From moments of terror to states of serenity: Hardcore Techno as a catharsis

When it comes to the expression of things such as violence, aggression, brutality, crime, sex, and other negative and / or taboo topics within art and media, there seem to be two major positions.

The first is that such "negative" themes have a very negative, dangerous, damnable influence on human individuals, especially on teens and young adults; that they would degrade and rot away culture, twist the minds (and souls), and in the end cause them to commit unspeakable deeds.

The second position is that "violence etc." has a neutral or non-effect; that humans generally are mature and smart enough to differ between "fiction and reality", know very well that crimes and brutality just happen withing the hypothetical realm of the media they consume, and not in the real world; that the director or author, musician, poet does not really endorse these things: so they're left unchanged by this.

Of course there are shades between these two seemingly diametral positions; e.g. the idea that negative media could twist those with a "weaker" mind or psyche, while exceptionally smart or stable people are immune to it, and so on.

yet, it is often overlooked that there is a possible third position, that transcends the dualism of the abovementioned two.

the idea that "negative emotions" in media can actually have a positive effect on the viewer, reader, listener.

that these "damnable media" are more than "neutral at best", and can be very good and helpful as a matter of fact.

Now let's cut to the world of Hardcore and Gabber. One of the main criticism launched against these genres precisely is that they would be overly aggressive, violent, hateful, dark, depressive and gloomy.

And while the above content can surely be found within hardcore tracks - I don't think that that is something negative or bad at all.

And explaining this will be a good illustration of the abovementioned potential "transformative / ameliorative" effect that art is capable of; the 'third position' that we hinted at above.

Listening, dancing, and enjoying Hardcore Techno allows the listener to undergo a catharsis and metamorphosis; pent up emotions get released; excessive rage, anger, hatred gets released and withers away; fear and terror are induced, pass through the mind, and then are gone. All that's hurt- and wasteful gets flushed out of your mind, soul, subconsciousness.

The listeners comes out of this catharsis renewed, purified, and cleansed; the darkness has been experienced, encountered, and overcome.

You are whole again.

If I would not be a so a clichéd word / concept by now, one could say that Hardcore Techno can act like a "therapy": you face your deepest fears and darkest pain and learn to handle them, and more importantly, to release them, to express them, to let go of them.

And you can learn to make peace with what you consider the dismal parts of your thoughts, mind, personality. And become one for once.

Light and dark, chaos and order, combined, in harmony.

Of course, this might not work for everyone. Some folk take drugs on Hardcore, get fucked up, and don't recover. Life is dangerous and not fair, ain't?

But generally. With its extreme and negative emotions and sentiments, Hardcore can help you become more peaceful, more restful, more at ease - by inducing a catharsis.

It can help you help you heal, it can help you improve, and a myriad of other things.

That's the wonderful metamorphosis of Hardcore Techno.