Sailors Use Heavy Metal To Deter Orcas From Their Boats

Author Morty

November 20th, 2023 11:37 AM

Orcas swimming in the ocean.

Imagine you’re out on your boat fishing and all of a sudden a huge thump hits your boat. It rocks the boat so hard you worry about damage. What is it? Orcas or better known as killer whales. This is happening more often than you think off the Iberian coast. But how are they trying to deter them?

Heavy Metal Music To Deter Killer Whales – Crank It Up!

Sailors are getting tired of the killer whales bumping their boats and they’re not fighting back. How? They’re playing heavy metal music. The New York Times talked to a sailor that said they turned to heavy metal music to deter them. They would blast the music through underwater speakers to try and scare off the orcas. The sailors created a lengthy heavy metal playlist to use to play underwater.

Are Killer Whales Turned Off From Heavy metal Music? Is It Working?

Business Insider talked to the director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia. His name is Andrew Trites. Andrew says that blasting heavy metal music in the water isn’t a good idea at all. It’s not really deterring the orcas away from them. It actually alerts the whales of the boats location. Trites told Business Insider, “Initially, the playing of loud sounds underwater might mask the signature sounds of sailboats, but ultimately the whales would catch on and use it to more easily locate vessels playing it.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says that noise polluting the waters is a major issue for ocean wild life already, so blasting heavy metal into it isn’t helping at all. As it does with humans, it is doing the same with the ocean life. When we go to a heavy metal show, we shout, scream, mosh, and more. It causes us to get riled up and aggressive. Image the same with a killer whale?

We have more on this story in today’s Other News!

Morty is the Executive Producer of “The Mike And Carla Morning Show” on 96.3 KKLZ. He's been a part of the show and station for 5 years. Aside from producing the morning show, he has served as production director for over 20 years. Those commercials you hear between the music, he produced a lot of them for Las Vegas! He loves music, playing guitar, all things Vegas Golden Knights, the Steelers, and his English Bulldog, Squish! He will talk forever with you on any of these things! Morty writes about peculiar news stories and Las Vegas happenings.

Music From These Artists Make People Feel The Most Confident

Music can be used to regulate your mood by easing negative emotions and enhancing positive ones. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, our favorite melodies release dopamine, known as the “feel-good hormone.” They also said that fast tempos can psychologically and physiologically arouse us, helping energize us for the day which can have a positive impact on our mental state.

They say these music acts make people feel the most confident.

Within Health, a company that helps with eating disorders recoveries study on how music impacts body image. Part of their study features music acts in several genres that they say make people feel confident.

They used the searches on a digital music streaming service to gather their results. Compiling a total of 2,544 playlists that were found when searching “confidence,” “feel good,” “body positivity,” “body image,” “feeling ugly,” and “bad body image.”

The study found that Lizzo is the top artist to listen to for body confidence. When it comes to the rock genre, it’s the most listened-to genre by fans with positive body image at percent.

Another result from the study found that 28 percent of people think music videos have a negative impact on body image.

Body-positive playlist vs. negative body image playlist.

Meanwhile, the top three songs found on the body-positive playlist include “Confident” by Demi Lovato, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, and “Kill Bill” by SZA. These and many other songs in this category feature lyrics about strong individuals who reject outdated beauty standards in favor of creating their own.

The top three songs found on the negative body image playlist include “Prom Queen” by Beach Bunny, “Fat Funny Friend” by Maddie Zahm, and “Jealousy, Jealousy” by Olivia Rodrigo. Playlists on the negative end of the body positivity spectrum were more often populated with songs about struggling with beauty standards.

Their research showed specific artists that are linked to making people feel confident. From Luke Combs, Drake, and Nirvana to Daft Punk, Pink Floyd, and Taylor Swift.

See the full study and complete list of top artists who make people feel confident for various genres here.

Here are artists that make people feel confident by genre.

Country – Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood topped the country genre list for artists who make people feel confident. She is followed by Shania Twain, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Toby Keith. Underwood shared the best ways to gain confidence with The Country Daily. She said that some days you’ve just got to fake it until you make it. “‘Okay, just kind of pretend like you know what you’re doing [laughing] until you actually do,’ and I feel like that worked,” she shared.
Metal – Metallica
Metallica topped the metal genre list for artists who make people feel confident. The band was number one out of five other music acts followed by Tool, Nirvana, Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold.
Rock – Queen
Queen is number one on the rock genre list for artists who make people feel confident. Dr Jacob Jolij, a cognitive neuroscientist the University of Groningen in Holland said that the top feel-good song is Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Some of the other music acts on the list include Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd.
Pop – Lizzo
From Taylor Swift, and Adele, to Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga. Lizzo tops the list for pop artists who make people feel confident. She has shown many times that she is all about body positivity and self-confidence. Whether its in her music, social media presence, or motivational speeches when she’s snagging up an award, its no surprise she tops the list.
EDM – Alesso
Alesso topped the EDM genre list for artists who make people feel confident. The band was number one out of five other music acts followed by the late Avicii, Daft Punk, Seven Lions, and Tiesto. Many of these artists were also named as EDM Sauce’s top artists for Feel Good Songs.
Hip-Hop/ Rap – Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion topped the hip-hop/ rap genre list for artists who make people feel confident. She lead the pack followed by Drake, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Eminem. These artists often produce high energy music with lyrics that highlight being confident.