Abstract
This paper builds a link between isolated domains within the arts and sciences, specifically between music and psychiatry. An analogous model is presented that associates heavy metal music with bipolar disorder, a form of mental illness. Metal music consists of a variety of subgenres with distinct manifestations of song, rhythm, instrumentation, and vocal structure. These manifestations are analogous to the symptomatology of bipolar disorder, specifically the recurrent episodes of (hypo)mania and depression. Examples of songs are given which show these analogies. Besides creating a subjective link between apparently unconnected knowledge domains, these analogies could play a heuristic role in clinical applications and education about the disorder and mental illnesses at large.
Highlights
Models play a fundamental role in modern science and serve as vehicles for learning about the world [1]
The heuristic role that analogies play in theory construction and creative thought is recognized [2,3], and so is the cognitive functioning of models, because they allow for surrogative learning [4] and model-based reasoning [5,6]
In the graphical representation of the analogous model, heavy metal music and bipolar disorder symptoms are linked to emphasize the heuristic role of the music (Figure 1)
Summary
Models play a fundamental role in modern science and serve as vehicles for learning about the world [1]. This paper combines music and mental illness, heavy metal music and the symptomatology of bipolar disorder, in an analogous model. The model’s function is to use heavy metal to portray the symptoms of bipolar disorder artistically through the integral song architectures that manifest in distinct subgenres. In this model, heavy metal serves as a heuristic that connects the emotions bipolar people experience through episodes and the sentiments the music might inspire in the listener. In the graphical representation of the analogous model, heavy metal music and bipolar disorder symptoms are linked to emphasize the heuristic role of the music (Figure 1). The paper concludes with an overarching discussion about the utility of the analogous model and discusses implications for theory development and potential practical implications
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