Listening to 'extreme' music makes you calmer, not angrier, according to study

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.

Focusing on heavy metal, emo, hardcore, punk, screamo and the various other subgenres featured in the category of “extreme” music, honours student Leah Sharman and Dr Genevieve Dingle studied 39 regular listeners of extreme music, between the ages of 18 and 34.

“We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions,” Sharman said. “When experiencing anger, extreme-music fans liked to listen to music that could match their anger.”

“The music helped them explore the full gamut of emotion they felt, but also left them feeling more active and inspired,” reads the study.

“Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt.”

The subjects of the study, which was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, were monitored after a 16-minute “anger induction”. This involved each individual describing topics that might inspire irritation, such as relationships, money or work, before spending a further 10 minutes listening to songs of their choice and then experiencing 10 minutes of complete silence. The researchers discovered that metal music relaxed participants as effectively as sitting in silence.

“A secondary aim for the study was to see what music angry participants would select from their playlist,” Sharman said.

“It was interesting that half of the chosen songs contained themes of anger or aggression, with the remainder containing themes such as – though not limited to – isolation and sadness.

“Yet participants reported they used music to enhance their happiness, immerse themselves in feelings of love and enhance their wellbeing.”

Although citing the limitations of the study, such as the experiment being conducted in a laboratory under controlled conditions (rather than subjects ruminating in solitude in a bedroom), the study refutes the notion that extreme music causes anger. It notes, however, that “further research is required to replicate these findings in naturalistic social contexts, and to investigate the potential contributions of individual listener variables on the relationship between extreme music listening and anger processing.”