Devils & Demons

You could say it all began with the Evil One himself — how, on a spooky Southern night of old, he tuned the guitar of one Robert Johnson and, in exchange for the man's immortal soul, bestowed the blues brilliance that would give way to rock 'n' roll. Hey, it's all right there in Johnson's "Cross Road Blues," and we've gathered some convincing evidence to support the tale. Exhibit A? The Rolling Stones and "Sympathy for the Devil," an irrefutable rock incantation that, alongside tracks like Van Halen's hell-bent burner "Runnin' with the Devil" and the Grateful Dead's deceptively jaunty "Friend of the Devil," all but proves with whom our favourite artists are in league. More devilishly good music awaits in Next Steps.

They may say it in different ways, but between Megadeth's "Prince of Darkness" and its diabolical detailing of the fate that lays in store for the His minions, and the Louvin Brothers' Sunday-meeting word of warning "Satan Is Real," there's little doubt that communion with the dark lord leads to little but eternal misery — and, of course, great music! Like when Rodrigo y Gabriela kick up a little Latin-guitar devilry on "Diablo Rojo," Rob Zombie's monster-rock materializes in "The Devil's Rejects," Flogging Molly stokes the flames of hell with a little Irish whiskey on "Devil's Dance Floor," and Sum 41 pop-punks Old Nick with "Speak of the Devil." Deep takes on a whole new meaning in our Devils and Demons Deep Cuts.

Feeling a little devil-may-care? Then bow down to some serious Swedish death metal, courtesy of Opeth and their musical black mass "The Grand Conjuration." Join SoCal's own Eagles of Death Metal for a session of satanic snoggin' on "Kiss the Devil," meet the horned one for a spot of banjo-pluckin' on "Devil's Paintbrush Road" with the Wailin' Jennys, or "Let the Devil In" to the tune of TV On the Radio and their reckless alt-rock shout out. Just don't forget — as Jay-Z ("Lucifer") and the Blind Boys of Alabama ("Way Down In the Hole") so eloquently warn, he'll be waiting for you when you've had your fun.

Hey, you can't have goodness without a little evil, right? Just witness "Race With the Devil" from OG rockabilly bad boy Gene Vincent — a classic of all-out, speaking-in-tongues abandon, it was the type of tune that made the old folks declare rock 'n' roll the devil's music. That idea reaches its (un)natural conclusion with Devils and Demons, our playlist aflame with everything from the heavy-metal hellfire of Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast," to Cliff Richard's ode to Satan in a size 6, "Devil Woman," to the possessed fiddlin' story-song from the Charlie Daniels Band, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Whether you're looking for one hell of a party ("Dancing with Mr D" from the Rolling Stones), or a little sonic salvation ("Don't Let the Devil Ride" from the Gospel Hummingbirds), we make it easy to deal with the Devil and keep your soul intact.