Heavy metal music has long been seen as aggressive and violent, which may explain its association with externalizing behaviors like aggression, delinquency and reckless driving.
But what exactly makes those who appreciate metal more likely to engage in such behaviors? According to a recent study of 414 British undergraduates, enjoying metal was linked with personality traits such as openness to experience, need for uniqueness, and antiauthoritarianism attitudes.
Openness to Experience
Studies conducted by researchers have demonstrated that an interest in heavy metal music is linked to openness to experience, an aspect of personality encompassing creativity and curiosity as well as novelty preference. Furthermore, this genre’s fans tend to exhibit neuroticism traits such as emotional instability and anxiety which is further tied to an increased tendency for some heavy metal fans to express anger inappropriately through aggression.
Even with its positive psychological impacts, metal music stereotypes could still have detrimental repercussions for social attitudes, policy decisions and therapeutic recommendations. Rosenbaum and Prinsky found that 83% of representatives from mental health facilities recommended hospitalisation for an imagined young male associated with heavy metal culture who appeared unconventional. Even though this young man did not consume alcohol or drugs; nor had suicidal thoughts; or neglected school work assignments.
These negative perceptions may stem in part from the lyrical content of some heavy metal songs, which may depict violent or aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, its macho and sexist themes have been linked with externalizing behaviors like aggression and delinquency; one study showed self-reports by men who enjoy metal music were higher in sensation seeking and more likely to engage in reckless activities such as speeding driving, drinking while driving and casual sex than non-fans – this trend also applied for women fans of heavy metal music!
Researchers have examined the correlations between liking heavy metal music and specific personality traits like need for uniqueness, antiauthoritarian attitudes, low self-esteem, religiosity and need for uniqueness as well as Openness to Experience personality trait; greater overall liking was associated with increased Openness to Experience scores although these correlations may simply reflect that those who prefer heavy metal have a broad appreciation of all forms of music in general.
Additionally, researchers found a correlation between needing uniqueness and antiauthority attitudes and religiosity and low self-esteem – two personality characteristics often present among individuals who enjoy this genre of music and religiosity – and needing uniqueness/antiauthority attitudes/religiosity and low self-esteem being linked with religiosity. These results are significant because they indicate how the personality characteristics of those who like it could play an integral part in how music helps regulate emotions and behaviour, especially if combined with other traits like need for cognition/sexism or need for cognition/sexism.
Need for Uniqueness
Heavy metal music has an extremely distinctive sound, featuring dense harmonics, distorted guitar solos and emphatic beats, along with its signature thick harmonics, distorted guitar solos, screamed vocals, aggressive lyrics that often reflect misogyny or masculinity and its aggressive lyrics that can often be associated with misogyny or other social norms that don’t align with reality. Metalheads tend to seek uniqueness by not conforming to social norms – recent research found metalheads were more likely than average to suffer low self-esteem; perhaps it provides catharsis like drinking, drug use or promiscuous relationships as a form of catharsis in order to feel secure.
Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh conducted another study which revealed that heavy metal fans shared many of the same personality characteristics as classical music lovers. Like classical fans, metal fans tend to be creative, introverted and open-minded; they may also be particular about their musical preferences such as death metal, thrash metal, Christian metal and glam metal genres.
Heriot-Watt study participants reported a sense of brotherhood and rebellion when listening to their favorite songs, enjoying the hedonistic lifestyle, and feeling connected with other metalheads. Although more metalheads experienced childhood trauma and engaged in riskier behaviors during adolescence than their non-metalhead peers, overall these individuals reported being happy and well-adjusted adults.
Though heavy metal was traditionally performed exclusively by male musicians in the 1980s, an increasing number of female metal acts (Nightwish, Delain and Within Temptation among others) now include female lead singers. Furthermore, many power metal and symphonic metal bands also employ female vocalists. This has occurred due to an increased acceptance of metal among young girls and their desire to appear modern and daring without shying away from sexuality. This has also been helped by the fact that music itself has become more mainstream; many original bands now enjoy chart-topping hits. Heavy music has also become less of an issue; Josh Homme uses standard C tuning for his desert rock sound in Queens of the Stone Age while Ritchie Blackmore prefers more classical-influenced arrangements on Deep Purple and Rainbow albums.
Anti-Authority Attitudes
Metal music often explores aggressive and violent antisocial themes that have resulted in media reports of moral panic from community groups, parents and politicians (Weidinger & Demi, 1991). Such lyrics have also been associated with problem behaviors like drug use, depression and suicide attempts among young listeners of this genre; however, correlational findings do not imply causation; thus research in both non-clinical and clinical populations must take place to ascertain how metal influences mental health and problem behaviors of its fans.
Heavy metal music has long been associated with masculine culture that emphasizes aggression and machismo, with heavy guitar riffs, double-bass drumming and complex rhythms played at high speeds contributing to its energetic sound. Attracting men who want a sense of power while having an engaging musical experience.
Studies of 219 women and 195 men who identify as fans of contemporary metal music revealed that higher ratings for liking this genre were linked with greater openness to experiences, more negative attitudes toward authority, lower self-esteem and a stronger need for uniqueness than was the case among individuals who preferred other kinds of music.
The authors of this study reported that metal music fans tended to be male and have lower self-esteem, suggesting those with lessened levels may find its cathartic properties particularly appealing; by venting negative emotions through music they can boost their own self-worth and thus increase it further.
Policy makers, mental health professionals and correctional institutions are taking seriously the findings from studies such as this one and others that examine heavy metal music’s short and long-term impacts; however, due to inherent challenges related to examining this genre’s short and long-term ramifications (e.g. correlational results may rely on self-reports alone); furthermore there remains little knowledge regarding its effect on daily lives and emotions of listeners who enjoy its listening experience.
Low Self-Esteem
Heavy metal fans don’t tend to view themselves as part of an exclusive subculture; rather, their love of this genre provides them with a sense of community that spans time and place. Being a fan is both an act of solidarity with other metalheads as well as an expression of individualism that shows your true nature.
Opeth’s Ghost Reveries, Between The Buried And Me’s Colours or Dream Theatre’s Train Of Thought are complex works of musical art which require much practice to fully appreciate. Metal musicians pride themselves on producing something of such high quality that took so much practice to perfect, giving them a tremendous sense of achievement and self-sufficiency when performing these pieces of musical art.
While some metalheads may be inclined towards violence and aggression, others tend to be gentle people who care more about issues of fairness and justice than violence and aggression. Metalheads can also be highly creative and introverted individuals; one study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts found that those who enjoy heavy metal are usually open-minded about listening to hip hop as well.
Researchers from London’s University of Westminster recently conducted studies aimed at understanding what motivates heavy metal fans psychologically. They presented 414 men and women across Britain with 10 tracks from bands like Overkill, Enslaved and Cradle of Filth for review and rating, along with surveys measuring their Big Five personality traits, needs for uniqueness, attitudes towards authority and religiosity. Some findings were less surprising, such as those related to metal music being more open to new experiences and less likely to experience anxiety and depression than non-fans. They were, however, more likely to dislike religious authority and experience low self-esteem compared with non-fans; and had an increased need for catharsis; the researchers hypothesized this could be partially because music provides them with an outlet to express emotions artistically.