HiMMP Research Team
Section 1
Intensive, texturally dense section
Fast, high-intensity passage with blast beats and tremolo-picked guitars; high textural density; limited space for low-frequency weight.
Study Stimulus (Section 1)
🔊 Acoustic Hardness
Key Predictors
High spectral complexity combined with dense upper-midrange content creates a textural hardness strongly associated with heaviness perception.
💥 Temporal Punch
This mix has relatively high PM95, indicating preserved transient headroom. However, in our dense metal production data, PM95 did not add unique explanatory power for heaviness beyond hardness (β ≈ .22, non-significant).
Key Finding: While listeners perceive punch as salient, acoustic PM95 fails to track subjective punch in dense mixes. The production trade-off favors spectral saturation (hardness) over transient preservation (punch).
🎧 Perceptual Ratings
Key Insight: Perceived heaviness and subjective punch show strong correlation (listeners associate them), but acoustic PM95 fails to track subjective punch in dense mixes. This disconnect reveals that heaviness perception in metal is driven primarily by spectral-textural hardness rather than transient impact.
Producer Profile
Standard Hardness cluster; baseline research mix for comparison purposes.
Aesthetic: Research reference mix