THE DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES ISSUE
King Diamond and Myrkur Appear on Covers of Dec/Jan Magazine
Why do we have nightmares? What's the f*cking point? Why would evolution shape a creature so pathetic as to suffer restless nights because its own subconscious concocts terrifying visions?
Harvard brainiac, Allan Hobson, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, has this idea: Rather than just responses to events and feelings in waking life, nightmares could be "dress rehearsals" for experiences of negative emotion, such s terror and anxiety, to come. Evolution has selected for a "brain [that] is innately fearful and innately angry," he theorized, and that brain produces nightmares that help prep us, mentally and emotionally, to navigate a maddening world. "The individual who can have bad dreams has a better chance of survival than one who can't," he wrote in The New York Times. "Bad feelings in dreams can prepare us for bad feelings in our social lives."
We can relate to that — the world is maddening and our brains do seem "innately angry." The idea also makes sense because we know that dark, heavy music full of rage, angst and aggression can serve a similar purpose to what Hobson proposes for nightmares. It not only helps us process the feelings that we already have, but it also sets us up to handle anger, frustration and other negative emotions better down the line. Heavy music, like nightmares, can help us acknowledge the darkness, integrate the shadow and move forward.
In that spirit, we present Revolver's "Dreams and Nightmares" issue.
