Author: Steve Byrne

When I started this project, there were some big questions I wanted to try to answer:

• What is the appeal of metal and punk rock? What is it about fast, loud, abrasive, brutal, non-mainstream stuff that appeals to people? And who are these people?
• Why do some bands “click” with someone and others don’t? Where do these preferences come from? What do our memories and histories have to do with it?
• How is someone’s enjoyment and use of heavy music related (if at all) to mental health? Is my preference for Scandinavian death metal and symptom of a mental health problem? Or is it a way to cope with life so I don’t develop one?
• What does family have to do with it? Is this just a part of teenage rebellion? Why does one person emulate the tastes of a parent or sibling, while others go out of their way to be different?
• What are the costs and benefits of identifying as a punk fan or metal fan? What makes someone want to purposely be on the outside of the mainstream? And what makes some people more comfortable with this than others?
• How does music inform our social, cultural, spiritual, and political views? Do we seek out music that confirms our beliefs? Or are we changed by the artists we listen to?

So let’s hear it? What do you think? And what are you listening to right now?

FYI: my current Spotify Discover Weekly playlist is amazing so far: https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZEVXcRFqLM6BCIQI?si=YNcNZRGMTFKBcfXAZi5SFQ

So hey there, internet person. I’m a psychologist and a college professor, and I’ve been a fan of metal and punk rock for decades. I’m interested in better understanding why heavy music appeals to people. What is it about a band like Metallica (see Papa Het above) or Bad Religion that inspires someone? How come the most aggressive and least melodic kinds of music, like death metal and grindcore) have these diehard fans? What’s the appeal of a 57-minute epic song with five different notes that drones on and on and on? Well, that’s what I want to talk about. I want to learn from other fans, too – what got them into this kind of music? What is it about their lives that makes this work for them? Was their family a part of the equation? Their friends (or lack thereof)? Their own mental health?

And hopefully I can use this blog to reach out to some people who are intimately acquainted with this kind of music – the musicians, the producers, the label reps, the road crew guys, anyone who devotes their life to the kind of music that gives me and many others a sense of belonging.

If you’re an up and coming band (hell, even a real established band would work!), feel free to contact me and share what made you who you are. I want to have some deep discussions about the elements of your life that led you down this path.

So let’s see how this goes, shall we?