Rock & Metal Profs

THE ROCK & METAL PROFS

WITH MATT ALSCHBACH & DR. COURT LEWIS

Associate professors at Owensboro Community College and Pellissippi State Community College, respectively, Alschbach and Lewis host the popular podcast The Rock & Metal Profs: The History & Philosophy of Rock & Metal. Now they're bringing their keen insights to the pages of News 4U with a monthly deep dive into some of the best bands of the rock/metal genre and thoughts on music in general.

HEADBANG YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH

Aresearch study conducted years ago by the University of Queensland and published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience illustrated that extreme music such as heavy metal is actually healthy and therapeutic in relieving stress and anxiety. This flies in the face of the long-held belief by some that heavy metal causes anger and violent tendencies. Test subjects were monitored after a 16-minute “anger induction” where they discussed topics that elicited frustration, such as work, money and relationships. Afterwards, participants spent 10 minutes listening to songs of their choice, followed by 10 minutes of silence. The results revealed that metal music actually relaxed participants as effectively as sitting quietly!

“We found the music regulated sadness and enhanced positive emotions. 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. Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration they felt,” according to the study.

Growing up, I was sometimes mocked for being a “headbanger” and criticized by adults concerned that my choices in music might lead me down a dark path. I was fortunate that my folks were open-minded enough to allow me to make my own choices, but many teens in the 80s and 90s didn’t have it so good. I vividly remember two friends of mine who were brothers in a devout religious family. They hid their Dokken and Judas Priest records in the sleeves of more wholesome top 40 bands. They left the house in the morning in polo shirts, only to change into their metal concert t-shirts on the way to school.

On the more extreme end, some of us were paraded in front of church groups and used as examples of how the Devil infects our lives. We were excluded from social gatherings because we were supposedly “Knights In Satan’s Service.” We had to hide our cassettes and Walkmans in order to express ourselves and listen to the music we loved. Parents and peers thought they were protecting us, but what this study shows is that they were robbing us of the benefits of heavy metal. They created stress and anxiety when kids needed calm the most. Thankfully, our hidden experiences of rock and metal helped us through these ordeals, and now, hopefully we are wise enough to make better decisions for our kids.

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: MATT ALSCHBACH AND DR. COURT LEWIS The Rock & Metal Profs podcast is available on iTunes, Google and Spotify.