Go To Hell (Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, 1976)

Released in 1976, Alice Cooper Goes To Hell was certified Gold on November 23, 1976. The LP peaked at #27 in the U.S. and #23 in the UK.The album is Alice’s 2nd solo effort, and in many ways, it is a continuation of the concept found on the previous album, Welcome To My Nightmare. A letter entitled “A Bedtime Story” was included with the album.

In the letter, we find Alice inviting Steven, the character found on the Nightmare LP, to join him on his descent into the depths of hell. In classic tongue-in-cheek fashion, a good portion of what Alice and Steve witness and endure is a disco-infused nightmare.

 “Alice dreams he has gone down an endless black staircase to a disco hell because of his “criminal acts and violence on the stage.” The crisply produced music he makes during his confinement in hades ranges from tearful balladry to humorous, semi-autobiographical heavy metal and includes parodies of the disco sound and old vaudeville riffs.” – Anonymous, Billboard, July 1976

As the writer above implies, the variation and range of music on the album are vast. And it, once again, baffles some fans and critics because of its apparent discrepancies from the original band’s sound and composition. Nonetheless, Alice Cooper Goes To Hell is a solid record and still packs that Cooper-tastic punch.

“Go To Hell” is the opening track and sets the stage for the cognitive reasoning behind the journey into the abyss. A litany of reasons why this venture down is taking place is found in lyrics.

For criminal acts and violence on the stage
For being a brat, refusing to act your age
For all of the decent citizens you’ve enraged
You can go to Hell

For gambling and drinking alcohol constantly
For making us doubt our parents’ authority
For choosing to be a living obscenity
You can go to Hell

You’re something that never should have happened
You even make your Grandma sick

You’d poison a blind man’s dog and steal his cane
You’d gift wrap a leper and mail him to your Aunt Jane
You’d even force-feed a diabetic a candy cane
You can go to Hell

As the song progresses, you can almost feel Alice and Steven decline further and further downwards (into darkness). It’s as if each accusation severely pummels them down several more layers. Ultimately, they find themselves face to face with the enemy.

Stop and think about that for a minute. Is that not part of the enemy’s plan? To create a narrative of hopelessness and despair attached to all the bad things we’ve done or said in our lifetime. Can people that have committed such acts end up in hell? Sure. Will all of them? No.

So, what’s the catch? Why do some descend and others ascend? Many ask that million-dollar question, and there’s a simple answer. It’s a choice. We choose our fate.

How often have we heard commentary asking, “why would God send people to hell?” or “if God is so loving, why doesn’t everyone go to Heaven?”

The fact is, God wants every last one of His Creation to reside in Glory. He wants us to choose Him. He’s supplied the plan for salvation and redemption; what more do we expect from our Heavenly Father?

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” – 2 Peter 3:8-10

Our Heavenly Father is patient with us. He doesn’t slam the door in our face. Instead, we are offered every opportunity to reach out, by faith, for his grasp until our dying breath (John 5:24). Whether we do or don’t, it falls on us.

What’s interesting is the world (and often religious) reaction. It’s as if redemption and deliverance are celebrated attributes, but they aren’t manageable. For instance, a person’s past can almost certainly be used to destroy a person’s present, even if the questionable offense was committed many decades ago.

The world and religion have designed their own judicial system and believe they have the authority to claim who is or isn’t guilty. Such sentiments are nothing new. Christ faced similar judgment, even as He honored and fulfilled His Father’s will.

They answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” – John 8:48-53

The overtly religious leaders (Pharisees) of that time (and even today) love to point fingers. They condemn others for committing sins and atrocities, yet they do not have the authority or appointed power to judge rightfully. Only the Father carries such a burden.

Instead, all humanity has been called to love. To unconditionally love one another as He first loved us (1 John 4:16-21). Such love is hard to understand, but it is only obtainable through choice. Choosing Him means we choose Love.

Accepting Christ means we not only receive salvation and redemption, but we also begin a new narrative – His Will for our lives. With that decision, we become new creations and start a new course.

This new course is a process – a journey. As we discover His Word and His persona, our hearts and minds also begin to transform. His Spirit begins to intercede on behalf of our flesh. Layers of us are peeled back, exposing Him and His Truth instead of our old nature.

But this does NOT make us perfect. In many ways, we become even more vulnerable. We find ourselves picking away at our shortcomings and failures. We see others thinking we’ve lost our minds.

For many of us, the insults and accusations, like those in the song, are still hurled at us. Not because of who we have become through Christ but because of who we once were.

There’s this notion that after we’ve committed “unforgivable” sins (according to the laws of this world), we are a lost cause – damaged beyond all repair. However, after we’ve accepted Christ, we are no longer a part of this world (John 15:19).

The world’s rules no longer apply. We answer to His authority, not theirs. And by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

Wrapping up this week’s post, there is only one “unforgivable” sin – only one way to “Go To Hell,” and it’s ultimately our choice. We get to choose.

Will we accept the sacrifice of the Father – His Son, crucified for the sins of humanity? Or will we continue to walk through life guided by our own desires and thoughts?

It’s that simple. We won’t go to hell for “criminal acts,” “violence,” “being a brat,” “gambling,” “drinking,” etc. We won’t go to hell for not living up to the world’s standards (or religion).

However, hell is a real place. It is populated. Tragically, some go there, but those that inhabit its darkness were not sent there. Instead, they rejected the gift of grace, mercy, and love. They decided never to receive the message of the Gospel.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” – Romans 10:9-10

It’s a matter of the heart – declaring, receiving, and knowing Jesus Christ as Lord is what we are asked to do. With that, we find a new world and a transformation unlike any other. We see life everlasting and will not “go to hell.”

In conclusion, by this point in Alice’s career, it’s rumored he had grown tired of his onstage character’s sick and twisted side, which seems slightly apparent.

As a result, he dropped the macabre-style makeup, changed up his musical style, and dabbled with various new personas on the records released in the late 70s and early 80s.

“All the guys that tried to be their image onstage and off staged died. They all died early; if you think of it, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon, look down the list. If you can make it past 27, you might have a chance of living…and I watched them die off and went, okay, I’ve got a character that’s even more severe than these characters. How am I going  to deal with this?” – Alice Cooper

It seems Alice knew the severity of his situation. After spending a few years contemplating how to deal with his on-stage persona, he realized the character was not the problem. Instead, the character had become a scapegoat for his life-threatening decisions.

Fortunately, Alice had an epiphany – that “a-ha” moment when he noticed the spiraling staircase he was headed down. Finally, he reached the point where a decision needed to be made.

Would he continue dredging along on his own? Or would he accept an intervention – the path of salvation, redemption, and restoration?

Today, Alice publicly declares Christ as Lord and has surrendered his heart to Him. With that declaration, there are no “criminal” or “violent” acts, nor any other vices or actions that could keep him from the arms of His Savior. He is redeemed and will NOT “go to hell.” Amen.

That’s it for this week. Be well and catch you next week!

Until then, keep Walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ with Alice!​