What is backmasking? Hidden backwards messages in songs, explained
Backmasking is the practice of recording a sound or message so that it makes sense only when the track is played backwards. Forwards, it is gibberish or just part of the music. Reverse it, and a word, phrase or effect appears. It is one of the oldest tricks in recorded music, and it is behind decades of "hidden message" myths.
The short version: backmasking is real as a technique, but the vast majority of "secret messages" people claim to find are accidental. Our brains are pattern-matching machines, and once someone tells you what to listen for, you will almost certainly hear it.
Where backmasking came from
The technique took off in the 1960s once reel-to-reel tape made it easy to flip a recording and splice it back in. The Beatles are usually credited with the first deliberate use on a pop record: the reversed vocals at the end of "Rain" in 1966. After that, reversed audio became a studio toy for everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Pink Floyd.
The satanic panic
In the late 1970s and 1980s, some religious groups claimed that rock bands were hiding satanic commands in their songs, audible only when played backwards. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" was the headline example. The claims reached US state legislatures, and a few bands leaned into the controversy: Electric Light Orchestra and others added real reversed messages, sometimes mocking the accusations directly.
Researchers who studied it found no evidence that listeners can understand, let alone be influenced by, speech played in reverse. The "messages" in Stairway and similar tracks are now generally treated as coincidence plus suggestion, a phenomenon close to seeing faces in clouds.
Intentional vs accidental backmasking
- Intentional: the artist records something specifically to be heard in reverse, as an effect or an Easter egg. The Beatles' "Rain" and ELO's "Fire on High" are classic cases.
- Accidental: normal lyrics happen to resemble other words when reversed. This is where most "hidden message" claims come from, and why two people often hear completely different phrases in the same clip.
Can your brain really hear hidden messages?
This is the fun part. Played backwards, real speech usually sounds like nonsense. But the moment you read a "translation" first, your brain primes itself and the nonsense snaps into those exact words. It is the audio version of pareidolia. That is also why backmasking makes such a great party trick: give a friend a phrase to listen for, play the clip, and watch them hear it instantly.
How to hear backmasking yourself
You do not need a studio. Drop a song or your own voice into a reversing app, flip it, and listen. Our step-by-step guide to playing any song backwards walks through it, but it really is a couple of taps.
Hear it for yourself
Reverse any song or recording in seconds, then hunt for the hidden message.
FAQ
Is backmasking real?
Yes. It is a real recording technique where audio is deliberately placed so it is heard when the song is played in reverse. Most claimed "hidden messages", though, are accidental and only sound like words because our brains fill in the gaps.
What songs have backwards messages?
Intentional examples include The Beatles' "Rain", ELO's "Fire on High" and Pink Floyd's "Empires Dance". The most famous claim, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", is widely considered a coincidence rather than a planted message.
Does backmasking affect you subconsciously?
There is no scientific evidence that reversed audio influences behaviour. Studies found listeners do not process backwards speech, so the 1980s panic had no measurable effect.
How do I hear a song backwards?
Import the song into an app like Reverse Audio, tap to reverse it, and play it back. You can A/B between the original and reversed versions to listen for anything that sounds like words.