<\/h5>\n

Heavy breakdowns and screaming vocals may not sound life-changing\u2014-but metal is reshaping the way we look at the world<\/span><\/h5>\n

Words by Maggie Dickman<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Violent breakdowns. Concussive riffs. Guttural vocals. Today, metal sounds like a car being crushed in the middle of a Cookie Monster convention. And when outsiders look in, that\u2019s all they hear. But beyond that harsh exterior, metal has a deeper message.<\/span><\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s the case with Michigan\u2019s <\/span>Our Vices<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> T<\/span>h<\/span>e<\/span> q<\/span>u<\/span>a<\/span>r<\/span>t<\/span>e<\/span>t specializes in a message of hope. The band even has a motto: \u201c<\/span>striving to change lives with our music.\u201d According to frontman Lucas Dixon, the group has made it its mission to assure its message and music are bigger than the band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I just wanted to try to fix a lot of things I felt were wrong with myself and also help a lot of other people,\u201d Dixon said. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the secret power of metal: using music as anger management. And it\u2019s what helps listeners cope. W. Neil Gowensmith, assistant clinical professor of psychology at the University of Denver, says metal music not only acts as a coping mechanism, but it confronts the topics people aren\u2019t as willing to discuss in other music genres.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLife is hard. It can kick you in the ass from time to time,\u201d Gowensmith said. \u201cMetal doesn\u2019t shy away from that. It embraces the darkest, deepest, bloodiest parts of life that are thrown at us all and gives us some ideas for how to manage it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

And Gowensmith argues that metal does a better job at getting to the root of sadness than your average tear-jerking pop or country melody. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost genres will deal with sadness, the blues, breakups, losing your job\u2026 And all of those things are hard. But metal often goes beyond that stuff\u2014abuse, death, torture, war, genocide, suicide, and on and on\u2014and really digs into the blackest parts of humanity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Michigan-based Our Vices may be \u201ca bunch of best friends playing music together,\u201d but they are also making a difference through their writing. Photo courtesy of Our Vices.<\/p><\/div>\n

And Our Vices isn\u2019t afraid to shine a light onto those \u201cblackest parts of humanity.\u201d The group\u2019s most recent EP, <\/span>Polarity<\/span><\/i><\/a>, confronts the most difficult parts of growing up today head-on. \u201cWith <\/span>Polarity<\/span><\/i>, I felt suicide was a big thing we could take and put a whole other perspective on for people,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cYou really can\u2019t go through life without being affected by it at some point, and I felt that it would be really cool to write about something that not a lot of people are willing to dig into.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And fans have responded.They\u2019ve created a dialogue with the band, telling them just how much their songs have helped them get over their hardships, and the group in turn responds at shows and on social media to listeners who simply need to be reminded that everything will be okay.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=t50xu88F3xE<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that way for a lot of metal bands. The music builds a community. Tia Diadonna has been a metal fan for as long as she can remember, and bands like Our Vices have helped her through the most difficult points in her life. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMetal is what got me through my dad\u2019s death, bullying in high school and years of depression,\u201d Diadonna said. \u201cThese bands are what gave me the positivity I needed to get through it all. I could relate to the music I was listening to. They sing about real, important, emotional, relatable topics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem, though, is that outsiders often don\u2019t hear that. They only hear the aggression, the anger, the violence. What they\u2019re missing, according to Gowensmith, is the thing that can really make a difference: the resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people who aren\u2019t into metal give it a listen, they often give it a passing glance and just hear a few words, some screaming, the intense music and quickly perceive the snippets they hear as promoting violence or death or aggression,\u201d Gowensmith said. \u201cThey don\u2019t realize that most metal bands aren\u2019t really promoting violence or aggression. They are really just giving voice to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

We try to put out music that helps people get over that uneasy feeling. We all want to find ourself. Everyone needs a song for that feeling.<\/p>\n

— InVogue Records (@invoguerecords) November 6, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n