![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Heavy metal developed as a genre in the late 1960s and 1970s, with bands including Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin fundamental to its emergence (Walser, 2013). The review is grounded within the field of music psychology and aims to ensure that clinical decision-making (e.g., discouraging or encouraging listening) is informed by empirical evidence. The present narrative literature review evaluates and synthesises existing research findings on the risks and benefits of engaging with heavy metal music with aggressive themes. The need for increased understanding of how listeners use music in their daily lives is particularly important, as music-use can have both detrimental and enhancing effects on wellbeing and mental health (Loxton et al., 2016 Lozon & Bensimon, 2014 McFerran et al., 2016 Miranda, 2013 Olsen et al., 2022). Despite these public concerns, many adolescents and young adults report that music enhances their social and emotional wellbeing, including music with aggressive themes (McFerran & Saarikallio, 2014 McFerran et al., 2015 North et al., 2000 Olsen & Thompson, 2021 Thompson et al., 2019). In some cases, there have been calls for certain music groups to be banned entirely (for discussions of music censorship, see Chastagner, 1999 Cooper, 2011 Hines & McFerran, 2014 Peters, 2019 Savage, 2018 Wright, 2000 for the perspectives of fans, see Hines & McFerran, 2014). There is also limited evidence to justify serious concerns about the negative impact of prolonged exposure to heavy metal, yet such concerns persist and have influenced social attitudes and policy decision-making at political and institutional levels. At the heart of such concerns is the possibility that music with aggressive themes might negatively impact upon the behaviour and mental health of adolescents and young adults. Such genres often explore aggressive and violent antisocial themes, leading to media reports of moral panic by community groups, parents, and politicians (Walser, 2013). Lawrence & Joyner, 1991 Warburton, 2012). However, with the emergence of music genres that contain aggressive lyrical themes such as rap and heavy metal music, researchers have considered the possibility that some forms of music engagement may have negative consequences (e.g., St. A body of research spanning more than 30 years has aimed to elucidate the nature of these relationships. Baker & Bor, 2008 McFerran, 2016 McFerran et al., 2016) and can support neurological functions (Brancatisano et al., 2020). Mental health practitioners (e.g., music therapists, psychologists) and researchers recognise that music listening preferences and behaviours are important to social and emotional wellbeing for adolescents and young adults (F. Music plays an important role across all stages of human development (Thompson and Olsen, 2021). Our review considers a comprehensive set of empirical findings that inform clinical strategies designed to identify fans for whom heavy metal music may confer psychological and behavioural risks, and those for whom this music may confer psychosocial benefits. In contrast, non-fans of heavy metal music - who are often used as participants in experimental research on this topic - invariably report negative psychological experiences. This narrative review of theory and evidence suggests the issues are more complicated, and that fans typically derive a range of emotional and social benefits from listening to heavy metal music, including improved mood, identity formation, and peer affiliation. Although research often relies on correlational evidence for which causal inferences are not possible, it is often claimed that music with aggressive themes can cause psychological and behavioural problems. Concerns have been raised that prolonged exposure to heavy metal music with aggressive themes can increase the risk of aggression, anger, antisocial behaviour, substance use, suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression in community and psychiatric populations. ![]()
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