Lyrics Dwell on Death, Satanism : Experts Debate Influence of Violent Music on Youths

“Look inside and you will see, the words are cutting deep inside my brain.”

That line, from “Crash Course in Brain Surgery,” a song by Metallica, one of the most popular groups in the heavy metal music movement, goes to the core of divisive debate among mental health experts, academics, juvenile authorities, the clergy and worried parents:

Does violent music spawn violent kids?

Of chief concern are the so-called hard-core bands such as Slayer, King Diamond, Megadeth and Venom, whose frenzied rock is accompanied by lyrics that often dwell on nihilistic themes of death, sadomasochism, violence and satanism.

Repulsive Subjects

The so-called “speed metal” or “thrash” songs--fast, loud and ugly--may talk about such repulsive ideas as killing babies and eating vomit.

The perplexing questions about such music’s influence on adolescents have been addressed in courtrooms and in Congress, which conducted highly publicized hearings three years ago on alleged pornography in rock.

Defense attorneys in recent years have built cases blaming the music for violent behavior in their teen-aged clients. A few parents of young suicide victims also have filed lawsuits--unsuccessful, so far--against heavy metal singers or groups whose music they blame for the tragedy.

And while the experts and analysts disagree about the music’s impact, many see it filling a void in the lives of young, predominantly male fans.

“There’s a tendency among adolescents to be drawn to and fascinated by violence, hence the popularity of slasher films,” said Jennifer Norwood, executive director of the Virginia-based Parents Music Resource Center, whose leaders include Tipper Gore, wife of Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.).

Jill Rosenbaum, an associate professor of criminal justice at Cal State Fullerton, concluded in a 1986 study of 240 California teen-agers that heavy metal fans “are not more delinquent than other kids.”

Dr. Paul King, a child psychiatrist who treats disturbed teens at the Charter Lakeside clinic in Memphis, Tenn., said he believes that the music can influence its fans.

“The kids I’ve seen who are violent and into drugs by and large are into heavy metal,” he said. “The music doesn’t make them do it, but the lyrics become their philosophy.”

King uses a verse from an AC-DC song called “Problem Child” to illustrate his point: “With a flick of my knife, I can change your life. I’m a problem child, running wild. “

Film maker Penelope Spheeris defends the subculture she explored in the recent documentary, “The Decline of Western Civilization, Part 2: The Metal Years.” Spheeris found that most fans of satanic heavy metal “have been alienated from their families . . . they turn to the music as an identity.”

Tries for Parents’ Attention

Fascination with the devil is “a perfect way for a kid who can’t get his parents’ attention to get it.”

She said that heavy metal “is an easy scapegoat” for scared parents, school authorities and sociologists trying to justify deviant behavior.

When a song by Megadeth called “Good Mourning, Black Friday” was played at the murder trial of 17-year-old Ronald Clements earlier this year in Joplin, Mo., the defendant sobbed as the lyrics blasted through the courtroom:

“Killer, intruder, homicidal man

“If you see me coming, run as fast as you can

“A blood-thirsty demon who’s stalking the street

“I hack up my victims like pieces of meat.”

Clements also told psychiatrists that he had been inspired in part by a magazine interview with a heavy metal star quoted as saying that “anyone who knocked off a geek would be doing the world a favor.”

Rock Music Seen as Threat

Joseph Kotarba, a sociologist at the University of Houston, noted that rock music has always been seen as “a threat to the moral fiber of America’s youth, whether it’s Elvis Presley or the Rolling Stones or heavy metal.”

But a youngster’s family life and upbringing is “the most likely place to look for the source of aberrant behavior,” he said.

“If you have to depend on Megadeth to see what’s up in life, there’s something else wrong there,” he said. “In fact, heavy metal is probably a useful mechanism for the release of adolescent feelings.”