Fredrich Nietzsche once stated that “Without music, life would be a mistake” and many people would probably be inclined to agree with him. However, as music evolves, there are many that would prefer to see whole genres done away with. Most budding music genres, particularly those with a distinctive subculture attached, face opposition from the society that spawn them; whether it be the clash between prohibition-era America and the rise of jazz or the Sex Pistols’ trashing of British sensibilities. That said, few musical genres and subcultures have been demonised to quite the same extent as heavy metal.
Blamed for all manner of things from subliminal messaging[1] to influencing youths to commit mass murder[2], such volatile reactions may not seem out of place given the dark reputation that heavy metal often attracts. Consequently there have been many attempts, particularly through the early ‘90’s, by psychologists and sociologists to show that musical taste can directly influence behaviours and even increase criminality.
Jeffrey Arnett[3] conducted an early survey to compare the rates of behaviours deemed to be reckless in both heavy metal-liking and -disliking adolescents. Arnett found that male metal fans reported higher rates of drug taking, reckless driving and casual sex. Females were also found to report higher rates of casual sex and drug taking, as well as noticeably higher levels of vandalism and shoplifting. Confounding Arnett’s study, however, was the finding that metal fans reported lower levels of satisfaction with their family, and female metal fans in particular reported lower levels of self-esteem compared to their non-metal listening counterparts. When also considering that Arnett studied only an area that was predominantly middle class and only had two non-white participants, it’s difficult to accept the tentative inference that it is being a fan of heavy metal that promotes these irresponsible behaviours. The difficulty found here is one that is often faced in psychology – that theremay be a demonstrable correlation, but htere is not strong evidence to prove causation.
Arnett did perform a second study on the issue[4], this time questioning participants based on how they felt about heavy metal and why they listened to it. The results were certainly more optimistic. In engaging with metalheads themselves it was revealed that at least 80% of metal listeners play (or have attempted to play) a guitar or some other instrument. The benefits of learning an instrument are many and diverse, including improved coordination, memory, communication, reading, concentration, and providing an emotional release. The importance of this latter benefit is emphasised by the finding that metal fans were highly likely to report that listening to their favourite music served a “purgative function” when feeling angry or frustrated, particularly if they empathised with the commonly personal nature of the lyrics.
An important issue to tackle then is whether these reported positive emotional effects of listening to heavy metal are merely the fans trying to promote a more positive image for the genre or whether there is an empirical basis for this. A study carried out in Miami[5] compared the effects on chronically depressed adolescents of spending twenty minutes in silence relaxing their minds and muscles against spending those twenty minutes listening to rock music. It was found that, despite none of the participants reporting a conscious change in mood, the group that were subjected to rock music showed decreased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. This proves to be significant as high levels of cortisol have been implicated in promoting the likelihood of depression, particularly amongst adolescents. The study also found listening to rock music reduced levels of activity in the right frontal lobe, a region commonly associated with processing negative emotions. Although it is important to note that this isn’t testing the effects of heavy metal, given the evolutionary nature of music heavy metal shares many features with rock music. Most importantly, the evidence that rock music reduces both physiological stress reactions and negative emotion corresponds with the emotional benefits reported by the metalheads in Arnett’s study.
A final point to be approached with both caution and optimism is the link between heavy metal and adolescent suicide. Although numerous lawsuits have been brought against musicians whose songs have been claimed to be a causal factor in a teenager’s suicide, the evidence that psychologists have uncovered suggests that this is in fact the wrong way round. Scheel and Westefeld[6] surveyed adolescents with a range of musical tastes and did find that metal fans reported less strong reasons to live and had more suicidal thoughts than non-metal fans. However, the same metal fans also reported feeling more positive when listening to music, so it does not appear that the music is the causal factor for suicide.
A similar study on Canadian adolescents[7] contrasted factors affecting suicide risk between those that listened to heavy metal and those that listened to religious-worship music. When negative social factors including isolation and parental negligence were taken into account, there was no statistical difference in suicide risk based upon music preferences. What was found, however, was that the category of female metal fans actually showed lower risks of suicide when the music was used as an emotional release. As this phenomenon was not found in any of the other cases, it actually appears that the benefits of listening to heavy metal – whether by some heightened inclusivity of a subculture that is typically shunned by traditional norms -serves to help teenage girls that may be in danger of taking their own life.
It should certainly be made clear that there is no reason that the positive effects discussed in this article are limited to heavy metal and are likely to be present in many, if not all, music genres. However, what this article has sought to highlight is that the difficulties and transgressions of some individuals that listen to heavy metal are more likely to be the product of the social and personal frustrations that may draw an individual towards heavy metal rather than the product of the lyrical content, symbolism or influence of the artists. Furthermore, allowing adolescents to seek release, relaxation and a sense of inclusivity in the musical genre of their choice may well improve their abilities to cope with the stresses and hardships that are already an inherent part of being a teenager.
Appendix 1
[1] Arnett, J., Adolescents and heavy metal music: From the mouths of metalheads, 1991
[2] Arnett, J., Heavy metal music and reckless behaviour among adolescents, 1990
[3] France, P., URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1160375.stm, 2001
[4] Moore, T., URL: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/scientific_consensus_and_expert_testimony, 1996
[5] Field, T., Martinez, A., Nawrocki, T., Pickens, J., Fox, N.A., Schanberg, S., Music shifts frontal EEG in depressed patients, 1998
[6] Scheel, K., Westefeld, J., Heavy metal music and adolescent suicidality: an empirical investigation, 1999
[7] Lacourse, E., Claes, M., Villeneuve, M., Heavy metal music and adolescent suicidal risk, 2001
The Cambridge Student Psychology Journal 
William Chambers
Interesting article! Having just attended Download festival I was very interested in the impact listening to heavy metal can have upon the listener.
I was amazed by the communal atmosphere in the crowds along with the care that people showed for each other, which runs contrary to the sterotype of metal heads. I also found the intensity of emotion being expressed by members of the audience fascinating, coupled with the primal topics addressed by songs. It is a setting full of ritual and the artists have so much power over the audience.
My main concern was with the desensitisation to certain issues that may occur in the listener due to the graphic portrayal of violence and sexual acts present in some of the music.