The Motivations of Male Metal Guitarists

First, the tweet that brought the matter to many people’s attention:

Research shows that heterosexual men who learn to play extreme metal guitar are mostly motivated to do so in order to impress other heterosexual men.

— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) October 2, 2022

It turns out that the research that was referenced is from a study published earlier this year titled ‘Extreme metal guitar skill: A case of male-male status seeking, mate attraction, or byproduct?’  To quote:

This study explores the idea that heterosexual male metal guitarists are motivated to invest heavily in getting good at guitar to primarily impress other men. The study’s results provide some support for this idea. Additionally, metal guitarists also seem to be somewhat motivated by a desire for casual sex.