Heavy metal is a rock music genre that rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This was mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States. Heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and loudness, with roots in blues, psychedelic, and acid rock. The lyrics and performances are often associated with aggression and machismo, which has occasionally led to accusations of misogyny. But did you know that listening to heavy metal can help process negative thoughts?
According to psychology researchers, listening to heavy metal music is a healthy way of processing negative emotions. It does not affect increasing violence. As per these studies, metalheads are less likely to cheat on their partners compared to those that listen to jazz.
Does Heavy Metal Trigger Negative Behaviour?
Even though some people have labeled rock music as the devil’s music, claiming it causes adverse outcomes such as aggression, the story is not so simple.
According to the study, they are better adjusted than non-fans, and their metalhead identity protects against negative life experiences. They also claim that participation in fringe cultures can help troubled youth develop their identities.
While there is an analogy between bipolar disorder, which is alternating depression and mania, and heavy metal, there is no known cause-effect relationship. Without a direct cause-and-effect connection, songs may reflect the human condition of bipolarity.
Researchers discovered that angry or aggressive people could experience more positive emotions due to the increased arousal caused by metal music that matches the person’s physiological state.
This correspondence between anger or aggression and metal music arousal aids in anger regulation. The widely held belief that heavy music makes people angry is unfounded. Listening to heavy metal music may be a healthy way of dealing with anger.
According to a case study, listening to music, including heavy metal, helps people who have been traumatized. It helps them control their emotions as well as overcome suicidal thoughts, and occupy their sensory environment.
Metal and rock music is diverse, with many sub-cultures with distinct characteristics; these characteristics may help explain some observations of declining mental health. (Source: Cognition Today)
What is the Personality of Metal Music Lovers?
According to a survey of 414 British undergraduates, those who liked metal music were more open to new experiences, desired to be unique, and were not fans of authority. While this isn’t ground-breaking research, it backs up people’s stories about why they like metal.
In the survey, metalheads are the least likely to cheat on their partner, while jazz fans are those that are most likely to cheat. Metalheads, as it turns out, are very loyal and faithful people.
Fans of rock music, not metal, have fewer sexual partners than dance, house, hip-hop, rap, jazz, and indie music fans. Over five years, 93.5% of metalheads had fewer than five sexual partners.
Do violent and angry themes in music cause people to become violent? Another study investigated this question by testing participants’ positive and negative emotions and their awareness of violent themes on their mental processing of music.
They discovered that violent music could partially desensitize it depending on how much a person enjoys the music. Non-fans exhibited increased negativity bias or the selective processing of negative information. (Source: Cognition Today)
This is an interesting post! Metal really is an outlet worth pursuing.