QLD study: Extreme music can soothe and inspire

Extreme music as metal, grindcore, screamo and punk can actually soothe and inspire angry people, says a new Queensland study.

It contradicts other studies which claim that angry music adds feelings of aggression and delinquency to listeners.

Extreme Metal Music and Anger Processing, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, was conducted by Leah Sharman, an honors student in the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology who worked with lecturer Genevieve Dingle.

“We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions,” says Sharman. “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.”

The study tapped 39 regular listeners of extreme music, aged 18-34 years. Of these 74% were born in Australia while others were born in places including Oman, Sweden, Indonesia, South Africa, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the US.

They were given a 16-minute “anger induction” during which they spoke about events and experiences in their lives which made them angry. They were then given the option of 10 minutes of listening to the music they chose, or 10 minutes of silence.

Interestingly, only half the songs chosen reflected their feelings of anger or aggression. The others opted for isolation and melancholy.

“A secondary aim for the study was to see what music angry participants would select from their playlist,” Sharman pointed out. “It was interesting that half of the chosen songs contained themes of anger or aggression, with the remainder containing themes like—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 well-being. All of the responses indicated that extreme music listeners appear to use their choice of music for positive self-regulatory purposes.”

Image: Limburg Horror Black Metal band Carach Angren