishing dinner.
Satan is the main character in Normal Bob Smith's satirical Satan's Salvation.
In the manga series Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato, the main character, Rin Okumura, is Satan's son and emits blue flames, a sign of Satan. His twin, Yukio, is also a son of Satan, but does not bear the flames.
Lucifer appears in the Saint Seiya anime and manga series.
Satan is a green-haired demon that serves as the comical villain in the Puyo Puyo series.
Satan is the main antagonist and final boss in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. He appears as a long-haired, nearly naked man.
Satan returns as the main antagonist in the sequel Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
Satan is the name of one of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory in the series Umineko: When They Cry.
Satan is a bird-like creature that serves as an assist character for Pekomaru in Daemon Bride. Another version of this character, named Holy Demon Lucifer, serves as an assist character for Reizei's angel counterpart, Shining Rebellion.
In the Shin Megami Tensei series, Lucifer appears as a neutral character that works as either support or opposition. He also appears in the form of a human named Louis Cyphere in his child, adult, and elderly forms throughout the games. He is shown as an enemy of Satan and Yahweh. He also appears in the Devil Survivor spin-off, as one of the most powerful monsters in the game. In Shin Megami Tensei IV, Lucifer is one of the Final Bosses, being the Chaos Extremist.
The Persona video game series depicts a seraphim version of Lucifer known as Helel and a demonic version that keeps the original Lucifer name. Many players have considered him to be one of the most powerful personae in the games due to his Armageddon fusion spell consisting of Lucifer and Satan as well as having the most powerful multi-hit spell known as Morning Star.
The Ghosts 'n Goblins series have a recurring motif thorough the series in which main characters in each game uses a name given to the biblical Satan, although they are all different characters. In Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the character is named Lucifer. The character was renamed Loki in the international versions of the Sega Genesis port and Rushifell (a misromanization of Lucifer) in Gargoyle's Quest.
In El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Lucifer (referred to as Lucifel) assists Enoch in his battle against the fallen angels. Lucifel is portrayed as a wisecracking trickster like character who shares a comical, friendly relationship with God.
In Dante's Inferno, Lucifer appears as shadowy spirit at the start before Dante Allighieri faces him in his physical form, only to be revealed as a shell-like imprisonment that holds the real Lucifer: A malformed angel with his wings ripped off, having been banished from Paradise after his failed rebellion against the Creator. It is revealed that he needs Dante to free him so he can have his revenge on God, but ultimately fails, and is sealed back into his icy prison by the holy power of Dante's cross, combined with every single soul that Dante absolved in Hell.
Devil May Cry 4 features a demonic weapon known as Lucifer that Dante obtains after he kills Berial. The weapon is depicted as a skull holding a rose in its mouth. The weapon is capable of firing infinite explosive mini-swords.
In Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Lucifer (under the alias of Lou) is shown as a manager for the player's band. It is later revealed that the band inadvertently sold their souls to him.
In Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, the character Roberto Frois uses gauntlets featuring the names of several archangels of Abrahamic myth with the Lucifer Gauntlets being his strongest darkness based weapon.
In Mega Man X8, the character Lumine is based on Lucifer, and includes a final attack called Paradise Lost.
He makes an appearance as the King of Dem in the video game series Demikids.
Lucifer appears in the Painkiller video game series, where he is shown as a classical red demon.
Lucifer also appears as a secret boss in Final Fantasy II in the palace of Arubboth.
The Devil is the final boss in Tekken 2.
Lucifer is an assist character in Daemon Bride that serves as a partner to Reizei Abane.
Lucifer, or alternatively, "Doom Bringer," is a playable character in Defense of the Ancients.
In Monster Retsuden Oreca Battle, there is a card called Fallen Angel Lucifer, as well as her false form Lucif.
Many forms of the Devil appear in the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons, as Satan, who can be obtained only in its Descended-tier Dungeon "Lord of Hell - Mythical", and can evolve into Satan, King of the Underworld, and then "Ultimate Evolve" into King of Hell, Satan. Lucifer is available in the Archangel and Fallen Angel flavors. Also Mephistopheles has recently been added to the game.
Lucifer appears in the White Wolf role-playing game Demon: The Fallen and less extensively in Vampire: The Masquerade. In it, he rebelled against God to save humans from Oblivion by enlightening them.
Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary gives a satirical view of Satan as "one of the Creator's lamentable mistakes". When expelled from Heaven, he asks that mankind be allowed to make its own laws, and the request is granted.
In 1971, Gerald Mayo brought a civil rights action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Satan and his servants, who allegedly placed deliberate obstacles in Mayo's path. In its written opinion, the Court did not deny Satan's existence, but asserted that it was unlikely that Satan was ever present in the Western District of Pennsylvania, stating, "We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district."
