Heavy metal is more commonly associated with headbanging, satanism, moshpits and the decapitation of small mammals. According to a new study, however, metal, and all forms of “extreme” music, can positively influence the listener, inspiring calmness rather than anger.
A study by the University of Queensland, the Australian public research institution in Brisbane, revealed that rather than proving the hypothesis that “extreme music causes anger”, the theory that “extreme music matches and helps to process anger” was supported instead.
I’m skeptical. Any time anyone begins a discussion with the words “studies have shown” the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Many of those studies are very artificial, and the conductors of the study have started out with an agenda to support, rather than being truly objective.
I was listening to metal on the way home from a photo gig yesterday afternoon to come back down from too much noise and too many people. Du Hast by Rammstein was on the playlist. It helped cheer me up and bring my energy levels back up. I realize I am a very annecdotal sample of one, but that’s how I use music.
I have to agree most of the time, though I like listening to Metallica grind through “Enter Sandman” every now and again.
Like so many of the press releases written by the PR or media hypes who are insufficiently sophisticated to understand scientific journal articles, this one failed to note that the study showed only a “weak statistical correlation” toward what the headline asserted.
And while the following may seem toothy, I have to agree with the real experts that any “processing” that is not mindful, aware or meta-conscious is not processing at all.
I listen to nu-metal to relax. I also listen to string quartet versions of my favorite songs. They do that, they play slipknot and crap on violins and chellos and ■■■■.
The definition of calm is way too broad. Music can have a huge impact. I found that it was as essential as any medication I ever took. Even with only fleeting positive symptoms, I feel very vulnerable if I leave the house without an MP3 player and headphones. Sometimes I need it instantly in order to ground myself.
Calming music is good, but the circumstances must be right. If I am experiencing a lot of agitation it may be useless. The loud and intense music often is calming. My logic is the music (headphones are a must for this to work for me) is occupying the entities or voices or whatever you have/call them. I often found I used loud music to fight voices. It was fighting fire with fire. In an extreme state of agitation I find that calming music makes me too vulnerable and the bad stuff has an easy time taking over. Usually I “occupy” the bad or pound it with loud music and after it starts to die down I switch to something calm. There is a Pandora station called “meditation solo strings” that is a favorite.