Understand the Research
The Lab is grounded in the Heaviness in Metal Music Production project and two under-review empirical studies. This section explains:
- the theoretical background on heaviness, softness, hardness, and punch,
- the musical and technical features of the song used as stimulus,
- the production study with nine producers, and
- the design and analysis of the psychoacoustic listening tests.
These pages provide the context needed to read the Lab not just as a learning tool, but also as a transparent companion to the scientific work.
Theory
Hardness, punch, and heaviness: a theoretical background
Explore the conceptual foundations of the research. Learn how heaviness in metal is approached as a multilayered percept emerging from interactions between sound production, musical structure, genre conventions, and listening contexts. Understand the ecological perception and conceptual-blend frameworks that inform the Lab.
Read Theory →Song
The song: composition, arrangement, and recording
Learn about "In Solitude", the original composition created for the HiMMP project. Understand how the song was designed to evoke recognisable metal tropes while including contrasting sections that allow producers to demonstrate different approaches to heaviness, clarity, and impact.
About the Song →Methodology
Study design and analysis
Understand the research design behind the Lab. Review the production study with nine experienced metal producers, the listening tests with participants rating segments on heaviness and punch, and the acoustic models used to estimate hardness and related metrics.
View Methodology →About the HiMMP Project
The Heaviness in Metal Music Production (HiMMP) project is a research initiative investigating the perceptual, acoustic, and production dimensions of heaviness in metal music. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the project combines psychoacoustic experiments, production studies with professional engineers, and theoretical frameworks from music psychology and sound studies.
The Lab represents one output of this research, translating academic findings into an interactive format accessible to producers, educators, students, and researchers. For more information about the broader project, visit the main HiMMP website.