Metal and Dark Music

[Swami Chihuahuananda]

Originally Posted by Sangress

I'm an avid metal fan. I love the strength and passionate emotions and raw truth expressed in that music.

I've always found that it heightens my mood, rather than lowering it.

Though I do find listening to bands that are too similar, the same bands....etc to be a bit of a drag because it doesn't envoke the same emotions/reactions I usually have to the music. It's basically a killjoy.

I think variety and finding new artists/bands is the key if you want to continue to enjoy music and have positive reactions to it.

As for it being complimentary to a spiritual life....hmm. IMO anything done for leasure changes emotions and emotions colour perceptions. Perceptions are what shape our understanding of spiritual experiences.

So, I think, depending on the individual, Metal music can effect your spiritual perceptions if you are listning, or thinking of it, while thinking about or performing spiritual actions.

Though I do have one question....why is it considered to be "Dark" music?

Not sure. I don't listen to anything that would be considered 'dark' metal .
I generally just don't like it ; it generally doesn't resonate with my musical/spiritual receptor circuits. I've gotten a teeny tiny bit more used to
metal from watching 'Metalocalypse ' with the (Adult Swim) cartoon Dethklokk , and I can appreciate good electric guitar (and acoustic, of course, my own choice of instrument) playing of almost any sort.

Personal taste aside, I'd venture to say that it's almost all , if not completely,
about individual perception and internal processing , and not much , if any, about the labels or judgements that anyone else puts on what we listen to.
It's a s simple as 'different strokes for different folks' , though we could probably go on (or already have) about how dissonance and harmony affect us energetically . Or maybe we couldn't, because comprehensive, objective, scientific studies have not been done, and may not be possible, to determine
the true and consistent effects on psyche, mental states, and 'spiritual' advancement , of varying degrees of harmony, tension, dissonance, resolution , 'dark' and 'light' metal, or any of it. Thinking of it in these terms, the idea of trying to quantify such subjective things seems like an absurd proposition, so we're left with what we started with , that it's almost all , if not completely, about perception and internal utilization.

I guess we might be able to draw a line somewhere between music and noise, but maybe not ; some experimental recordings are not musical at all, and the sounds of nature , which are obviously used by some for spiritual pursuits, couldn't really be called music by most definitions . So who can determine for someone else what is light and dark, good and bad ?. Sure, some music has Satanic , or whatever context , but we can look at listeners of that as being simply at a stage in their development that this type of music is part of their journey forward ; the point being that it's not really appropriate to judge so completely someone else's activities that are so subjective .

Music is such a complex interaction in many ways , and to me , that's as much about how music affects me as it is what I do with music when I'm listening. In other words, I determine what happens with music when it's interacting with my awareness . After all, it's just vibrations moving through air until it's deciphered in my brain, where it's recreated inside my holographic converters , which have their own individual parameters , as does everyone's .

Dar

[radareyes]

In my experience, music is very simply a reflection of the consciousness that produced it, and tends to appeal to people who share or wish to cultivate a similar quality of consciousness. Metal to me is predominantly fear being anesthetized and reinforced by aggression.

I don't mean to offend anyone by this, but my life definitely changed significantly when I threw out all of my KoRn and Slipknot cd's. That music had a negative impact on me. Like Deus I have found electronic music that is what you could call heavier but not negative. Not to say KoRn and Slipknot didn't throw the odd positive song out there. I do like some Opeth and sommmme Lamb of God. But all in all I do not resonate with the brutal sound, but I do not judge others who listen to it or make that type of music. I do have a friend however who could greatly benefit without his death metal.

just has a shot of inspiration about why I like angry music and why is can be good for me.

From experience I have found that if I get angry with people it bites me on the bum one way or another. I watch other people ranting and getting away with it, but it appears I am here to learn other ways of expressing my displeasure..... but that doesn't yet stop me getting angry at life. I defy anyone other than really advanced people to be so laid back that they never (and I mean never) get angry... so, driving my car, ranting away to no-body while listening to industrial or angry stuff acts as a pressure valve. Just like beating a pillow or screaming in a field.. I am hurting no-one but I am letting the energy out rather than suppressing it.

This, for me, is healthy.

But, I still maintain that there is some metal that really is depressing and some that isn't. Also, there is plenty of music that is sooo not metal that is equally as nasty or simply depressing... think of a wailing r&b track about a broken heart... how many "mainstream" people wallow listening to Luther Vandross when they have split with their partner..... seems no more healthy.

I do find Linkin Park very depressing and won't listen to them, no matter how much I respect their musical ability. I also don't listen to emo music, particularly those with the combination of dying/bullet/bride/valentine in their name.... it's all down to the key it is played in apparently... that's why british folk is always in a minor key ;)

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Spirited

Now instead, music of Love and happiness makes me happy and more at peace. I also feel that metal started clouding my feelings on what I wanted from life. Does anyone else feel this way? Will be interesting to see different views and opinions.

Spirited

Music doesn't make you feel anything. It doesn't 'cause' you to feel bad, or happy.

All it does is bring out emotions that are already in YOU. If you like the emotion of certain music, that's because you have that emotion. Turning off the music isn't going to make your emotions go away.

I like all kinds of music, sometimes I'm listening to heavy, dark stuff and other times I'm listening to simpler, lighter music. It just depends on what I feel like listening to.

I'm sure that plants dying when being exposed to death metal has nothing to do with the style of music or the emotion it's conveying, but probably something more scientific.

This idea that any kind of music is 'bad' for you is just superstition, mainly fueled by religious fears. If all you listen to is depressing music, that means you're depressed. Instead of blaming it on music, try to change yourself and you'll feel like listening to something else.

There's nothing wrong with having emotions (happy, sad, angry). No emotion is wrong or bad. But if they're overwhelming you to the point that you can't function normally then you have to take steps to try to change yourself.

[Sarian]

For me personally, I can say yes. I love just about all music. When I was feeling angry, upset, rebellious, I would crank up the Nine Inch Nails or Garbage, or whatever i had on hand at the time, but I did find that my mood became more dark, I began having feelings of hate and if depressed, my depression grew worse. I finally had to stop listening. I had on occasion listened to Garbage, but I lost the feel for that band. I have an ecclectic mix on my Ipod for when I'm out on my trails. I do listen to some of Marilyn Manson still. I love Tournequent(Sp?) for example, and I think it helps me release anger/upset ...do I think he's a satanist? lol, no, I think he's quite the showman. I read his bio and find him fascinating.

I like much of the singers that Gem mentioned above, like Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and have them on my Ipod as well and they mellow me out nicely...and I can listen to "I am a Rock" whenI'm feeling particularly tuned out of the world. Vincent by Don McLean causes me to weep. I listen to Yanni to try and quiet my mind or get to a place of relection.

but I'm moving away from your original question about 'dark music' and how it affects. I was depressed and found that I liked "I'm only happy when it rains" and i would listen to that alot, but then I got a message, can't explain it, but to knock it off, it was bringing me down at an alarming speed and keeping me there,and it became almost like a drug to hear the dismal. There was a particular NIN tune that seemed to reach in and turn my heart black and I started to feel almost creepy about myself, I had to stop listening to it and oddly enough, I felt like a drug addict trying to quit cold turkey.

Until It Sleeps by Metallica used to drive me bats because I thought their video (same as some of manson's) came from my nightmares. I often felt like there was something ghastly inhabitating me at times. lol...ugh

Originally Posted by Seawolf

This idea that any kind of music is 'bad' for you is just superstition, mainly fueled by religious fears. If all you listen to is depressing music, that means you're depressed. Instead of blaming it on music, try to change yourself and you'll feel like listening to something else.

As much as I agree that we hold these emotions in ourselves and the music doesn't make us do anything I think there is the case for "wallowing" to be taken into consideration here.

I personally believe in the effects of vibration on the mind/body/spirit. Music is nothing but vibration so it has a great affect on us. If it didn't sessions such as gong baths wouldn't work.

We have the capacity to feel every emotion, we have felt every emotion at some point in our lives. Vibration can trigger a remembrance of one of those emotions whether it is prominent or not. So, if we are feeling fairly balanced and hear some music that triggers a negative (for want of a better word) emotion it can have a powerful effect.

A prime example is the song Numb by Linkin Park. The first time my husband played it to me he told me about how it expressed just how he felt when he was with his ex. Now when I hear it it makes me feel so sad, close to tears sad, because I hate the thought of my husband being that unhappy... but that is inappropriate because he isn't in that situation any more, he's with me and we're happy.

The song Elation by the Levellers makes me very sad because it reminds me of something from my past. Normally I don't have those feelings on the surface, but if I hear that I feel very sad.

So, yes, we can choose what music we listen to to make sure that these feelings don't come to the surface but some people don't have the strength to see what is going on. Low vibration attracts lower vibration, and soon we can be completely sunk in negativity, wallowing in heartbreaking tracks that just make us feel worse.

That's why I like metal, a good rant and shout to no-one while I'm driving and it's all over

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Sungirl

The song Elation by the Levellers makes me very sad because it reminds me of something from my past. Normally I don't have those feelings on the surface, but if I hear that I feel very sad.

Hi Sungirl! I came from a family that didn't know how to express emotions, so I don't consider something bad if it sparks an emotion. I see having those feelings come out as a good thing. I don't think it's good to suppress painful emotions, because that causes them to linger around for a long time. It's good to feel things, especially when it's painful, because that's how we heal and become balanced.

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Hi Sungirl! I came from a family that didn't know how to express emotions, so I don't consider something bad if it sparks an emotion. I see having those feelings come out as a good thing. I don't think it's good to suppress painful emotions, because that causes them to linger around for a long time. It's good to feel things, especially when it's painful, because that's how we heal and become balanced.

Once again I agree to an extent, but I do find that wallowing can happen and that isn't healthy. It leads to self pity.

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Sungirl

Once again I agree to an extent, but I do find that wallowing can happen and that isn't healthy. It leads to self pity.

I don't really understand the concept of 'wallowing'. If someone prefers to be in pain, I'd say that reveals a deeper emotional issue that needs to be addressed. Instead of looking at it like 'I need to stop wallowing', I would try to find out why I'm wallowing and take a look at that.

Some people like to be depressed, even though they complain about it all the time. To me that doesn't mean they need to change their music, that's not going to change anything. Instead I would try to find out what the underlying cause is.

Same thing with self-pity, it's a problem with the person, what's going on inside of them, not from anything coming from the outside.

Just being honest with yourself and taking responsibility instead of blaming outside forces makes a big difference.