Qualitative Research: For Metal's Sake

Its a rare occasion when your work and your personal interests come together, but here it is...Qual research goes metal!!!!!

Sinclair, G. (2010) ‘Heavy metal rituals and the civilising process’, Can I Play with Madenss? Metal, Dissonance, Madness and Alienation. Prague 8th November, 2010.

Abstract

Following an empirical qualitative study which incorporated semi-structured depth interviews and participant observation it was found that heavy metal fans in Ireland use heavy metal music in a similar fashion. Initial data suggests that the heavy metal fans are drawn to the excitement of the music because of their anger towards the repetitiveness and routinisation of popular music and their own everyday lives and social relationships. The music provides a cathartic release for the fans. The live eventis a unique structure where fighting and violence can occur in what is seen as a „controlled de-controlling of emotions‟. This is subject to external controls such as the pace of the music, security, and internal controls with the unwritten code of behaviour facilitating the survival of the mosh pit. It is argued that the distinctive configuration of the heavy metal ritual does not represent an example of a de-civilising process but is indicative of a more complex progression which Wouters refers to as „informalisation‟. This research is unique in that no previous study has examined the consumption of heavy metal music from a figurational perspective and it opens up a new framework for examining music subcultures

http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sinclairGpaper.pdf

ahem..

Personally id rather go with this explanation! From the British Telegraph

Heavy metal 'a comfort for the bright child'

By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent

12:01AM GMT 21 Mar 2007

62 Comments

Intelligent teenagers often listen to heavy metal music to cope with the pressures associated with being talented, according to research.

The results of a study of more than 1,000 of the brightest five per cent of young people will come as relief to parents whose offspring, usually long-haired, are devotees of Iron Maiden, AC/DC and their musical descendants.

Researchers found that, far from being a sign of delinquency and poor academic ability, many adolescent "metalheads" are extremely bright and often use the music to help them deal with the stresses and strains of being gifted social outsiders.

Stuart Cadwallader, a psychologist at the University of Warwick, will present the findings at the British Psychological Society conference in York today.

He said: "There is a perception of gifted and talented students as being into classical music and spending a lot of time reading. I think that is an inaccurate stereotype. There is literature that links heavy metal to poor academic performance and delinquency but we found a group that contradicts that.
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