Is it a sign of these difficult times?
Amid cost-of-living pressures and global upheaval, heavy music is rapidly growing in popularity.
Over the past few years, Lily Wilson has endured upheaval caused by COVID, a layoff, and the unexpected death of her father. Throughout these difficulties, he found solace in what some might consider an unlikely source: metalcore music, a genre that combines heavy metal and hardcore punk.
In his youth, Wilson immersed himself in the “hardcore scream” scene before turning to “calmer” musical styles. But since the pandemic, he has spent a lot of time listening to Australian metalcore bands like Polaris and Windwaker, and international heavy metal acts like Spiritbox and Bad Omens.
“I find it therapeutic,” says Wilson, 30, an IT product and development manager. “You feel the music in your chest and it’s a little aggressive, but not in a bad way. It can be nice to listen to something angry and feel that sense of relief.”
“Sometimes the lyrics are about burning it all to the ground, but mostly they’re about how to overcome things and move forward, or how to deal with grief and a world that’s falling apart.”
Wilson admitted he was anxious before our interview, so he played some metal music to calm his nerves.
“Then you take off your headphones, experience the contrast between loud and quiet, and you find peace,” he says.
Spotify’s best Australian heavy music bands of 2025
Data provided to this byline by music streaming giant Spotify suggests Wilson’s experience was not unusual. The number of metal songs streamed on the platform more than doubled between 2020 and 2025, while punk and rock rose by 80 percent each.
The increase in these heavier genres outpaced pop (up 61%) and hip-hop (up 31%). In fact, the number of playlists containing metalcore tracks increased by 234 percent.
Joe Khan, Spotify’s senior editor in Australia and New Zealand, believes economic and political conditions are driving this trend.
“It’s about release, catharsis, and finding outlets for these enormous pressures… no other species meets these basic human needs in the same way,” says Khan.
“The vital energy they contain, combined with the real communities that exist in these scenes, is hugely compelling. As people navigate post-pandemic realities, cost-of-living pressures and geopolitical tensions, rock, punk and metal are coming to the fore in a big way again because they reflect these emotions.”
This comes as no surprise to Anna Ryan, vocalist of the acclaimed Australian band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, whose music combines rock, punk and grunge. “To me, punk and rock feel like they’re much more gritty and grounded,” Ryan says. “Just dancing or really getting into it while you’re on a walk or a run feels like therapy.”
On Friday the band started their Australian concert. type in Adelaide. They will head to Europe and North America later this year, where they will play some shows with US rock band Jimmy Eat World.
Ryan remembers listening to Jimmy Eat World’s biggest hit: Middle – a song about social unrest, alienation, and self-acceptance in elementary school.
“I remember taking off my belt [and feeling that it reflected] “The issues I had as a 10-year-old kid. But it really connected with me then and still does,” Ryan says with a laugh.
Of course, harder styles of music have long been the subject of moral panic. In the 1970s and ’80s, some American conservatives drew a straight line between heavy metal and Satan worship, while others worried that punk was turning their children into drug-addicted punks.
President of the Australian Psychological Association, Dr. According to Kelly Gough, this misses the point.
“Punk was born out of a desire to resist the machine and push back against authority,” he says.
“We’re now in an age where many people believe that authority shouldn’t be trusted, and we can’t trust governments or big industry to look out for our interests. You can see where punk would fit in among young people who feel disenfranchised and disconnected from any levers of power.”
Gough said many studies have shown that music can reduce physiological and psychological stress, but this depends on personal taste. When different styles of music are played to a large representative group, most people will feel enjoyed by pop, soothed by classical, and annoyed or angered by heavy metal.
“But for heavy metal fans, it’s the opposite,” he says.
“There are some studies that say if you’re already in a bad mood, you’re more likely to feel energized or engaged when listening to heavy metal.”
Born in 1971, Gough often turns to the music popular on Triple J in the 1990s, when rock and grunge came to the fore.
“There are also sociological theories,” he says, “like the 27-year cycle, which suggests that some current cultural trends reflect what was cool 27 years ago, which you can also see in the fashion resurgence of the late ’90s.”
Or as Khan puts it: “Rock is alive and kicking. People have been saying Rock is dead for a long time, but if the data is anything to go by, it’s just heating up.”
Spotify’s popular heavy music playlist Wire:
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Michael Lallo is senior culture writer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
