According to various studies, roughly 62% of metal fans attending a concert are reportedly intoxicated, either with alcohol or drugs. However, it is also worth mentioning that certain studies showed that 41% of those interviewed claimed they use drugs/alcohol during concerts in order to relieve anxiety.

Still, the big picture is pretty clear. The metal genre is at the top of the list when it comes to the concert genres that people get the most intoxicated at – with only EDM coming above it. But, is there a real connection between metal fans and drugs?

The Statistics

Among the most used substances by metal fans during concerts we can find alcohol, followed by marijuana. However, alcohol stands at 93% consumption, while marijuana stands at only 40%.

Then, only 8% and less metal fans engage in the use of hallucinogens, MDMA, cocaine, and opioids. Therefore, it goes without saying that metal fans are not connected with hard drugs – and should more be associated with recreational ones.

When trying to find a real connection between a certain group of people and a music genre, for example, one has to look at the statuses of other music genres as well, obviously.

Metal Fans and Fans of Other Music

As mentioned above, EDM is often found at the top of the list when it comes to intoxication at live concerts, with roughly 68% of people claiming that they’re not sober during shows or events. Metal stands at 62%. But that is not all.

Alternative music has been seen to have around 60% of its fans intoxicated during live concerts, indie rock sits around 60% as well, reggae too, hip-hop around 59%, and folk stands at around 56%. These numbers alone can show that there is no real, or at least no extremely obvious, connection between metal fans and drug use.

It could be safe to say that music, in general, drives people towards the use of substances, among which the most common is alcohol – which is, in most cases, not even seen as a drug. 

The Most Used Drugs

When it comes to metal fans, alcohol is used the most during concerts. In terms of actual drugs, they’re not even in the top 3 users of marijuana – reggae, hip-hop, and EDM fans reportedly taking the cake.

Though 3.8% of metal fans do use hallucinogens during concerts, they are still not in the top two tiers– 9.8% of EDM fans use them, and 4.8% of indie rock fans use hallucinogens as well.

Most surveys show metal fans as casual concert drinkers and, as most of us know, people going to any kind of concert usually drink.

The Reasons

We also mentioned that certain metal fans use drugs in order to relieve social anxiety. In fact, studies show that at least two in five indie rock/metal fans use drugs during a concert so that they’re less anxious.

On the other side of the spectrum, we find that 77% of the people who use drugs during EDM, and jazz concerts do so just to increase their feeling of enjoyment. 

The results of the study showing the reasons for drug use during concerts display metal fans only in the social anxiety-related column. In short, most metal fans don’t use drugs to relax, increase energy, experiment, increase enjoyment, connect with the artist, or just because they’re available.

The Bottom Line

So, in the end, is there a real connection between metal fans and drugs? The general answer would be no. Throughout the years, as the norms for substance use have changed, we see that music fans switched from hard drugs to mainly alcohol and marijuana.

Nowadays, the percentages are bound to get lower as CBD companies and other type of companies can provide individuals and music fans with legal and safe ways to relieve anxiety.