Dickinson: "'Man of Sorrows' was about the young Aleister Crowley, Aleister Crowley as a boy. And what kind of feelings turn a twelve year old boy into, basically what inspires a twelve year old boy to make a life choice: 'Hey, what do you want to be when you grow up?' 'I want to be the Antichrist.'"
Aleister Crowley was a Victorian alchemist, sorcerer, and writer. He declared himself to be the Antichrist 666 as predicted in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. He was a heavy influence on bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. His famous line, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law," has been called the "motto" of the 1960s. It is quoted in this song.
Aleisteir Crowley is also the subject of Ozzy Osbourne's early hit "Mr. Crowley." Ozzy's album Diary of a Madman got its title from Crowley's autobiography. Also, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page had a pet symbol, the word "Zoso" in an elaborate, somewhat Gothic style that was taken from the sentence "So is O" in Crowley's book The Equniox of the Gods. Page once owned Crowley's mansion.
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.