Studies prove Heavy Metal can ease your Anger \m/

Next time you’re feeling down in the dumps or a bit angry, just chuck on some metal, turn it up to 11 and chances are you’ll be calm and collected in no time.

That’s the theory according to an Australia Study by the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology. Studies found those fans who listened to heavy metal and sub-genres such as punk, hardcore and screamo had calmer emotions afterwards and the music did not make them feel aggressive in nature, like previously rumoured (especially by your parents). The age of participants ranged between 18-34 years old.

Subjects were asked to reflect on situations and experiences that made them quite angry and were examined as they listened to ten minutes of their preferred music choices (including bands such as Slipknot, Megadeth, Escape The Fate, Metallica and Rob Zombie to name a few) then ten minutes of silence.

[caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bands used in the experiment[/caption]

In both experiments, it was found that the anger, hostility and stress levels of the heavy music fans decreased when they played their favourite tracks and also when they sat in silence.

 “Listening to extreme music may represent a healthy way of processing anger for these listeners." “The findings indicate that extreme music did not make angry participants angrier; rather, it appeared to match their physiological arousal and result in an increase in positive emotions.” - according to the study, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Lead researcher, Leah Sharman told www.telegraph.co.uk/ the study aimed to dispel belief that heavy music makes listeners angry or aggressive.

“We see a lot of media headlines that blame certain types of people who listen to certain types of music such as heavy metal for societal problems such as drug use or anger problems,”

[caption id="attachment_578" align="aligncenter" width="379"] The Damned Things - Counter Revolution 2011[/caption]

So there you have it, next time you’re under the pump at work, having issues at home or just feel like screaming, chuck on some of your heaviest tunes and calm your farm.

Until next time, rock the fuck out

Browny (@brownypaul)