Substantia Innominata

If you are a headbanger, you should listen to Céline Dion

February 10th, 2011

I am a metalhead girl and I like headbang my head in rhythm of good black/death metal songs. My favorite headbang technique is called Windmill! \,,/

Generally headbanging is not really dangerous. According the amount of metal concert that I did, I have never had severe trouble or loss of consciousness, same for other metal guys present in the concert hall. Just muscular pains the day after like you have muscular pain after going to the gym. Also loss of equilibrium during the first minute after headbanging, it is normal the vestibular system is completely shacked and it is worst with couple liter of beer so nothing really serious.

I said “generally” because at least 2 cases of injury were reported: Vertebral Artery Aneurysm and Subdural hematoma. Ok, it is not a safe practicing but still it is not common injuries.

The funny thing is when some scientists who don’t like metal music decide to publish a paper about the potential brain-neck damages caused by headbanging according to their mathematical brain-neck injury model. “Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal: head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass“.

I will not going into the detail of the method and their mathematical model which are not adapted to headbanging because the model is for one head circular moving (angle are from 40° to 120°) and not a periodical head moving. Also and in my opinion the result are extremely overestimated. Seriously, if they really wanted to speak about a potential injury caused by headbang, they should have take songs which the tempo goes above 180 bpm (beats per minute). Because 180bpm is slow, black and death metal have a tempo between 180 and 240 bmp. Then, 120° for headbanging is ok, but why not more? Windmill technique asks more than 120°. Overestimated because and according their model, headbanging (remember it is just one acceleration of the head, not a real headbanging) with an angle of 105° at 160 bpm should induce unconsciousness during less than 1 hour and with an angle of 120° at 180 bpm should induce unconsciousness during 1 to 6 hours!!! I many time headbanged with a huge window of head moving, really quickly and more than 5 minutes nonstop or 1 hour cumulated during the concert and I never had a loss of consciousness neither people around me.

Now, Hellbrothers and Hellsisters, let’s have fun! The authors of the paper give us some advice to avoid and prevent damage and neck/brain injuries caused by heandanging. Are you ready to laugh?

Advice 1: Neck Training

It is make sense. Like for making sport, training before and after could help to avoid muscular soreness the next morning. Now just imagine a concert of Mayhem when the singer says to the audience: “before to start the concert, we all are going to train our neck during 5 minutes! Come on guys! Head circle movement… yes like this”. Do you imagine a concert hall full of metalhead which black and with painting on their face and wearring beautiful dark clothes with big pikes making neck training? No, me neither.

Advice 2: Asking AC/DC to stop playing the song Highway to Hell for the song Moon River of Andy Williams. (No it is not a joke, they have seriously written that)

If you have no idea about Andy Williams and his wonderful song Moon River, this video will help you!

Advice 3: Wearing medical neck protection

Well, but only if it is customizable. In black with long pikes?! How can we headbang with that ha?! Oh yes, i forget… headbanging is the son of Satan we have to stop doing this.

Advice 4: “substitution of adult oriented rock and easy listening music such as the controls (cf Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Styx), or others including Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Enya, and Richard Clayderman, for heavy metal”

Yes I laughed like hell when I read that! I just imagine all fan of Deströyer666 going to a concert of Celine Dion and Richard Clayderman. It would be wonderful.

Conclusion: Metalheads! From now and for your health (it is sciences who said!)

You will no more listen to Lord Belial but Michael Bolton.

Lord Belial – Devilish Enlightenment

Michael Bolton – Said I Loved You…But I Lied

You will no more listen to Arch Enemy but Céline Dion.

ARCH ENEMY – Nemesis

Celine Dion – Pour Que Tu M’Aimes Encore

You will no more listen to Blotted Science but Richard Clayderman.

Blotted Science – Synaptic Plasticity

Richard Clayderman – Ballade pour Adeline

Yeeees that’s scary my like heaven too! Too bad for the potential injury caused by headbanging, I will not stop it and I will not change my musical taste for this… hmm… this music which they advice us. NO WAY!

Actually, seeing a handsome guy with long hair and a goat who headbang, it excites me . Also it is really useful to be closed to a headbanger when it is really hot inside the concert hall, he/she is a human-fan.

Seriously headbanging is not a safety practicing (ok like everything :/). If like me, you will continue to headbang even this caution, at least if you have any kind of symptoms, pain, extreme dizziness (not just loss of equilibrium less than 1 minute just after a session of headbanging), alteration of consciousness or whatever which seems not usual or not normal, stop immediately shaking your head and in case consult a doctor. It will be to bad to miss concerts of Lord Belial’s ressurection.

Source:

Patton D, & McIntosh A (2008). Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal: head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 337 PMID: 19091761

Egnor MR, Page LK, & David C (1991). Vertebral artery aneurysm–a unique hazard of head banging by heavy metal rockers. Case report. Pediatric neurosurgery, 17 (3), 135-8 PMID: 1819327

Neyaz Z, Kandpal H, Sharma R, & Kale S (2006). ‘Head banging’ during rock show causing subdural hematoma. Neurology India, 54 (3), 319-20 PMID: 16936407

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Categories: Metal Music | Tags: headbang