The experiences of metal fans with mental and developmental disorders in the metal music community

Abstract

A series of interviews were conducted to explore the experience of what it is like to be a member of metal music culture living with mental health issues and/or developmental disabilities. Ten participants were interviewed, three of which had schizophrenia, four with autism spectrum disorder, two had bipolar affective disorder, and one had borderline personality disorder. Thematic analysis was utilized to explore the experiences of people living with various types of mental illness and developmental disabilities in the context of metal, which resulted in the development of three overarching themes. It was found that participants felt that the metal music community was more welcoming to them due to the broad use of lyrics about mental health topics and the prevalence of metal musicians that have mental health concerns. The broad application of mental health topics in metal was seen as having a de-stigmatizing effect towards mental health concerns, but at the cost of accuracy, as topics like schizophrenia are seen as fetishized and inaccurately depicted. Participants reported that the metal community affords its members with mental health issues and developmental disabilities a number benefits including a sense of belonging, the facilitation of mood maintenance, and the management of lesser symptoms. Symptom management appeared to be mitigated by symptom severity and influenced how participants experienced metal music.

The role of moral reasoning & personality in explaining lyrical preferences

“…It has been found that metal music serves as stress-relief for fans of metal music, which is contrary to claims that it induces violent behaviour [36]. These positive effects are not limited to lyrical content either, as the musical structure of metal music also has alleviating effects for some users [37], and these qualities extend to other styles of music too, as long as they are genres that the listener prefers [38]. The relationship between metal music and violence is especially weak when accounting for mediating factors.…”

“…There was not a significant relationship found between the country of origin of participants and either moral foundations or the lyrical factors, so participants were not excluded from analysis based on country of origin. The rationale behind this decision was that metal music culture, including cultural norms and rituals, can be consistent across political lines [37], and that all participants were part of the same online metal music community. Of the 341 participants, 261 (76.5%) identified as male, 73 (21.4%) as female, 4 (1.2%) as transgender, and 3 (.9%) as other.…”

The Psychology of Metal Music, Culture, and Dis/Ability

“…Similar to how metal culture and lyrics embrace mental illness through exaggeration to the point of inaccuracy for creative purposes (Messick, Aranda, and Day 2020), the same is true of dis/ability. Rock, punk, and heavy metal, even in the early days of those respective genres, were appropriating exploitative images and lyrics that equated dis/ability with 'freak show spectacle,' which included depicting self-destructive rock stars as similar 'freaks.'…”

“…The main line of argumentation in this chapter builds off the work of Messick, Aranda, and Day (2020), who conducted a series of interviews with individuals about their experiences as metal music fans that had diagnosed mental health conditions and/or developmental disorders. This chapter outlines some possible psychological functions that metal culture can provide for members with dis/abilities, including mood and symptom maintenance, representation, social relatedness, a sense of belonging, and as an outlet for sharing experiences.…”

Music industry in crisis: The impact of a novel coronavirus on touring metal bands, promoters, and venues

“…Many musicians are dependent on touring for income, either as their sole income or as a supplement to other jobs. Besides this financial dependency, live music performance can also greatly improve the affective wellbeing of musicians (Lamont, 2012), which is of special importance in the metal music community given that metal musicians and fans often have higher levels of mental health conditions than the general population (Messick, Aranda, & Day, 2020). The sudden nature of mandated event cancellations, including the announcement that flights from Europe to the United States would be restricted (BBC News, 2020), left many bands in an unfortunate predicament.…”