New study reveals the band most likely to make people feel sad

Music has been known as one of the most uplifting mediums anyone could ask for. Even if the weight of the world gets too much on most people, thousands of listeners have found solace through their favourite artists, offering a companion when their lives are looking bleak. While many artists have tried to make compelling, upbeat music, other times, artists have had the opposite result on their fans.

When talking about the most depressing of all time, thousands automatically gravitate towards the dark side of music. Although artists like The Cure have been heralded as kings of dark genres, their music has been known to uplift their fans, with Robert Smith talking about his undying love for his companion in songs like ‘Just Like Heaven’ and ‘Friday I’m In Love’.

The world of metal has also been questioned numerous times about its depressing impact on its listeners. Although many bands may like to make the sludgiest music imaginable, that sonic darkness often helps to relieve the darkness in their soul, with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett recalling in Metal Evolution, “When I wasn’t feeling right, I would put on a metal album and feel instant relief”.

In a recent study with Preply, listeners wanted to get to the heart of which artists make their listeners feel sad. While the artists most known to uplift their audience have included the likes of Ed Sheeran in the pop sphere, it wasn’t shocking to see many of the heavier brands of rock music put their audience through the emotional wringer.

The biggest upset of bands that made their listeners feel sad was Radiohead. While the 1990s juggernauts have been known for making the most depressive music of all time for years, the British rock stars didn’t even land in the top ten artists most likely to make their audience sad, awarding the top prize to Panic! At the Disco.

Although Brendon Urie’s take on theatrical rock and roll is known for having a reasonably upbeat structure to most of their tunes, the real key to making their audience feel sad is the lyrics the frontman puts over his beats. Despite the massive appeal of a song like ‘This Is Gospel’, the story at the centre of the track is pretty heartbreaking, with Urie talking candidly about the struggles of previous band members and wondering whether or not his band is even going to survive the aftermath of their wild years.

The same could be said about another inclusion on the list, My Chemical Romance, known for writing songs with the most triumphant choruses of all time set in the backdrop of lyrics about dying cancer patients and murder. Even though the lyrics play a part in making the listener sad, pain can also be thrust into a song without even knowing it.

While acts like Linkin Park may have created a song as a means to overcome their pain, the tragic passing of the band’s singer Chester Bennington cast a dark shroud around the lyrics, knowing that the singer ultimately lost his battle with his demons. Even though an artist may write a song with the attention of unleashing all their pent-up frustrations, sadness also comes from what interpretations the listener thrusts onto the song without the composer knowing it.