Listening To Angry Music Can Actually Make You A Lot Happier

It turns out that your angsty teenage self knew a lot more than you’d think. You know the one, all slamming doors, heartbreak, terrible poetry and metal music that sounded like a robot Jeffrey Dahmer turning it up to 11 in an abattoir. No? Just us then.

Regardless of your own terrible teenage music choices, it seems that those of us that lean to the more extreme side of listening habits actually walk away feeling a lot more inspired and mellow.

According to new findings published by Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, people who listened to heavy metal for ten minutes after focusing on frustrating and irritating events in their lives, emerged happier than those that listened to other kinds of music.

The research was conducted at The University of Queensland School of Psychology by honours student, Leah Sharman and Dr. Genevieve Dingle. Commenting on the findings Sharman said:

“It was interesting that half of the chosen songs contained themes of anger or aggression, with the remainder containing themes like – though not limited to – isolation and sadness.

"Yet participants reported they used music to enhance their happiness, immerse themselves in feelings of love and enhance their well-being.

"All of the responses indicated that extreme music listeners appear to use their choice of music for positive self-regulatory purposes."