Does Heavy Metal Affect Our Identity?

Music is certainly a part of us. In such a way, as the examples of the patients who suffered brain injuries show, that it seems to be a part of our very biology from birth and is honed more so over time. This, in some way, must have an impact on our very being, our identity as a whole, that it shapes us more than we may realize. This notion of music being impactful to our identity must be explored more before a discussion of how heavy metal affects our identity can be investigated. Music seems to be something that, in most cases, is recognizable as having some form of predictability. We seem to seek a predictable structure, something that we can affirm in introspection. So by listening to music we can practice our ability of introspection,
This note causes tension because it leads to the tonic (or the main note of that key.) The greatest dissonance occurs right above or below the tonic. This note is used to invoke tension and is an essential part of heavy metal. Without this chord, there would not be the aggressive dynamic nature that is held within it. This chord is not used heavily within music of the classical era, however it can be found heavily within Arabian music. (Hill, 128-129).
Metal is about power and overcoming adversity, and this can be shown in its volume. "The loudness and intensity of heavy metal music visibly empower fans, whose shouting and headbanging testify to the creation of energy at concerts. Metal energizes the body, transforming space and social relations." –Colin A. McKinnon, quote Robert Walser. This level of volume seems to separate it from other genres. (Hill,
To bring about pride and a sense of strength to the listener. Deena Weinstein said it quite clearly, "Loudness is meant to overwhelm, to sweep the listener into the sound, and then to lend the listener the sense of power that the sound provides." (Hill, 115).
Yet it is not just this loudness that provides power to us, it affects us in more ways at once. We can look at our aural sense and see this. Colin, in his article, has a quote which expresses this.
"Loud music transports listeners into another aural space, moving them from the social space of people to the musical space of the performers. Loud music also suppresses the internal space of daydreams, overpowering the inner space of self-generated sounds and pictures, and listeners are only in the space of the musicians. Everything else is gone. Loudness is a space transporter because you become functionally deaf to the immediate environment." (Hill,