Why do people love dark music?

We find ourselves in a time where life has never been more comfortable, yet it has never been more difficult. Day in, day out, we watch our collective experience descend to deeper and deeper lows, both materially and existentially. Yet we are bombarded with messaging insisting to us how ‘great’ everything is. 

We are fed a sterile, processed, and commercialized culture, saturated with ‘art’ meant to distract and pacify us, willfully ignorant of the true human experience and devoid of vision or substance. We take in so much content per day, yet it cuts no deeper than what is displayed on our screens or played from our speakers.

This illusion can only be maintained for so long, and those able to see it for what it is are now making their voices heard. This expression can simply be surmised as ‘dark culture’. Dark music is just one of many offshoots of this movement.

Dark music holds a mirror to the world we live in, and shows it for what it truly is. It is raw, real, and unapologetic. It speaks to the contemporary human experience, it lives, it breathes. It is a true reflection of who we are and how we live, not a projection or illusion. It confronts reality head-on, making no attempt to run away from it or mask it. People relate to it, they feel it in the deepest recesses of their souls. It fosters introspection, contemplation, and genuine understanding. Its unique characteristics create a captivating, immersive, and cathartic listening experience, allowing people to explore the depths of their emotions and face the darker aspects of life in a safe environment. 

In order to grow as a person, one must first confront themself, particularly that part of themself that is ugly, spiteful, vengeful, angry, confused, sad, etc. That part which is stirred up by the vicissitudes of life, then violently pacified before it can manifest itself. Dark music, with its unmatched ability to evoke emotion and project the listener into a transcendent experience, is a conduit by which one can integrate, process, and move beyond their sorrows and grievances. It organically creates communities around itself through which people can relate to one another’s experiences, and move beyond them, stronger and better than they once were. Its ultimate conclusion is that we are not defined by what happens to us, but by our overcoming what happens to us and who we consequentially become. 

Dark music is the truest expression of our era; a viewing of the human soul in its totality; naked, good, evil, and beyond. It captivates, transcends, and animates. People can sense its genuineness, and recognize its importance as a cultural force. It has always existed, and will never cease to exist, but now more than ever is its time to be.