October 19, 2026, 1:39 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Calm piano music or the sound of the ocean can have a relaxing effect. But when it comes to the impact of music on pain, new research from Germany and Switzerland reveals a surprising finding. Of all things, heavy metal might help people endure pain longer.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig studied 122 visitors at the Wacken Open Air festival. The experiment: immerse hand and forearm in ice-cold water. The result: After several days at the festival, metal fans endured the cold pain significantly longer than upon their arrival before the concerts began.1
The results were particularly clear among participants who had consumed little or only moderate amounts of alcohol. Importantly, the pain did not feel weaker to the fans–they could endure it significantly longer through higher acceptance. “The intense music experience over several consecutive days at the metal festival did not negatively affect how the study participants experienced pain. On the contrary, festival-goers could endure the cold pain even longer than the comparison group,” explains lead author Lydia Schneider.
Why does hard music help?
The background is that suppressed anger can intensify pain. Aggressive music serves as an emotional outlet: those who allow and process anger through music learn to better accept negative feelings. This increases pain tolerance without needing to suppress the pain itself.
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Not all music has the same effect
That music can also alleviate pain intensity is shown by a study from the University Hospital Zurich with 204 patients during the insertion of a venous cannula before an MRI. Those who listened to their favorite music felt less pain immediately after the insertion, as well as 30 seconds and 2 minutes later–especially if they were already in pain beforehand.2
Relaxation music, on the other hand, showed no effect in the test. While Mozart’s classical sounds did not help everyone, they did alleviate pain in patients who were already suffering before the procedure. Nevertheless, the study shows: Music that is personally chosen and emotionally touching is the most reliable.
What does this mean for practice?
Instead of focusing solely on calming music, pain patients might benefit from music that matches their true feelings–even if it’s loud or aggressive. But caution: Both studies only examined short-term stimuli (cold pain and needle prick). Whether hard sound also helps with long-term chronic pain remains to be seen in future studies.