Research on heavy metal music and fans is controversial, with some studies associating heavy metal preference with social behavioral problems such as suicidal ideation or personality problems such as antiauthoritarianism, Machiavellianism or poor school performance. But these associations could also be due to confounding factors and further investigation should take place both clinical and non-clinical populations.
Research Methods
Studies into heavy metal music employ various methodologies. Some research studies use direct measures of mood or behavior; others explore fan identities and social connections; more recently, research has examined genre characteristics by studying musical elements within heavy metal itself – its distinctive guitars and drums sound are hallmarks of heavy metal as are its outlandish lyrics that provide an escape-from-reality fantasy experience; other defining features include its use of classical, blues-like or symphonic influences with an undercurrent of loss and depression.
Listening to heavy metal music with aggressive themes has long been seen as potentially increasing aggression, antisocial behavior, substance abuse and suicidal ideas among young people. Unfortunately, such claims rely mainly on correlational evidence for which causal inferences can be difficult or impossible to make; accordingly it should be treated with caution. One study that tracked magazine subscriptions among adolescents discovered a positive association between metal music and suicide rates with factors like family life and migration status in mind while controlling for factors like economic pressure rather than metal music per se (Stock & Stack 1996).
Anger should not be confused with aggression; both can be natural responses to stress; however, anger alone should not predict aggressive behaviour; nonviolent coping strategies may help to lessen it and even exposure to violent media won’t guarantee developing an aggressive mindset.
Studies relying on self-report data may help account for other variables’ influence, yet can still be susceptible to recall and misreporting biases. A more robust method would involve conducting experimental designs to examine how specific genres and song features affect mood and behavior.
One study with Judas Priest utilized machine learning to annotate every vocal event in their songs for three distinct types of screaming: fry screams, growls and rough vocals. This data can then be used to develop models which predict and classify musical events; thus informing future experiments.
Research Sources
Researching heavy metal music must consider its diverse fan base. Avoiding stereotyping fans as this can skew findings and lead to false assumptions; negative attitudes toward heavy metal music have been shown to affect diagnoses of young male patients in mental health settings (Judson & Prinsky, 1991), making it imperative that studies take account of experiences among people actively engaging with metal culture and its subcultures.
Heavy metal music must also be seen within its historical and social context, where many metal bands are multi-national entities influenced by a wide range of musical genres – creating an expansive musical landscape comprised of numerous genres with multiple overlapping genres that come together to produce what many perceive as seductive, loud and fast sounds.
Metal subgenres often incorporate aspects of social-ecological systems through song structures that allegorical to human tensions, providing an effective artful means to raise awareness about sustainability challenges facing Earth’s climate, ecological, economic, production and communication systems.
Metal music uses specific instruments and techniques that can evoke emotions through auditory and physical cues, from drum beats and cymbal crashes to bass guitar resonance acoustic resonance, that can illicit a range of emotional responses in listeners such as anxiety, fear or depression.
Music-based emotion regulation strategies and personal experience of listening to the music should be explored, particularly with regards to gender (Miranda & Claes, 2009), personality (Karreman et al, 2017) and other factors like neuroticism and age. Doing this may shed more light on why certain genres such as metal music may be beneficial or detrimental for individuals; ultimately this would enable more informed public discussion of its positive and negative impacts.
Research Topics
Metal music is an immensely diverse and quickly developing genre. Comprised of multiple subgenres characterized by various song architectures, lyrical themes, instrumentation techniques and styles; as well as elements borrowed from other musical genres as well as sounds created through emerging technologies (Nintendocore incorporates sounds from video game sound clips with heavy metal music to form its own subgenre). Classical instruments may even be utilized to produce cello metal or symphonic metal sounds.
Heavy metal music has generated many responses from the wider culture, some of them negative. Policymakers and mental health professionals have taken note of its potential to promote problem behaviors; leading to restrictions in certain settings when listening to this genre is permitted. It should be kept in mind, however, that such conclusions based on correlational evidence must be treated with care.
Research also explores how this genre has been used to support individuals recovering from mental health challenges, using Headmetal Therapy (HMT). HMT allows people to share their journeys of recovery via written prose, video and podcast formats and offers peer support sessions as well as co-producing resources like playlists and guides on navigating mental health challenges.
Metal listeners have shown an increasing curiosity for exploring how music-based emotion regulation strategies relate to personality traits. A study conducted to address this topic found that higher ratings for liking metal songs was linked with openness to experience, lower religiosity and self-esteem levels, greater uniqueness needs, greater openness for experience as well as a lower religiosity level than others in their sample group and greater need for uniqueness needs. But these findings should be treated with caution as their sample was small and thus may not indicate whether those individuals were more inclined towards listening than others to listen metal music than others.
Researching metal music presents several key challenges. These include interpreting correlational data, identifying valid dependent measures, generalising beyond experimental settings and interpreting small effect sizes; there may also be publication bias and p-hacking present as well. Yet despite these restrictions there remains an increasing desire to understand this phenomenon.
Research Questions
Heavy metal music’s impact on its listeners is an important area of research. Numerous studies have documented both positive and negative responses among listeners; it’s difficult, however, to draw direct causality links between music and behavior – however cultural/societal context makes heavy metal difficult to study in controlled lab environments, so most research on its influence must take place naturally and with limited control groups in order to reduce biases in its findings.
Concerns surrounding heavy metal music often revolve around its listeners’ motivations and beliefs. One of the most contentious topics surrounding heavy metal is whether or not its listeners’ motivations might lead to violence, aggression or self-destruction – one recent case study focused on this question in France; researchers did find a link between suicide and heavy metal music, although they cannot prove this claim due to lacking sufficient data in this real-world study.
One important question surrounding music and mental health is the connection between heavy metal music preference and negative outcomes in school grades, sexual activity and drug/alcohol use among adolescents. Furthermore, those who prefer heavy metal face a greater chance of depression and suicidal behaviors. A recent study shows this correlation.
Studies are inconsistent, and more work needs to be done on understanding the relationship between music and its listeners. Studies have identified positive externalities from listening to metal such as increased sense of community among its dedicated fan base and inspiring future musicians; yet concerns persist that these benefits could be offset by intolerance in its fan base.
This social issue raises interesting ethical issues regarding metal music and how it relates to its fans. Researchers must explore ways in which intolerance may be addressed within heavy metal music culture – perhaps drawing from Marsha Linehan’s dialectical therapy model; dialectical techniques help individuals shift away from an ‘either/or’ perspective toward more productive understanding and change.