Heaven’s Gate was a religious group, commonly regarded as a cult, that formed in 1974, and is most well known for one of the world’s largest mass suicides of its members in March 1997. Learn more here.
Skynd ponders, “What personality and psychological factors are at play in people who readily submit their lives and wills to cult leaders such as Jim Jones and Marshall Applewhite? How can they not see these people are barking mad? The madness of the cult leader is usually not apparent when the person first joins.”
Skynd continues, “This is the second case I have written about a cult. Two cults that cannot be compared with each other and yet they have some (or a lot of) parallels. As incredible and bizarre as Heaven’s Gate seems, there are still cults today that brainwash their followers. The whole concept of cults fascinates me because it’s always the same thing. Usually, the takeover of your freedom, your thoughts, etc. is a very gradual process. And the taking away of a little piece of your freedom or identity is not seen as a big deal. It’s just a small sacrifice for a good cause. The trouble is… those small sacrifices add up until they’re a huge pile of sacrifices. But by then you’re so indoctrinated into the group that it really doesn’t matter to you that much. You’ve bought into the group’s message and mission. The group is your ‘family’ now. It’s their influence that drives you rather than your own inner voice of reason.”
Skynd finishes, “Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles (known as Do and Ti) were able to appeal to members by reaching out to people disillusioned with society and religious spaces. Heaven’s Gate first ran into a major problem in 1985, one that confronts many ‘prophetic’ religious leaders, cult or otherwise. When Ti passed away in 1985 due to liver cancer, her body did not ascend per Heaven’s Gate’s theology. So, Do had to adapt his teachings to this observable contradiction of the cult’s beliefs. I personally blame Marshall for continuing anyway, even though he knew it was a total lie.”
Long-time collaborator and accomplished film maker PR Brown, who directed the song’s official video comments, “Creating the video for ‘Heaven’s Gate’ posed a unique challenge. How do we show the horror of 39 people who died because a man convinced them that they would all transform into eternal alien beings? We wanted to reveal Marshall Applewhite as an ominous religious figure. Then, as the video progresses, we wanted to show that it was all just a grift from a mentally unstable man. Skynd masterfully narrates us through the multiple layers, like peeling back layers of an onion, to get us to the ultimate truth.”
SKYND are currently lining up festival appearances for 2024, with slots already confirmed at Graspop, With Full Force, Tons Of Rock, and Motorcultor. For a full list of SKYND performances, visit here.
