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A study published in the "Journal of Psychology of Popular Media" claims to have proven that Metal fans cope better with the idea of mortality than people who don't listen to Metal.
The study, titled “The Memory Remains: How Heavy Metal Fans Buffer Against the Fear of Death,” was conducted by researchers Julia Kneer and Diana Rieger. They concluded that metal listeners have a natural buffer against the fear of death, caused by a boost in self-esteem.
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"Heavy metal is often associated with death by non-fans, while members of this subculture report that listening to metal music is their escape from depression and even helpful against thoughts related to death."
According to terror management theory, self-esteem and cultural worldview serve as symbolic buffers, two components working against the fear of death. What is still unclear in recent research on terror management theory is whether (A) the presentation of cultural goods directly after evidence of mortality is sufficient to help against the fear of death or whether the buffer components still need to be activated and (B) whether the activation of a buffer is sufficient.
Metal can be seen as a cultural asset for fans and therefore can form part of their social identity. Two studies investigated whether Heavy Metal is capable of serving as a cultural buffer against existential angst through implicit measures. In Study 1, we found that fans no longer felt the need to enhance their cultural worldview, but only if they listened to Metal after the induction of evidence of mortality. Results from Study 2 revealed that Metal makes greater self-esteem support unnecessary for fans, while non-fans still felt the need to increase their self-esteem.