A second helping from Satan: Arab Spring, Satanic Summer
The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall
CBC
4.6 • 751 Ratings
🗓️ 13 November 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this bonus episode, we look at some impacts of satanic hysteria outside of North America. We hear from Cherine Amr, the founder of the Egyptian metal band Massive Scar Era, who was accused of being possessed by the devil himself in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Producer Mary Steffenhagen speaks with academic Pasqualina Eckerström for a deeper look at heavy metal’s connection with satanism.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Listen, friend, if you don't have time to watch the Grammy Awards this year, do not worry because commotion can catch you up on everything that you need to know. |
| 0:08.0 | I'm Elamene Abdu Mahmoud, and this week on the show, we are bringing together the group chat to talk about the big winners, the surprises that no one saw coming, and the snubs that people are upset about. |
| 0:18.4 | Find and follow Commotion with Elamine Abdul Mahmood on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:28.2 | This is a CBC podcast. |
| 0:31.2 | Just a heads up that this episode contains discussions about sexual abuse. |
| 0:35.9 | Please take care while listening. |
| 0:43.2 | Thank you. discussions about sexual abuse, please take care while listening. Welcome to your bonus episode. I'm Sarah Marshall. This is the devil you know. And today |
| 0:49.4 | we're talking about a woman possessed. Shireen Amre is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who founded Egypt's first all-female |
| 0:59.0 | metal band, Massive Scar era, in 2004. |
| 1:03.5 | In 2013, the satanic panic came to Egypt, and Shireen found herself the target of accusations |
| 1:10.4 | of demonic possession. |
| 1:12.9 | Since relocating to Canada in 2015, Amre now also performs as Sheen. |
| 1:19.4 | This episode features an interview conducted by our producer, Mary Stefan Hagen, and Mary |
| 1:25.3 | and Shireen explore what happens when metal bands and music itself |
| 1:29.6 | are targeted in a moral panic. |
| 1:35.8 | I've tapped into a different type of era. |
| 1:43.2 | I think I'm rediscovering my voice. |
| 1:46.6 | This is Shitting. |
| 1:48.3 | I'm an Egyptian Canadian musician. |
| 1:50.9 | I play guitar and I sing in the Egyptian metal band, Massif Scar era. |
| 1:55.8 | She was a teenager when she started the band in 2004, |
| 1:59.5 | rehearsing in her spare time, chasing local gigs in Alexandria, |
... |
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