Florence + the Machine (F+M) is very well known for the symbolism in her music. Often there are religious undertones as well. I don’t know how anyone doesn’t make those connections with Seven Devils. But what always interests me with music is how it can relate to other media. At the time in my life where I listened to the album Ceremonials I was getting into the series Battle Star Galactica (reboot). It is an excellent show before season 4 but what really resonated with me is how this song ties to the Cylons. The sound and religious undertones really support this. It is very interesting.

~ Holy water cannot help you down
Hours and armies couldn't keep me out
I don't want your money
I don't want your crown
See I have to burn
Your kingdom down ~

In the series the Cylons (very complex but simply put, humanoid robots) are mostly motivated to destroy the humans. Part of it is vengeance, part of it is religious. They have no interest in the possessions of the humans, the majority seek to destroy their civilization and advance their own. Their kingdom.

~ Holy water cannot help you now
See I've had to burn your kingdom down
And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out
I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out ~

In the series the Cylons employed weapons of mass destruction to destroy entire worlds and eradicate as much humanity as they could. There was nothing that could really prevent it. They also used the strategy of driving survivors out and collecting/exterminating them after flushing them out.

~ Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See they were there when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done
Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See I was dead when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done ~

The chorus sings of seven devils, which symbolically fits the Cylons as in the initial series there are seven Cylon models. Designed to look human and interact with humanity. Infiltrating society, often as sleeper agents. The only way to discern a human from a Cylon was initially to identify another member of the model (all models look mostly identical, hair color and other physical modifications could be made just like a human)(also it was probably very dangerous to be a twin D: ). This often meant a secluded group of humans would be harboring a Cylon agent completely unaware. Literally the seven devils could be in a house (or on a ship) unnoticed. Sometimes the Cylon itself is unaware of its true nature.

~ And now all your love will be exorcised
And we will find you saying it's to be better now
And it's an even sum
It's a melody
It's a battle cry
It's a symphony ~

This relates to several aspects of the Cylon human war. There are varying factors including the concept of sympathizers, which existed on both sides. It could also represent how the Cylons were attempting to blend genetically with the humans. (Weird, right?)

~ Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See they were there when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done

Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See I was dead when I woke up this morning
And I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done
Before the day is done
Before the day is done ~

The other aspect of the Cylons that I feel the chorus reflects is their life state. Cylons are at their purest form, machines. When they die, their consciousness is usually uploaded into a new body. Essentially they have icloud for their brains. Sometimes it cannot happen but in most cases it does. This results in the frequent demise of individual cylons but ultimately the death is meaningless. So they literally awake from “death” and in some individual cases they “die” again to be reborn multiple times.

~ They can keep me high
'Til I tear the walls
'Til I save your heart
And I take your soul
And what have we done?
Can I be undone?
In the evil heart
In the evil soul ~

Lastly this is relatable to some of the more specific Cylon moments. It relates to the guilt some members of the Cylon models felt for what happened to humanity. Also it can tie back to the immortality aspect of their existence and how it conflicts with their religion. It is not as concrete as many of the other examples, but there is correlation.

~ Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See I was dead when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done ~

Ultimately did F+M really create this song to tie back to the Cylon race in BSG? Probably not. I do think it is intriguing how well it fits though. I hope if you read all this, you enjoyed it.