Not to be too corny and all, but if there’s one thing that unifies us all, it’s music. That, and probably the fact that unless you’re some sort of Patrick Bateman psychopath, you get down in the dumps sometimes. None of us are strangers to putting on the screamy screams when we’re angry or sad, and apparently, there are three bands that on average seem to do something for us all.
According to a new study done by the healthcare company Tebra, the three metal bands that appeared the most in these playlists were Black Sabbath, Slipknot, and Metallica.
Tebra’s study, called “Healing Harmonies: Top Music for Mental Health,” surveyed over 1,000 subjects and their Spotify profiles. Some of them were medical professionals and some of them weren’t, but Tebra analyzed more than 68,000 songs from the individuals to see who made it on their designated mental health playlists.
Sabbath, Metallica, and Slipknot respectively appeared the most in these playlists, even though they didn’t make it into the top 10 artists averaged. The Beatles were the only “rock” band to do that because, of course it would be them.
Rock was the top genre found on these mental health playlists (Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin came in second and third after The Beatles), with metal coming in at fourth. About 11% of the study participants said they specifically put on metal when they’re feeling blue.
Tebra also asked participants about how they feel listening to music benefits them mentally when they’re struggling. Unsurprisingly, about 79% of those surveyed feel comforted by music during those times. Honestly, I thought that percentage would be much higher, but participants noted that they typically feel their stress levels go down, their anxiety calms down and their moods get better, among other things.
Something that I lowkey find offensive as someone who indulges in all of these genres, is that, according to this study, people who mainly listen to metal, rock, indie and folk music have the poorest mental health. Even though I’m mildly offended, I also find this statement to be mildly accurate. Goddamn it.
