# Moshing - Yay or nay?



## BenSolace

I've done a search on this and seen nothing, so forgive me if this topic has been discussed before.

To everyone in a band that performs live - what is your opinion on crowds moshing at gigs? Do you encourage it, or leave the audience to do what they will?

I personally don't encourage it, nor do I really get anything out of seeing a crowd moshing when I play live. The style of music I write, play, and listen to isn't really moshing music IMO - it's more the kind of thing you would go to see live for the sake of actually listening to the music in a more intimate/energetic scenario, rather than jumping around and crashing into one another. I'm also the kind of guy that stands in a calm spot at the venue, nodding along to the music if spectating.

On the other hand, I suspect the general consensus on here would probably be the complete opposite, so if anyone cares to share their opinion for or against it, I'd be interested to hear it


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## JLP2005

For however 'fun' it might be do be a bit raucous and violent, terrible things have happened in mosh pits-- broken teeth, broken jaws, broken bones. I saw someone get trampled and hauled out on a stretcher at a Machine Head concert-- fucking dumb. It's the one thing about the metal subculture that I think is just plain retarded. Don't do it. Bang your head like a fucking epileptic and scream your ass off in rage, but don't hit another human being. 

Then again, I'm a hippy metalhead.


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## BenSolace

JLP2005 said:


> For however 'fun' it might be do be a bit raucous and violent, terrible things have happened in mosh pits-- broken teeth, broken jaws, broken bones. I saw someone get trampled and hauled out on a stretcher at a Machine Head concert-- fucking dumb. It's the one thing about the metal subculture that I think is just plain retarded. Don't do it. Bang your head like a fucking epileptic and scream your ass off in rage, but don't hit another human being.
> 
> Then again, I'm a hippy metalhead.



I don't profess to understand the reasoning behind moshing, but I was under the impression that there was some sort of etiquette in place to stop people getting seriously hurt. Maybe that's just wishful thinking!

When I go to a concert (albeit mostly unsigned bands) I go to enjoy the energy and live interpretation of the music, not to get my ass handed to me


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## Konfyouzd

I think it looks a bit silly from an outside-looking-in perspective but if other folks enjoy it and its not affecting my own enjoyment, who am I to judge?

It appears there is an etiquette of sorts. Some simply choose to ignore it like anything else.


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## BIG ND SWEATY

BenHughesDS said:


> I was under the impression that there was some sort of etiquette in place to stop people getting seriously hurt. Maybe that's just wishful thinking!


 there is just as long as there isnt a bunch of tough guy assholes at the shows, if someone sees you fall you'll usually get picked right back up


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## Idontpersonally

lol @ hippie metal head. I consider myself one although I would encourage people to fight at my shows, I would encourage etiquette as well. It's a good feeling to get picked up off the ground. Almost better than sex imo. So, Yay.


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## Sinistro

For me, I started moshing in 8th grade, and most of the shows I went to were medium sized hardcore bands and punk bands. For me moshing is pure adrenaline. I've been to countless shows and the only thing that has ever happened to me was getting my nose broken from a stray fist. The guy didn't even notice but would have been mortified if he knew he did it. It was just that type of show. I've never been to a show with moshing that guys weren't nice (that didn't get kicked out for being assholes.)


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## Konfyouzd

Idontpersonally said:


> lol @ hippie metal head. I consider myself one although I would encourage people to fight at my shows, I would encourage etiquette as well. It's a good feeling to get picked up off the ground. Almost better than sex imo. So, Yay.


 
You *would* encourage fighting? That's... Lame.

I remember I went to see a show once and some moshing got out of hand and one guy got ROCKED for it... The band stopped playing and started encouraging them to keep fighting. 

Ya know... Cuz that's what everyone else paid for...


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## jordanky

I'm too old and hurt too much beforehand to mosh anymore, but I dig seeing people killing each other while I play. Makes me feel good!


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## Tones

I love the feeling of playing on stage and there's a pit and mosh to our shit. Unreal feeling. Me personally I stay away from pits when I'm at shows, but i feel like it's part of the 'scene' now. If kids want to beat the crap out of themselves, so be it. I didn't say shit lol


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## BenSolace

Another thing to add, for us guys in bands that aren't past playing some shows where the "stage" area is the same level as the crowd, to me it lends an unwanted feeling of cautiousness. I've had the mic stand knocked over and hit me in the face in the middle of a vocal passage that took me completely by surprise, and I've not got the longest temper in the world when stuff like that happens!  Luckily I bring my own mic that has a foam guard on it, or else I may have lost some teeth!


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## goldsteinat0r

I have seen pits stopped because someone got hurt or dropped their cell phone/keys/whatever. 

Nothing cooler than seeing a 6'-4" 300lb monster of a dude with a Cerberus tattoo on his back stop a pit and hold up a cell phone that happened to belong to my friend Ben at the time.  

"Here you go bro. Ok everybody GO!"

So, if everyone is just in there to have a good time and you look out for each other (meaning you don't actively try to fuck people up like slam dancers do) I say go for it. Its fun as shit. Or maybe I just go to wussy shows. 

My band encourages it, but nobody ever seems to do it. lol


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## Konfyouzd

Oh snap... I didn't realize we had a badass in the room...


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## Idontpersonally

Konfyouzd said:


> Oh snap... I didn't realize we had a badass in the room...



glad you think derailing is funny, you must be confused.


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## hairychris

Used to get involved when I was a lot younger, can't be arsed now. I don't mind as long as people aren't either drunken pricks or tough guys. They can fuck off.



Konfyouzd said:


> Oh snap... I didn't realize we had a badass in the room...


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## Konfyouzd

Noobs are fun... 

/Feeding troll (wouldn't want him to fill up in his first month here...)


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## BenSolace




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## cwhitey2

I loved seeing kids throw down when I played live. It just adds energy to the show imo.

Old people dont like it....but who cares.


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## BenSolace

cwhitey2 said:


> I loved seeing kids throw down when I played live. It just adds energy to the show imo.
> 
> Old people dont like it....but who cares.



According to Urban Dictionary, throwdown can mean two very different things. See points 2 and 6;

Urban Dictionary: throwdown

So with that in mind, I assume you mean the former.

P.S. Yes, I am 24 and I still had to look up the definition of "throwdown!"


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## Konfyouzd

You live in Britain... We don't understand your slang either.


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## Andromalia

Not a fan of moshing, either when I play(ed) or when I'm the attendance. If I want to make friends I offer them a beer, I don't punch them.


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## hairychris

Konfyouzd said:


> You live in Britain... We don't understand your slang either.



Me neither, but I've never pretended to be "down with the kids"....


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## Konfyouzd

Holy crap that's hideously terrifying.


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## Tones

I went to a concert and Asking Alexandria was playing noplease:.. i know) This douchebag was flailing his arms like a lunatic, and there are pits and kids everywhere so there's no where to go. My friend pushed the douche aside so he doesn't end up getting nailed, but then he deliberately punched my friend in the face. I then proceeded to continuously bash his face in and wrestled to the ground, then my other friend jumped in and helped me out. It was over in a matter of seconds and we were split up by bystanders. 
Moral of the story
-practice proper moshing etiquette
-deliberately hitting someone will end you up in a world of trouble
-don't go to asking alexandria shows


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## guitarfishbay

So, in the USA, is Moshing still just pushing around or does it include hardcore dancing (spin kicking and windmilling).

I really am not a fan of windmill/spin kick stuff. It honestly stopped me checking out local metal gigs at one point, because you had to stand way back out of the way, and I love being up front and watching the musicians. Things seem better now.

But a good high energy mosh pit can be fun, so long as people stick to the 'rules', and the pit stops if anyone falls or needs assistance.


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## DarkWolfXV

Moshing = ok
Hardcore dancing = gtfo


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## tripguitar

being on stage and having a huge pit during your music is why i originally started playing in bands. its a high like nothing else to have all those kids get _that _into my music. 

I always encouraged moshing/hardcore dancing at my bands shows, and i used to mosh myself when i was younger... but now i'd be the old guy in the pit and i'd probably get destroyed.

in CT moshing kinda ruined the local metal scene... for a while it was fine and everyone got along, then shows started to get bigger and different circles of friends started meeting at the same shows... thats when the fights started breaking out. there would seriously be at least one fight at every show, often times ending in a trip to the hospital or the police showing up and the show ending early with like 2 or 3 bands who never even got to play.

 i miss 2006


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## sage

I'm 39. I still mosh. I hate those fuckers who punch people in the pit and flail about and I won't tolerate it. A quick, "Cut it out, if you hurt somebody because you're being an idiot, I'm going to hurt you," conversation usually shuts it down. I think that, within the scope of the unwritten mosh rules, it's a healthy physical expression and I love seeing it when I play and I enjoy participating in it when I watch bands. I just can't go for as long anymore. I need to sit out one song out of every 5. I don't encourage it. I think a band asking the crowd to mosh is lame. If you're not inspiring a pit with your music, don't demand one over the PA. Get better. Get heavier. The pit will take care of itself.


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## Konfyouzd

Moshing I see no issue with... It's when ppl take it too seriously and start fighting that I think it's annoying.

I went to a local show recently and there was this one guy in the center of the pit who was clearly much larger than the rest of the folks... And he just ran around in circles like a mobile brick wall just trucking ppl. It looked like he was the ONLY person having fun, honestly and it didn't help that he was amused he could knock over people half his size that weren't even expecting him to be a prick.

I went to a Vital Remains show in VA Beach years ago... Dude was doing that arm flailing thing. He swung back and popped a guy right in the head. He turned around to see that the guy was a pretty decent sized person and wasn't happy AT ALL... The kid put his hoodie up and tried to disappear into the crowd. The guy that got hit LITERALLY grabbed him by the back of his hoodie, bent him over backwards and punched him in the throat...

At that very same show, some other kids were still flailing around. Out of nowhere I see someone close to the front row, turn around, lift one of the kids up and just run them into a wall. This is the situation I referred to earlier in which the band just stopped playing and started yelling "Fight fight fight!" 

Again... I have nothing wrong with moshing in theory, but if that's how you're gonna act about it, do that shit on your own time.


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## MrCthulhu

Moshing will always somewhat exist in the metal/hardcore scene. I really enjoy it, I've been to some huge shows where I'm in the pit for hours, shredded shirt, covered in sweat. Every time someone falls they get picked right back up, and nobody is "really" out to hurt anyone it seems. However, there are some of the horrible hardcore, elbow throwing, spin kicking idiots, that for some reason try and get in the pit. Last show I was at, I got elbowed straight in the jaw twice from this one skinny kid throwing elbows....well after the second one he ended up sliding across the floor, because I felt that 2 elbows to the face was enough. Please, if you want to hardcore dance, do it at home.


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## BenSolace

sage said:


> I'm 39. I still mosh. I hate those fuckers who punch people in the pit and flail about and I won't tolerate it. A quick, "Cut it out, if you hurt somebody because you're being an idiot, I'm going to hurt you," conversation usually shuts it down. I think that, within the scope of the unwritten mosh rules, it's a healthy physical expression and I love seeing it when I play and I enjoy participating in it when I watch bands. I just can't go for as long anymore. I need to sit out one song out of every 5. I don't encourage it.* I think a band asking the crowd to mosh is lame.* If you're not inspiring a pit with your music, don't demand one over the PA. Get better. Get heavier. The pit will take care of itself.



Makes me chuckle when a band is playing to a crowd of no more than 20 people just watching calmly, then just before a breakdown they yell something like "I wanna see everyone tear this place apart," or "get your asses up here and go nuts," and half the people watching are like  and the other half are  (except with beer!)


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## Konfyouzd

Ya know what's weird... I feel like some ppl are just as into the songs and the band, but for some watching the band play is actually more exciting.


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## BenSolace

Konfyouzd said:


> Ya know what's weird... I feel like some ppl are just as into the songs and the band, but for some watching the band play is actually more exciting.



QFT. I love watching and listening to bands live, so as a result I'm rarely able to get near the front, especially on larger acts. Sometimes I feel I might be slightly haphephobic as I can't stand being touched, sometimes even by people in my family - probably starting to see the reason why I dont relish the thought of being thrown around by sweaty metalheads


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## pullingstraws

I don't mind moshing, but I do prefer staying in a more chill area upfront.
The one thing I really don't like is when I'm on the edge of the pit and people
try to push me in.

And don't even get me started on hardcore dancing....


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## MassNecrophagia

Karate-moshing is fucking stupid. I don't trust you enough to swing your shit around and be completely aware of your surroundings.


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## renzoip

I used to mosh back when I was in my younger punk rock years. It was fun because it was it was all about people circle pitting, crowd surfing, stage diving. I felt that the energy of it it was part of the show.

Once I crossed over to the metal scene, I noticed their moshing was more about people bumping into each other and shoving each other around, with the occasional punch/kick to the face. Also, I found it to be a distraction form the show rather than a part of it.

Nowadays, I don't mosh or encourage people to mosh when I'm on stage. I play power metal and it just looks ridiculous when people mosh to this kind of music.


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## Yimmj

idk about you guys but moshing is so fun. most shows i go to moshing is great, i mean if you watch what youre doing, testosterone adrenaline rush feeling


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## Hemorrhage

People seem to have very different visualizations about what the term even actually means. 

Atleast on the style of music I play and go to listen (melodic/symphonic death metal, folk metal etc), people do not seek to hurt others (there are always exceptions) and there definitely is an unspoken etiquette of how to do it in a good spirit. As far as I have attended, people help the other. Might be considerably area and subgenre related tho. My personal experience is limited to Finland & Brazil with this one.

So, *Yay*.


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## hairychris

BenHughesDS said:


> Makes me chuckle when a band is playing to a crowd of no more than 20 people just watching calmly, then just before a breakdown they yell something like "I wanna see everyone tear this place apart," or "get your asses up here and go nuts," and half the people watching are like  and the other half are  (except with beer!)


So much this.


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## ghostred7

I'm too fat & old for moshing...never really did it. Given how frequently pits happen with the smaller qty of injury reports....there is typically an understood etiquette else I would think or we'd hear about it more.

I remember at the '91 Clash of the Titans tour (AiC/Anthrax/Megadeth/Slayer) that Anthrax actually stopped the show, made them cut the lights on, and settle people down b/c they were breaching the "understood" etiquette and people were getting hurt. 

If people want to do it...cool. Most people I know will mosh the shit out of someone in the pit, but if someone fell down, would also be the first to offer a hand up to rinse & repeat.


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## troyguitar

I'd be happy if the pits just stayed away from the front. If you're not going to watch the damn show, get out of the way and let people who want to see get up front.


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## BenSolace

troyguitar said:


> I'd be happy if the pits just stayed away from the front. If you're not going to watch the damn show, get out of the way and let people who want to see get up front.



+ 1,000,000


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## Konfyouzd

Yuuuuuup...


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## faceforward_007

Mosh away, if it suits the music! You feed off that energy for sure, and even in the pit, I enjoy getting a little rough.

Stop when you start punching kids and physically hurting others, thats just retarded.


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## Yimmj

faceforward_007 said:


> Mosh away, if it suits the music! You feed off that energy for sure, and even in the pit, I enjoy getting a little rough.
> 
> Stop when you start punching kids and physically hurting others, thats just retarded.


 
fully in agreement here haha


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## asher

troyguitar said:


> I'd be happy if the pits just stayed away from the front. If you're not going to watch the damn show, get out of the way and let people who want to see get up front.



This is why I'm really considering not going to shows at the Fillmore in Silver Springs MD any more. Both times the crowd was a bunch of fucking dicks about it - getting clawed at, hit in the back all night, people trying to throw us off the rail, people trying to mosh at horribly inopportune times, etc. May have been extra sour because I was trying to keep my girl from getting flattened but everything was horribly distracting.

I'd be super psyched if I were on the stage though, I'm sure.


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## Ibanezsam4

moshing to Gojira.. best feeling ever. there were no pit ninjas, everybody looked out for each other and the last time i went two big marine guys held up the pit so me and 5 other long-haired metal brethren could form a headbanging circle in the center of the show. 

moshing is fun and depends on the crowd. if everybody is nice it adds to the experience, if the crowd is shit, the pit is shit


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## JEngelking

Feel like chiming in here: 

First off: FUCK hardcore dancing and fighting invisible ninjas. That's just reckless and dumb IMO.

Second: I agreed that you should let mosh pits start themselves. I think it's lame when the vocalist for some local band who most people in the crowd have never heard before starts motioning and yelling for a circle pit or mosh pit. If the moment and energy is right, the pit will happen.

___________________________________________________

I go to a fair amount of local punk shows, and I for one enjoy moshing when the time is right. I went to see Opeth and Mastodon last spring and I was in the pit for the great majority of Mastodon's set and the last couple songs for Opeth. Fun as hell, and mosh etiquette was obeyed. Some of these things include not bothering those on the wall of the pit just watching and enjoying the music, picking up those who fall down, no deliberate hitting, etc.. However, what I DON'T enjoy is when I'm watching a smaller local act at a local venue where I just want to enjoy the music and watch, but some guys who's "s00pr hxc pnk" decides he wants a pit, so he just starts shoving random people.  I've seen it, and been involved, on several occasions where that happens and it's honestly just bothersome to everyone around those people who can't just tone down the testosterone and listen to the music itself.

There's a place around where I live that's basically a space the size of a medium sized basement and a lot of punk/hardcore/grind bands will play, and the fact that it doubles as a practice space for local bands means there's drums and cabs and other gear just lying around and pushed against the walls. One dude at the show I was at decided he was getting jacked for this song, so he started shoving random people, effectively making the whole standing area a pit. I got caught in his little firing line, and fell over on to the edge of a bass drum. Many bruises were had the next day.

I have plenty of stories of people like this, but I think I'll end this post here.
TL;DR- Moshing is fun and cool to do when the time is right. Just don't get those involved who aren't likeminded to you and just wanna watch the band play.


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## straightshreddd

I don't mind push moshing or hardcore dancing as long as the people participating aren't specifically aiming to hurt people. 

I don't dance anymore, but it must be pretty exhilarating for the band to see people going ape shit to their music. 

I hate pit bullies, though. I went to a show a few years ago at this local venue and a gang of huge hardcore dudes, with hoodies and camo shorts, were only crowd killing all the chill bystanders made up of girls and passive skinny kids. 

I was pretty disgusted. They avoided all the other equally large people. My old vocalist's girlfriend got elbowed straight to the nose and started crying while a crowd of people came to her aid. The hardcore asshole walked away laughing and stood with his huge crew. 

I felt really bad for both of them and wished I could have shot a double leg takedown on that douche without all his friends jumping me. 

I saw BTBAM at House of Blues in Orlando when I was 14 and I was in the very front. Sporadic push pits were forming every where. It was my first show and I was pretty stoked so I jumped in and it was super fun. It was aggressive and adrenaline filled but everyone was laughing and having a good time. 

Then, some grown ass dude pushed me super hard and I almost fell so I pushed him back. He pushed me again even harder and I realized I was no match for his strength and he was really drunk and getting reckless so I backed off and went back to the very front, hanging onto the railing. He followed me and started ramming his shoulder into my back really hard. 

At this point, I'm just hanging onto the railing trying not to pass out. This massive 6'7" beast of a security guard sees the painful expression in my face and the asshole behind me and reaches over and pulls him by the shirt over me, like a bully in a flick from the 80's, and says "HEY, ASSHOLE. GET THE FUCK OFF HIM." and tosses him back into the crowd. 

All in all, ANY kind of pit rough housing can be dangerous, annoying and filled with assholes. But, if some proper etiquette is implemented and people are aware of what they're doing and don't try to harm anyone, then I don't care what you do. I've had fun push pitting and hardcore dancing so I can't hate on either.


One thing is for certain though: Pop punk shows have the best, funnest, and safest pits.


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## incinerated_guitar

I'm pretty "meh" when it comes to moshing. I enjoy seeing it at our shows, and I also really enjoy seeing a huge wall of people headbanging just as much, almost more-so than the moshing. I dont really like asking for a pit though, it just seems amature-ish to me. Lame as others have put it Now when I'm at a show listening to other bands, moshing has kind of stopped being my thing. For one, my long ass hair blinds me and I cant see  And two, it keeps me from really enjoying the music. I recently went and saw "Five Characters In Search of an Exit", which is a Dillinger Escape Plan-esq band, and for the most part of the show, I just stood right off to the side of the singer, and sat with my head down and just kind of bobbed my head. I think the singer thought I wasnt getting into it, and he kept trying to get me to look like I was enjoying it, even though thats exactly what I do when Im really into a band lol. I moshed at one point though, but not for very long. And I also jumped in on the chants in their songs as well, because nothing is quite as metal...or well....hardcore....as getting right up to the mic and having a bunch of people jumping on top of you trying to reach it too while all of you scream out some big chant 

EDIT: And with those guys that take it too far, I HATE them. I played a show at a local death metal only (not anymore though) venue, and I was watching one of the other bands, and some 300+ pound guy who was much bigger than me (mind you I'm a good 6'2", 245 pounds) came running towards me and slammed me into the wall pretty fucking hard, and threw my drummer's 56 year old dad right into another band's kit sitting off to the side. Then he proceeded to launch my bassist across the room into my girlfriend and her friends. That really got to me. But I couldn't confront him, as I was in his crews territory, since they ran the venue, and they're a "fuck with one, fuck with all of us" death metal crew.


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## Dayn

No. For both self-preservation and the preservation of others. If they break my glasses they may as well have bought ten tickets.

I have resigned myself to the unfortunate fact that I may never see many of my favourite bands because of this.


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## Moltar

Dayn said:


> No. For both self-preservation and the preservation of others. If they break my glasses they may as well have bought ten tickets.
> 
> I have resigned myself to the unfortunate fact that I may never see many of my favourite bands because of this.



While I understand you not wanting to be a part in it, you should still go see your favorite bands. I have been to a lot of shows and there is always a spot where its safe.


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## Dayn

Moltar said:


> While I understand you not wanting to be a part in it, you should still go see your favorite bands. I have been to a lot of shows and there is always a spot where its safe.


Note the aforementioned glasses: I need to be able to see them from far away.


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## whatupitsjoe

cwhitey2 said:


> I loved seeing kids throw down when I played live. It just adds energy to the show imo.
> 
> Old people dont like it....but who cares.



Used to have kids moshing all the time when I played in a band years ago. With my new band, we just played our fourth show (first real hardcore/metal show) and we had a few guys going. It brang me back to when I was 18....what a great feeling


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## Itchyman

I broke 2 ribs in a Slayer pit once.


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## whatupitsjoe

Itchyman said:


> I broke 2 ribs in a Slayer pit once.



awesome.

my friend broke his nose by getting kicked in the face and bled everywhere at a hardcore show.
i got a walking concussion at a bleeding through show.


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## JEngelking

On the topic of mosh pit injuries, aside from the frequent scrapes and bruises, the worst/most obvious injury I got was after getting accidentally elbowed in the face in a Mastodon pit. Nice big bruise on my cheek.


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## Nemonic

Yay
It is a way to show emotions, mainly anger. I think it is something like hardcore based dance.

Nay
People often do their music by learning progressions and techniques their favorite band use. I often see bands where it is like some kind of exercise, you do circle pit, mosh pit, single mosh, wall of death... while the music is bad.
Also drunk guys always have more anger, I am not going to a gig to be punched into my face and also not to fight.


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## Watty

cwhitey2 said:


> I loved seeing kids throw down when I played live. It just adds energy to the show imo. Old people dont like it....but who cares.



I'm not old and I think it's stupid. I was at a Periphery concert in an intimate venue and had to spend half my time keeping an eye on the two teens flailing their arms running around the middle of the venue to make sure I didn't catch a stray fist to the face. Takes away from the music IMHO.


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## Stealthtastic

I enjoy pitting, I enjoy watching people pit, and I would want people to pit for me if I played shows. But that's just me.


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## Pav

Watty said:


> I'm not old and I think it's stupid. I was at a Periphery concert in an intimate venue and had to spend half my time keeping an eye on the two teens flailing their arms running around the middle of the venue to make sure I didn't catch a stray fist to the face. Takes away from the music IMHO.



My thoughts exactly. I've thought moshing was stupid since I turned 15. Obviously I have no problem with people bringing some energy and getting into the show, but there HAS to be some other way for them to act that doesn't involve ramming into people from behind or throwing stray punches/kicks. If you want to go hard, by all means, but stay the fuck off me while I try to enjoy the show.


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## Veldar

I think if the crowd isn't moshing your not doing it right.


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## straightshreddd

Pav said:


> If you want to go hard, by all means, but stay the fuck off me while I try to enjoy the show.




This.



Veldar said:


> I think if the crowd isn't moshing your not doing it right.




Also, this. 


If you're in a progressive, shreddy, jazzy, mathrock band then, yeah, no one should be pitting, push moshing, or dancing at your shows.

If you play heavy, aggressive metal/hardcore/etc and everyone is silent and perfectly still at your shows, you're not doing it right.


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## xDarkCrisisx

I love pits, but the hardcore dancing is a no for me. Even people 'moshing' with their elbows pisses me off. When me and my girlfriend went to see Hatebreed and Lamb of God things were fine but there was that one guy elbowing people like a tard.


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## Veldar

straightshreddd said:


> This.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, this.
> 
> 
> If you're in a progressive, shreddy, jazzy, mathrock band then, yeah, no one should be pitting, push moshing, or dancing at your shows.
> 
> If you play heavy, aggressive metal/hardcore/etc and everyone is silent and perfectly still at your shows, you're not doing it right.


 
Dream Theater are prog and I'd lose my shit if I saw them.


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## straightshreddd

Veldar said:


> Dream Theater are prog and I'd lose my shit if I saw them.



I hear you. lol Well, let's leave prog out of that part of the example then.


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## straightshreddd

xDarkCrisisx said:


> Even people 'moshing' with their elbows pisses me off. When me and my girlfriend went to see Hatebreed and Lamb of God things were fine but there was that one guy elbowing people like a tard.



I hear you, but that's just the way things are. If the world were perfect, pits would be perfect, safe, little dance zones. There's ALWAYS gonna be assholes. Testosterone, looking manly in front of scene chicks/metal chicks/etc, and total dumbasses are a combo that will always inhabit shows.


----------



## rythmic_pulses

I got a black eye while moshing to a local band called Eyesore Angels who are defunct now which is a shame cause they had a pretty big following going, but the irony was just painful, literally, and it was because of "HxC" Dancing, which I think is utter bullshit and just downright annoying, every show I've been to that it's started happening, there is no helping people up, they just get trampled on and no one gives a shit.

It sucks real hard, then again "Moshing" was a different story, you get helped up by what I nickname "Pit Helpers" and it just has better manners, then again, I'm not a fan of either anymore, I've come away with bloody noses, eyes and almost a broken jaw, so nay on my front.

Just what I've experienced.


----------



## Ckackley

I don't mosh but if others want to , more power to 'em. Two of the coolest things I've seen at shows though- Sevendust stopping a song and the lead singer calming a mosh pit down after a few injuries. The lead singer told everyone he loved moshing as long as everyone was taken care of and there were no injuries. Scary part is the crowd listened and straightened their shit right up. Second one was a Hellyeah show. Chad encouraged moshing but also told the crowd to pick people up if they fell, watch each others back, ect. The crowd ate it up and went nuts when the next song started.


----------



## Leuchty

Hardcore "dancing" always ends up with 97% of the crowd staying at the back of the venue so they dont get hit. The 3% are the ones wailing about.

Whats worse is when the 3% "thinks" the rest of the crowd once to join them, so they get closer and start running circles through all 97%.

I saw a local Hardcore band get the ABSOLUTE SHITS at the crowd because no one was beating the shit of the air. They ended up saying to the crowd "You cunts aren't Hardcore, Fuck off". 

We left.


----------



## JEngelking

CYBERSYN said:


> Hardcore "dancing" always ends up with 97% of the crowd staying at the back of the venue so they dont get hit. The 3% are the ones wailing about.
> 
> Whats worse is when the 3% "thinks" the rest of the crowd once to join them, so they get closer and start running circles through all 97%.
> 
> I saw a local Hardcore band get the ABSOLUTE SHITS at the crowd because no one was beating the shit of the air. They ended up saying to the crowd "You cunts aren't Hardcore, Fuck off".
> 
> We left.



 I hear you. What's worse than bands persistently telling the crowd to "lose their shit" or whatever, is when the crowd continues to just watch and the band goes and pouts about it.


----------



## BTD_Austin

I'm gonna get shit for this but I'm perfectly fine with all ways of enjoying the music. It's pretty easy to avoid getting hit by someone, even at real hardcore/beatdown shows where half the people there intentionally crowdkill. I think hardcore dancing looks pretty dumb but I completely understand how it's a total release of energy and it can be cool when people know how to do it. Mosh pits at death metal shows are pretty awesome too. Before you guy's judge the different kinds of moshing, go to an underground hardcore show and a real death metal show and see how each is done. It's in those crossover genres like most popular metalcore where you see a lot of amateurs on each end and it's really easy to judge.


----------



## BTD_Austin

Also stage dives are awesome. Anyone who doesn't like them hasn't done it.


----------



## BTD_Austin

Also stage dives are awesome. Anyone who doesn't like them hasn't done it.


----------



## KillerStephen

I dig it all, as I get older I find myself participating less and less though. If there's no pit I feel my band failed to deliver a good set.

Pits are just fun. I do laugh when a couple bros prance toward each other like deers and bump shoulders...


----------



## JEngelking

BTD_Austin said:


> Also stage dives are awesome. Anyone who doesn't like them hasn't done it.



Stage diving and crowd surfing are still on my life to-do list.


----------



## Kiwimetal101

I enjoy a mosh every now and then just as much as the next guy, but when Im seeing AAL for the first time and have a perfect spot right infront of Tosin, Don't fucking push people into me, no else wants to join in so give it a rest..


----------



## BenSolace

Kiwimetal101 said:


> I enjoy a mosh every now and then just as much as the next guy, but *when Im seeing AAL for the first time and have a perfect spot right infront of Tosin, Don't fucking push people into me, no else wants to join in so give it a rest..*



This pretty much mirrors my point of view. My band's shows and the shows I usually find myself at as a spectator are more the kind of thing you just want to watch, rather than mosh to (IMO). I suppose, like many have said, that it entirely depends on the genre - for example I can't see AAL/Chimp Spanner and the like being artists that one could mosh to without looking stupid, whereas higher energy acts like Cannibal Corpse, Lamb of God etc. are more likely to instigate moshing.

I still never take part though


----------



## Kiwimetal101

^ There were also multiple stage dives, which I can understand I love crowd surfing.. But when you fucking trip on tosin's pedal board sending him into silence and fucking up the patches at the end of CAFO which is also the end of the set which had been utterly flawless till that point.... 

GTFO!!


----------



## Vinchester

Mosh pits, crowdsurfing and any excessive movement risk spilling my beer. NO ONE FUCKS WITH MY BEER.

So no I don't like seeing too many people going apeshit in a concert.


----------



## BenSolace

Kiwimetal101 said:


> ^ There were also multiple stage dives, which I can understand I love crowd surfing.. But when you fucking trip on tosin's pedal board sending him into silence and fucking up the patches at the end of CAFO which is also the end of the set which had been utterly flawless till that point....
> 
> GTFO!!




You think that pissed you off, imagine how he felt!


----------



## Rev2010

I used to mosh in the early 90's at metal shows. I've personally never had a problem and everyone has always been cool to me, but then again I think do to my height and possibly appearance that could be a reason. I HAVE seen fights though many times. It's almost always some bear sized fucking bully asshole picking on someone smaller. At an Overkill show once I saw this big fat guy start a fight with a shorter thinner metalhead for no reason. Grabbed him by the hair and threw him around and ripped a handful of his hair out. Then proceeded to make jokes with it in front of the stage, like putting it up to his face and acting like it's a moustache. He got what was coming to him, in a sense, later when he tried to stage dive. Everyone moved out of the way and he landed straight full force on his knee. He was in severe pain and limped away. Fucking fat ass bully douchebag.

Anyhow, now that I'm older and that there seems to be far less mosh pit etiquette I stay away from it. I have an anger problem as is and it's not good for me to participate these days. I've seen pits lately and it definitely looks more than ever that people are out to punch someone else in the face. It was certainly different when I was younger, but then again the music wasn't as extreme as today so makes sense I guess.


Rev.


----------



## BenSolace

Rev2010 said:


> I have an anger problem as is and it's not good for me to participate



+1 unfortunately


----------



## oracles

On stage, I love looking out and seeing a pit going on and kids having a good time, but I absolutely won't have anyone fight at my shows. 

As a concert goer, depending on the band I don't mind moshing (I generally just stick to my windmills)


----------



## RevelGTR

I personally am not in to moshing, but if people like it, then more power to them. My band has played shows (keep in mind that we're a prog rock band) where there has been some light, friendly moshing and it is indeed a cool feeling.


----------



## Toxic Dover

I don't mind moshing at all - but the hardcore dancing twerps... they piss me off.


----------



## Fiction

I had a long haired man whipping me in the face with his hair for 1/4 of a BTBAM set, and I couldn't give a fuck.. It's a metal show, just whip back harder.


----------



## DjentDjentlalala

Guys can mosh.But if I get a punch I'm fucking destroying you.


----------



## Idontpersonally

Veldar said:


> I think if the crowd isn't moshing your not doing it right.



 


KillerStephen said:


> I dig it all, as I get older I find myself participating less and less though. If there's no pit I feel my band failed to deliver a good set.
> 
> Pits are just fun. I do laugh when a couple bros prance toward each other like deers and bump shoulders...



Pretty much this^. Fortunately I cant think of one show i went to where a band literally had to tell the audience to mosh. I'd call that a fail indeed.

Even more fortunately Idk wtf hardcore dancing is.



Rev2010 said:


> Anyhow, now that I'm older and that there seems to be far less mosh pit etiquette I stay away from it. I have an anger problem as is and it's not good for me to participate these days. I've seen pits lately and it definitely looks more than ever that people are out to punch someone else in the face. It was certainly different when I was younger, but then again the music wasn't as extreme as today so makes sense I guess.
> 
> Rev.


ive noticed the exact opposite, 'the pit helper' term is fairly new to me anyway.


----------



## Char2000

Moshing just isn't for me. Everyone here is talking about injuries, lets not for get about property damage. I've watched $800 cameras get trampled on and a man lose his wedding ring.


----------



## Idontpersonally

yea that would suck, Ive never lost anything important, usually just glasses or something. Anything of value goes to someone not participating.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Idontpersonally said:


> ive noticed the exact opposite, 'the pit helper' term is fairly new to me anyway.



it really depends on the bands tho. I do find with more straight up metal bands who are older or at least attract a more age diverse fan-base tend to have more friendly pits. yeah it can be a little rough, but you adapt and at the end of a good show we usually all give each other hugs.... pretty metal shit right there. 

its younger bands or bands that come from more of the punk aesthetic (hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, grind) i find have the less hospitable mosh pits. 
Im not trying to slight the genres here, but for the most part i find that audience is more interested in the violent expression of self in moshing rather than the communal bonding of non-violent ninja pits. In those shows its more about being an alpha-male instead of the collective experience. That being said there are plenty of exceptions in both sides of the metal debate.. i know i always wanted to mosh to ETID cuz that looks like a good time. 

that's just speaking in generalities, there's a truer test i have recently devised which i find is waaayyyy more accurate. The more intelligent the art of the band, the more hospitable the crowd. Gojira: challenging rhythms, philosophical lyrics (its not random shit found in an astrophysics book), creative use of repetition and space = awesome crowd. 

EDIT: i just realized every single one of my favorite moshing moments were with bands that weren't about straight up aggression and more about humanity... mind blown


----------



## danresn

I can't mosh and watch bands. I just don't enjoy myself. For others its fine, just don't ram your shoulder into me when I am watching the Dear Hunter.


----------



## feilong29

I had one goal when moshing... to get to the very front of the stage! Now I am a bit older and don't like pain, NOR do I want some dude humping my ass cause it's so packed in there, so, I don't mosh anymore, haha. Good times though, aside from getting humped :/


----------



## Idontpersonally

Ibanezsam4 said:


> it really depends on the bands tho. I do find with more straight up metal bands who are older or at least attract a more age diverse fan-base tend to have more friendly pits. yeah it can be a little rough, but you adapt and at the end of a good show we usually all give each other hugs.... pretty metal shit right there.
> 
> its younger bands or bands that come from more of the punk aesthetic (hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, grind) i find have the less hospitable mosh pits.
> Im not trying to slight the genres here, but for the most part i find that audience is more interested in the violent expression of self in moshing rather than the communal bonding of non-violent ninja pits. In those shows its more about being an alpha-male instead of the collective experience. That being said there are plenty of exceptions in both sides of the metal debate.. i know i always wanted to mosh to ETID cuz that looks like a good time.
> 
> that's just speaking in generalities, there's a truer test i have recently devised which i find is waaayyyy more accurate. The more intelligent the art of the band, the more hospitable the crowd. Gojira: challenging rhythms, philosophical lyrics (its not random shit found in an astrophysics book), creative use of repetition and space = awesome crowd.
> 
> EDIT: i just realized every single one of my favorite moshing moments were with bands that weren't about straight up aggression and more about humanity... mind blown



Yea there has to be other variables to how everyone experiences them Differently. They're just a part of the music but i see nothing wrong with supporting it if you support the music. Regardless of the band i don't think they should be taken nearly as personal as to want to actually fight someone or that it 'ruins the show'.. Ive actually seen more fights at rap shows than metal. No etiquette at all there, show over. I cant count how many times ive accidently hit someone not moshing at a metal show. Only once did a guy get angry and we both apologized end of story, I just havent noticed any disappointed people bc of pits. I didnt think anyone really cared if the show was good.


----------



## straightshreddd

danresn said:


> I can't mosh and watch bands. I just don't enjoy myself. For others its fine, just don't ram your shoulder into me when I am watching the Dear Hunter.




Who in the fuck of all fucks moshes/dances to the Dear Hunter? lol


PS They put on an AMAZING live show. I saw them with Circa way back and they had the best set of the night.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Idontpersonally said:


> Yea there has to be other variables to how everyone experiences them Differently. They're just a part of the music but i see nothing wrong with supporting it if you support the music. Regardless of the band i don't think they should be taken nearly as personal as to want to actually fight someone or that it 'ruins the show'.. Ive actually seen more fights at rap shows than metal. No etiquette at all there, show over. I cant count how many times ive accidently hit someone not moshing at a metal show. Only once did a guy get angry and we both apologized end of story, I just havent noticed any disappointed people bc of pits. I didnt think anyone really cared if the show was good.



thats exactly the point, some people take the physical contact thing way too personally. accidents happen, and most of the time its not necessary to start shit unless someone is being a total prick or is specifically looking to start shit with everyone. 

there are only two instances where i almost came to blows with people, but one was technically my fault for being pissed, and the other occasion the offending karate kicker ran away before people started swinging at him. 

everything after that has been fine, almost broke my nose, accidental kicks or elbows to the back of the head, people usually apologize if you make eye contact and not death glare them. most people are nice, i actually have yet to encounter one of those neanderthals who can full on ruin a show.. maybe at the local level, but certainly not at a national touring act.


----------



## BenSolace

Idontpersonally said:


> Pretty much this^. Fortunately I cant think of one show i went to where a band literally had to tell the audience to mosh. I'd call that a fail indeed.
> 
> Even more fortunately Idk wtf hardcore dancing is.
> 
> 
> ive noticed the exact opposite, 'the pit helper' term is fairly new to me anyway.



That's funny, I can only think of a handful of shows that I've attended where the audience for *any* small/unsigned band (including my own) has moshed. It's not common at all around my area - maybe no-one has any admiration/respect for small bands, so they don't feel they should enjoy themselves/show the band that they are enjoying themselves? 

The attendance for shows around here is piss poor anyway... pretty much screwed for seeing any new metal (please note: not *nu*-metal) coming out of the UK


----------



## -OTW-

Yay...Kill each other


----------



## danresn

straightshreddd said:


> Who in the fuck of all fucks moshes/dances to the Dear Hunter? lol
> 
> 
> PS They put on an AMAZING live show. I saw them with Circa way back and they had the best set of the night.



Drunk idiots at Soundwave. I ended up moving back to just in front of the sound guy and enjoyed it far more. Sound was pristine for an outdoor gig.


----------



## protest

I enjoy moshing, but I'm primarily there to see the band. I think moshing is fine when everyone there is having a good time, talking and laughing in between songs or whatever. 

It's not cool when you have that one dude with no shirt on and the dead serious look in his eye that says "I'm here to let out the rage that has built up from the pain that is tormenting my soul"

There's always one serial killer eye guy that can ruin it by taking it too far....or those morons that swing their hands and feet. Seriously every person I've ever talked to hates those people, so the question is where do they come from?

Also, anyone else hate when your towards the front watching the band, and then all of a sudden that pressure you've felt on your back for the past 20 minutes is gone. Nothing worse than having to turn around to make sure you don't get cracked in the back of the head by a stray fist/head/fat guy with no shirt on.


----------



## Idontpersonally

@ Ben For local shows personally I wouldn't. I feel like im to old for that and my take on larger crowds is a good one every once in a while but eventually those days are over. 

@Protest I agree 100% look at guys that play in serial killer masks and all the serial killer themed album cover art and then 'my soul is tormenting'-like lyrics , one is going to slip through the cracks occasionally. For me It gets something out of my system then there's "that guy" who probably just never gets it out of his system and cant distinguish entertainment/reality. Comes from really good music.


----------



## DarkRain93

I don't mind push moshing, just pushing each other and not getting too aggro. But definitely no hardcore dancing, its just violent retard skanking.


----------



## Idontpersonally

*sigh* you just had to make me finally give in and google hardcore dancing. 1 min of my life i cant get back. Anyway this guys comes up with a good idea and breaks it down. Reminds me that everyone may have their own ideas and rules to what moshing actually is but it's not like people discuss it before a show


----------



## welsh_7stinger

When I've gone to gigs (mainly ones that do have this sort of thing going on). Certain bands I don't like moshes (etc, animals as leaders, meshuggah, btbam etc) but with other bands I will mosh to. I wouldn't encourage it nor tell people not to do it. People react at gigs in their own way. There is a etiquette in pits. If someone falls you pick em up, no objects (I've seen that actually happen before  ). But there are people that do not follow these rules. Most of the time the crowd (sometimes the band) deals with it. By either calling the person out on it or simply ramming em (show no respect=get no respect). But I will add this I hate it when people start a mosh during a solo. I miss the days of air guitar during the solos


----------



## axxessdenied

I like moshing but when people start needing pretty much a "bubble" around them so they can flail their arms and dance like a fucking stupid hyena, then it's annoying.


----------



## Fktpguitfiddle

i enjoy sitting back enjoying a cold brew watching h-core kids flailing their arms around slappin each other in the face... imo


----------



## MassNecrophagia

Some guy was pretty close to karate moshing at the Nile show last night. People seem to go to these brutal death metal shows without knowing what moshing is, and that it's going to happen the second they start playing.


----------



## Fktpguitfiddle

MassNecrophagia said:


> Some guy was pretty close to karate moshing at the Nile show last night. People seem to go to these brutal death metal shows without knowing what moshing is, and that it's going to happen the second they start playing.



"karate moshing" that term just made my night


----------



## watson503

I've never been into moshing, when I go to a concert I want to see the band play and enjoy the show, but that's just me. I've seen some pretty crazy pits, Slayer on the SoH tour was pretty intense but Metallica on the first leg of the AJFA tour ended-up having to pay damages to the Coliseum here in Houston - no one thought having folding metal chairs on the floor would be a problem, when they came out for their encore, people started piling all of the chairs up to where there was one huge pile of chairs near the middle and smaller ones spread-out with people dancing and moshing on top of the piles of chairs - we had lower-prom seats and were standing up there looking down like WTF??? It was like a riot down there. From the get-go though there was a lot of pent-up aggression due to HPD deciding it would be a good idea to pat-search everyone prior to entry, creating a huge amount of people pressed-up against each other waiting to get in while Queensryche had already taken the stage, eventually leading everyone to just say fuck it and rush the barricades.


----------



## XxStatiX

NO to hardcore dancing/swimming lol


----------



## Cynic

I've seen more people get hurt push-moshing than throwing down, from my personal experience.


----------



## GunpointMetal

Cynic said:


> I've seen more people get hurt push-moshing than throwing down, from my personal experience.


 I say bullshit...maybe in quantity, but not in severity.


----------



## Mr-Jemhead93

I go to plenty of metal and hardcore shows and I say yay to pitting. I think when people are practicing proper pit etiquette it makes the show really great and memorable. I always try and help pick people up, block the pit so someone can tie their shoe, or hold onto any lost belongings like shoes or hats and try to find who they belong to either during or after the bands set. I personally only pit if I'm really into the song/band. For me it comes down to the type of band that's playing, bands performance, and how many times I've actually seen that band before. If the band is really technical and the musicianship is just over the top and there's a lot of cool stuff going on guitar wise ill push my way up front and just watch. If the band is full of energy and getting into the music and moving around a lot on stage it gets me in the music and I want to pit and ill stop every once in a while to observe the band again. I say if the band is just standing there being boring and head banging here and there go pit! What's the point of watching that? I say Succumb to your caveman genes and go ape shit! (Assuming the music is pittable) As for hardcore dancing i dont do it and I could careless what those guys do. Sometimes they actually impress me with some of the acrobatics they do lol. Learn how to deal with them is what I say if you see that there's someone hardcore dancing by you stick your hand out in a fist so when they get close they hit that and not your face or kick them away from you. I guarantee you're not the first person to do that to the person hardcore dancing near you. 

Tl;dr I like moshing, hardcore dancing is meh


----------



## Mr-Jemhead93

XxStatiX said:


> NO to hardcore dancing/swimming lol



Swimming? Lol


----------



## Carrion Rocket

I hate crowds, so the furthest I can get from the scene kids practicing their windmill kicks while still enjoying the show the better.


----------



## The Spanish Inquisition

Moshing for me is a nay. I'm the grumpy arms-crossed dude who is slowly moving his head in the rythm of the music and who's looking disapprovingly at the hyperactive "mosh-or-die" movement in front of me.


----------



## Eclipse

Carrion Rocket said:


> I hate crowds, so the furthest I can get from the scene kids practicing their windmill kicks while still enjoying the show the better.



I was thinking this same thing!


----------



## Rev2010

Carrion Rocket said:


> scene kids practicing their windmill kicks



LMAO "windmill kicks"  Reminded me of this vid:




Rev.


----------



## The Spanish Inquisition

Rev2010 said:


> LMAO "windmill kicks"  Reminded me of this vid:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rev.




Typical HxC kids. I tend to stay at least 5 meters away from them. Which is far enough to not get hit, but still close enough to burn a hole in their skulls of my disapproval.


----------



## kevdes93

i was in a wall of death at an acacia strain show once, it was awesome.

saw gaza once, and this massive 400lb asshole was grabbing kids by their clothes and throwing them and punching them. i spent more time worrying about getting fucked by this fat guy than i was watching one of my favorite bands.

it can be aggravating.


----------



## Eclipse

The only time I have ever really moved in a crowd was during Periphery's show.


----------



## GizmoGardens

Moshing is to metal, what fighting is to hockey. Some people are for, some people are against, but there's just something gratifying about seeing some goon get decked. 

I like to mosh on occasion as a spectator, I encourage it as a performer. The thing I hate the most is when a bystander takes a header... I don't think anyone should be forced to be a part of the pit. But, if you are a willing participant, you take your life in your own hands and I salute you for doing so.


----------



## RevDrucifer

It's great to see from the stage, that's for sure. I've never had anyone get hurt at a show I've played so that's a plus. The worst that's happened is a few years ago I jumped into the crowd and within seconds someone smashed my mic back into my mouth and I chipped a tooth. Nothing serious and it could have been worse had I not been anticipating it before it happened.

I never moshed too much, however in my late teens-mid twenties I'd generally be completely shitfaced by the last few songs at a show I was seeing and run into the pit. It's a blast going crazy with everyone for a few minutes. I couldn't imagine doing it for a whole show though.


----------



## Miijk

I don't have anything against moshing if it the good old moshing when you are just having a good time and people help you if you fall etc.

Now... the so called hardcore-moshing on the other hand...


----------



## UV7BK4LIFE

^I am watching that video without sound. Then it looks like people with Down Syndrome doing ballet. 

I'm not much of an active mosher myself, but when I play a gig with a hardcore or extreme metal band and there's no mosh pit, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. No matter if it looks weird, if people are expressing themselves using the music we're playing, that is a huge compliment for the band. People can come to me after a show and say it was great, and I appreciate that. But if they were in the pit, then it means so much more to me.


----------



## Kiwimetal101

Miijk said:


> I don't have anything against moshing if it the good old moshing when you are just having a good time and people help you if you fall etc.
> 
> Now... the so called hardcore-moshing on the other hand...




Put those kids in the slayer pit, then they'll know whats up 
Better yet, get a plane load over to wacken and stick em up the front.

Seriously, what the fuck is that? 

"FUCK BRO THE BROOTZ, ASKING ALEXANDRIA IS THE BROOTS IM GONNA DO FUCKING BROOTZ CARTWHEEL AND HAVE AN IMAGINARY CAT FIGHT #yolo"


----------



## morzzzzz

If you know what sort of pits you can handle and are aware of the risk, the people in the crowd are cool, there to have a good time, and are willing to help in the event someone loses their property or hurts themselves, yeah moshing is a great almost brotherly experience. You will meet some of the coolest people in the crowd. I remember being punched in the face one time by a HUGE dude in a pit, but he immediately came to me apologized and made sure I was okay.

But as always there are people that ruin the fun for everyone by coming to shows to be destructive and hurt people. If you're one of those people, please stay out of the pit.


----------



## ghost_of_karelia

Do whatever the fuck makes you happy and naturally feels good regardless of what concert you're at, just *make sure not to ruin anyone else's day*.


----------



## Ibanezsam4

Miijk said:


> I don't have anything against moshing if it the good old moshing when you are just having a good time and people help you if you fall etc.
> 
> Now... the so called hardcore-moshing on the other hand...




the sad part is this is the most crowd response that act got.


----------



## spawnofthesith

Yay, but keep it clean and don't be a dick.

Its good energy for the band and overall crowd, and on a night when your into it they're fun as hell.


----------



## mcsalty

when i go see bands i'm almost always in the pit, excluding of course the throwing down/hardcore dancing/karate-moshing/whatever thing because i'm just not into it. i love it when i'm on stage playing and i look up and see the pit going nuts. it's a great feeling to see the crowd responding positively... the bigger/crazier pit the better!


----------



## xDarkCrisisx

I used to mosh a lot in High School, but now I sometimes like to relax more. My girlfriend usually get's me to mosh since I don't want her getting karate kicked by some asshole.


----------



## Curtis Bell

Mosh all you want but if I see you wacking the hell out of each other, going over a barricade, stomping on others, I will stop the concert and make it clear that over moshing will not be tolerated. You got to control it, is what we all should do.


----------



## dcoughlin1

Kiwimetal101 said:


> Put those kids in the slayer pit, then they'll know whats up
> Better yet, get a plane load over to wacken and stick em up the front.
> 
> Seriously, what the fuck is that?
> 
> "FUCK BRO THE BROOTZ, ASKING ALEXANDRIA IS THE BROOTS IM GONNA DO FUCKING BROOTZ CARTWHEEL AND HAVE AN IMAGINARY CAT FIGHT #yolo"


----------



## Jackson12s

I remember going to see Lamb Of God, and Job For A Cowboy was opening, and the mosh pit started a few guys from me, I was praying to God (even though I'm an atheist) that it didn't spread to me 'cause I just wanted to listen to the music and get deaf from being a few feet from the speakers  

EDIT: also the friend I was with was going crazy in the mosh pits and he kept asking me to come in and I was like no way


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## jonajon91

Ok, I don't know if this fits the bill exactly, but I went to a house party last night and there was lots of heavy music and lots of people were ... 'dancing', in the front room. I didn't drink much at all, but today my whole body aches especially the muscles on the back of my neck. Is this what happens you mosh/windmill too much or is this what a hangover feels like?
if this is the after effects of too much moshing, is it always like this the next day.

---edit---

17 year old that rarely drinks / goes to house parties / play or goes to gigs.


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## BenSolace

jonajon91 said:


> Ok, I don't know if this fits the bill exactly, but I went to a house party last night and there was lots of heavy music and lots of people were ... 'dancing', in the front room. I didn't drink much at all, but today my whole body aches especially the muscles on the back of my neck. Is this what happens you mosh/windmill too much or is this what a hangover feels like?
> if this is the after effects of too much moshing, is it always like this the next day.
> 
> ---edit---
> 
> 17 year old that rarely drinks / goes to house parties / play or goes to gigs.



Well, some would argue that if your neck muscles don't ache after attending/playing a show, you weren't doing it right!


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## jonajon91

Good to know. It cleared up after 2/3 days


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## zakattak192

Just thought I'd leave this here.


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## hk_golgatha

I've played a few decent sized metal festivals here, like South By So What and Winter Jamboree (mind you, we are not a metalcore band - we play very periphery/deftones/machine head inspired metal with little to no screaming), and I personally don't have too large a polarized opinion about it. When we break into a faster song, I love playing off of the energy and movement as I like to interact with the audience. But, I don't particularly appreciate when guys just punch people for no reason in a clean section. So I guess I advocate for movement and interaction, not just mindless mma style stuff.
If you wanna josh your friends around, sweet, but don't be that asshole who tries to kill someone appreciating the music.


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## Fromeasttowes

"every friday night its hardcore, good friends, good times. and every saturday night you know its hardcore, stage dives, high fives." - death threat


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## Eisenbass

Well...I've got my share of metal gigs, and I can assure, at least here in Brazil, most of them had mosh pits, some of them really huge, some of them not that much, and from what I can tell, people were always really nice, always helping the ones that fell and even apologising when someone got hurt.

Some years ago I played for a Sepultura/Kreator Cover band, and mosh pits were a constant in our shows. We didn't encourage it, but it just happened, so we agreed that before every show, we would advice the audience to lift the ones that fall, leave space for the others that didn't want to enter the pit and remove their spikes/watches/chains...and it always gave the best experience to everyone...in 12 years, never seen a fight in a metal concert when those precautions were taken.

And one of the best gigs I've attended to was the one that the singer of my band dived from stage and entered the mosh pit in the bridge/solo part from roots by sepultura...it was fkn awesome!


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## tommychains

I've been in a few, the one that fucked me up was a wall of death at a slipknot concert. Somehow me, a 14 year old (this was a while ago) got paired against a 300 pound samoan. I never flew before, but yeah, I did.

On the other side of it, when I was with an old band, the pits one night got way too heavy, involving a lot of bystanders. I stopped playing and went into the pit and helped up a few people. We stopped the set and I yelled at every one and said 

"This is fucking rediculous, I shouldn't have to tell you all this. If someone falls and you can get them up, DO IT. If I see someone on the floor and noone helping them up, we're stopping and you can forget about us playing here again."

That got the message through. I get that people want to get their energy out, but not everyone wants to flail around like a bat out of hell. If they aren't pitting, that's their choice. Respect it.


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## Zei

I personally like pitting. Though I hate hardcore dancing and most of the people that do it are dicks, in my opinion. I've been really hit once at a show and it was a local festival. Like Moths To Flames was playing and these dicks in the pit were hardcore dancing and he just back up into and elbowed me on both sides of my head knocking me flat on my ass. If I knew what had happened I woulda backed away, but he completely blindsided me while I was protecting my girlfriend... dicks like these keep me out of the pit.

Regular, metal mosh pits though - the push pits - I'm in all day. I've fallen many times and been picked up, I've picked up many people. A good pit... it just feels like brotherhood to me.

Being on stage I love to see a pit, whether hardcore or mosh. If someone gets really hurt, I would rather not, but the best show I ever played there were pits for the entire 45 minute set. It was magical 

edit: Not a big fan of the band telling the crowd what to do, but crowd control is a big part of being a frontman! If the crowd's already going crazy, then little finger movements or what have you are awesome. The one time it was amazing was when I saw Veil of Maya at last years Summer Slaughter... the crowd was already going crazy, and the vocalist got everyone to do a wall of death. So awesome haha.


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## noUser01

As die-hard metal fan who started out as a die-hard punk (and still am), no; I don't like moshing. I'm also a musician though, so that could be part of it. I could just be focused too much on every little thing musically happening that I don't want to dance and jump around. But either way, I find it disrespectful to the people who just wanna see the show and have a good time. If you wanna jump up and down, that's totally fine. If you wanna start a circle pit though, that's an entirely different story. Not everyone there is looking to get hurt and punch other people. The people who do are usually the minority.

I have nothing against the act itself, it's just that the vast majority of people at the shows aren't looking to be rowdy and get injured, they're here for the music, for band, and to have a good time. The two types of personalities don't mix well in a crowd.


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## Mike

BenHughesDS said:


> Well, some would argue that if your neck muscles don't ache after attending/playing a show, you weren't doing it right!



Headbangers hangover. 

But I used to mosh in my younger days, now I'm an old fart and for me its really all about enjoying the music. Don't get me wrong, I'll headbang and sing along to show the band I'm into it, but the pit days are behind me.


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## MikeDojcsak

Deftones was the best pit I've ever been in. I'm not a very big guy and lots of their fans were 6'+, 250lbs+ and were all cool with lifting me up and tossing me around like a cotton ball to the stage. So good.


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## Oxygen42

I think that it's good as long as you're respectful of the other concert goers. Serious pits should just try to keep away from the front. The people who make their way to the very front of the crowd don't want to worry about some sweaty dude with dreadlocks punching them in the back of the head.


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## penningmic

Had a friend get his ankle broken from the 'hardcore' BS as well as another persons teeth knocked out..... NAY!


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## Seanthesheep

I was just at orion festival like a week ago. the only band I moshed to was rise against and the pit there wasnt insane, yea people run into each other and push each other and all that, but Ive never seen people full out punching each other in pits, even at more metal acts.

and the only reason I moshed for Rise against and not anyone else is because they are one of my favourite bands


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## p0ke

The last time I moshed, I lost my shoe in the pit and found it outside the venue later that evening 
Moshing is supposed to be fun, it's definitely not the same as fighting or anything, it's more like dancing really. But then every once in a while there's some über tr00 black metal dude moshing with huge spikes on his bracelet, that's not the way to go.
Anyways, I encourage moshing, because it brings extra energy over to the stage as well, and as long as the crowd is having fun, why not? But please don't try to make people mosh if they don't want to, they'll just get really pissed of and start a fight or something.


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