Ever noticed metalheads contorting their faces during a particularly intense riff? Of course, you've done that more times than you can remember. This facial expression – occasionally referred to as "stank face" – is a familiar sight among fans and musicians in the metal community, almost as common as air guitar. And now we have some science to understand why we actually do that.
UK scientist Milton Mermikides recently explained the "phenomenon" in a conversation with Guitar World, linking it to both a dopamine surge from a powerful riff and the dissonant sound of a distorted guitar.
Mermikides described the reaction as "perhaps just a modern term for a long-documented musical experience which falls somewhere between deep visceral pleasure and a sort of physical engagement, irritation or even repulsion – an ecstatic ‘pleasurable pain.'" This complex response involves music's unique capacity to elicit a range of physical and emotional reactions in listeners. According to Mermikides, "these include our response to dissonance, such as the roughness of a sound – a scrunchy chord, an angular melody or a syncopated rhythm."
He further elaborated that when these elements are combined with the dopamine release from satisfying musical expectations, it can lead to 'cross-modal' responses. "It's as if the music is so rich, flavorsome, and satisfying it bleeds into our other senses. Not only do we hear it, we can almost taste and smell it – hence the characteristic facial and bodily responses."
Guitar World also gathered insights from various musicians on this topic, including Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb, and Jake Bowen of progressive metal band Periphery: "Sometimes it just takes a few seconds of hearing a riff and the face appears; no words need to be said. In the writing room, stank faces are the nexus of our language because they're non-verbal." He emphasizes that "stank face riffs can't be too notey. It needs to have a Neanderthal element to work."
"It's like a reflex. It's one of those things that you react to and then you think about." Importantly too, it's a way of communicating appreciation – a primal, unconscious reaction and an honor bestowed upon only the best riffs," added Mansoor.
"I remember Plini and Tosin Abasi coming over to hear a demo of Wildfire," added Holcomb. "It was when that second riff came in; I remember looking at their faces to see how they honestly felt about the music. When you get that stank face reaction from someone you respect, as silly as it sounds, it holds a lot of weight."
