What could screaming and head-banging possibly have in common with stress relief?
While the subconscious of society at large continues to blame “death metal” for “corrupting our youth,” scientists come forth with surprising findings which show why we should give diehard fans the benefit of the doubt. Long-criticized for listening to music that features themes of rage, hostility and aggression, those with an obsession for extreme music now have scientific stamp of approval for their madness.
This genre of music is not only loaded with a heavy criticism of today’s socio-political culture, but is also filled with spontaneous bursts of anger. Yet, a recently published Australian study from The University of Queensland reveals that the distorted power chords known for awakening the rebellious metal head spirit also posses a powerful calming effect.
Fans regulate anger better
Contrary to popular belief that extreme music causes anger in listeners, UQ’s School of Psychology honors student Leah Sharman and Dr. Genevieve Dingle’s research shows that angry metal fans actually find solace in loud and aggressive rhythms.
Unlike previous studies on the topic, this one sought to get participants angry for real through an “anger interview.” During the interview, both metal fans and non-fans were prompted to talk about a particularly upsetting situation for 16 minutes. Afterwards, those assigned to the music condition were instructed to listen to songs of their choice from their personal devices for 10 minutes while the controls quietly waited.
Experimental results showed that the anger induction indeed worked. Interestingly, “half of the chosen songs contained themes of anger or aggression, with the remainder containing themes like – though not limited to – isolation and sadness,” Sharman said. Despite the fact that extreme music was arousing for both fans and non-fans, angry fans did not get more hot-headed than non-fans after rocking it out for 10 minutes.
In a nutshell
- To calm down after a particularly arousing situation, listening to extreme music that matches your level of anger might be as effective as sitting in silence
- Angry music does not cause anger in listeners
- Fans report enjoying heavy metal for the way it enhances their happiness and feelings of well-being
Are you hard core?
Matching people’s music preferences to personality traits, Dr. Viren Swami from the University of Westminster found openness to experience to be associated with enjoyment of heavy metal. Even though metal heads tend to have lower self-esteem than those who like listening to “softer” genres such as pop music, this style may provide an outlet for dissipating negative feelings, according to researchers.
In essence, research points out that we are what we listen to and no matter what style we enjoy, music feeds our soul in ways that are unique to each and everyone of us.
Now, go listen metal!
REFERENCES
- 1. https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2015/06/head-banging-tunes-can-have-same-effect- warm-hug
- 2. Ekinci, O., Bez, Y., Sabuncuoglu, O., Berkem, M., Akin, E., & Imren, S. G. (2012). The association of music preferences and depressive symptoms in high school students: A community-based study from Istanbul. Psychology of Music, 41(5), 565-578.
- 3. Sharman L., & Dingle, G. A. (2015) Extreme metal music and anger processing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 272. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00272
- 4. Swami, V., Malpass, F., Havard, D. Benford, K., Costescu, A., Sofitiki, A., & Taylor, D. (2013). Metalheads: The influence of personality and individual differences on preference for heavy metal. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(4)