BACKWARD MASKING

noun (Music) A technique in music recording in which a disguised message is included in such a way as to be audible only when the disc is spun backwards, although it may allegedly be perceived subliminally during normal playing. Also, the message itself. Etymology: Formed by compounding: masking a message that has to be played backwards to be heard. In psychology, backward masking is a technical term used since the sixties to mean 'disruption of a stimulus by a second, similar stimulus which closely follows it'. History and Usage: The idea of hiding a backward message on a rock record was first tried by the Beatles as long ago as the sixties, but the term backward masking only became widely known during the early eighties as a result of attempts by Christian fundamentalist groups to have the practice banned. They claimed that a number of rock groups were including satanic messages on their records using this technique, and that these messages had a subliminal effect on the listener. In parts of the US, legislation was passed in the mid eighties making warning notices compulsory on all records carrying backward masking, and by the early nineties one rock band had even been sued (unsuccessfully) for compensation after two teenagers committed suicide while listening to a record said to contain hidden messages. In the last two years, Styx has been targeted by fundamentalist religious groups for the 'backward masking' of satanic messages on its albums. New York Times 27 Mar. 1983, section 2, p. 27