Did You Know These Majestic Sea Dwellers Are Metalheads?

Discovery Channel’s documentary crew discovered that death metal attracts great white sharks!

While filming for the Shark Week show ‘Bride of Jaws’, the crew were looking to feature the 16-foot, 1.6 tonne great white called ‘Joan of Shark’ – the largest great white ever, electronically tagged in Australia. Playing American heavy metal band, the Darkest Hour’s music, they submerged a speaker to see if the shark would react. Not long after the music begins, a 12-foot great white approaches Shark Week cameraman Andy Casagrande’s underwater cage. A second, larger shark soon joins the party.

While the crew didn’t manage to entice Joan, the other two sharks swam straight up to the boat, brushing their heads against the submerged diving cage.

The science behind this technique works on the Great White’s supersensitivity to low-frequency vibrations, which they use to detect shoals of fish, thus the thumping, rumbling tones of heavy metal are perfect for the sharks to pick up on!

Check out the documentary clip below:

The unique tactic has apparently been employed by shark hunters before. A few years ago, shark tour operator Matt Waller found out that AC/DC also attracted sharks in Australia.

The many benefits of this new finding include a more environmentally friendly way to spot sharks, turning the practice of using chum (a mix of fish parts, bones and blood) to turn redundant. From a music industry perspective, this proved to be a boon for metal fans on shark tours, and an opportunity for record labels to find a lucrative new niche market in filmmakers and shark-spotters.

This isn’t the first time the majestic sea creatures have had an affinity to the intense genre though. American metalcore band ‘Norma Jean’ used a shark protagonist for their music video of their track “Sword In Mouth, Fire Eyes” off their shark themed 2013 album ‘Wrongdoers’. Check out the video featuring a shark go about a regular office day to heavy metal and guttural growls below:

Another heavy metal band, ‘Feed Her To The Sharks’, has taken inspiration from the fish species. Check out their art work and other metal art covers influenced by sharks below!