What's the #1 Sign of Wealth and Intelligence of a Country? Why, HEAVY METAL of course...


New research has shown how when there are more Metal bands that exist within a country that this is a surprisingly accurate indicator of a nation's prosperity and it's overall intelligence...

It can be too easy to just judge someone based upon their taste in music.

Heavy metal-fans, for instance, are often thought to share a common sense of alienation, oppression and anger, with their music giving them an outlet for their rage.

It’s a stereotype that’s reinforced by the genre’s roots with metal gaining popularity throughout the 1960s and 1970s in economically ravaged, deindustrialised areas.

The map above tracks the number of heavy metal bands per 100,000 residents using data from the Encyclopaedia Metallum. It shows how the genre holds less influence in the post-industrial places of its birth, but remains extremely popular in wealthy, safe and stable Scandinavian countries.

While heavy metal may have once appealed to alienated working-class males, today the music enjoys its greatest popularity in the most advanced, wealthy, and knowledge-based areas of the world.


It shows how the genre of music now holds less influence in the post-industrial places of its birth, but remains extremely popular in the wealthy, safe and stable Scandinavian countries.

Some people believe the dark, cold days of northern Europe reflect heavy metal’s emotional darkness and fury...

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