I know there are a lot of Metalheads on T-Nation and I can imagine that, between all the members here, pretty much every metal band has been seen live.
I’ve worked concert security before and mosh pits can be odd phenomena. Some REALLY heavy bands have surprisingly dull mosh pits, whereas some bands you would never classify as heavy have insane ones.
So lets hear some stories.
Although I’m “retired” I’ve probably been in over 150+ mosh pits. Some particularly violent ones were Pantera (no surprise), Life of Agony (no surprise) and Live (MANY people are surprised to hear this! Pretty tame band)
The winner though…EASILY…was Clutch. Clutch is a highly underrated band IMO, who make really cool rock and roll/groove/stoner/bluesy type music. Not a particularly heavy, angst-ridden band. However, their mosh pit was at times, without exaggeration, a street-fight. People punching each other in the face, stomping on heads, etc. Absolutely ridiculous.
These weren’t isolated incidents either; it seemed to be generally accepted that if you went into the pit, you might get beaten. I came out relatively unscathed (someone punched me in the ass for some reason) but people were spitting out blood/teeth/etc. Not an especially enjoyable concert experience
Ive been to a decent amount of metal shows and it comes down between slayer or lamb of god. i live 30miles outside of richmond and ill just say nothing can compare with seeing lamb of god with their hometown crowd. but slayer is just a classic.
It was 1982… several acts on the bill…TSOL the headliner. The pit was churning. Someone took a stage dive and I took a boot to the ear. Swelled up like a muthafucka.
This was back in the days when only punk had mosh pits, and metal was nursing its faggy “hair-metal” cousin.
I was in the pit for the whole show. But there was 1 crowning moment.
During bloodsimples’ set they were playing “straight hate” my buddy and i cleared the whole pit.
I don’t understand it, there was about 50+ of us and at one point i shoved some kid out, turn around and only saw 1 person; the kid i came with.
Then the next song some kid was circling the pit dropkicking people. Retard. I grabbed his ankle and drove him back until he fell. No kicking in the head.
There were two the rank up there. One was at an outdoor concert in Irvine like, 13 years ago, I saw like 20 punk rock bands. There were a TON of fights that started in almost all the mosh pits. Manic Hispanic was playing, and a bunch of fights broke out. They had to stop playing.
I also saw Morbid Angel, Pantera and Slayer in 2001 in Tacoma, Washington in 2001. that was fucking crazy… I got punched in the face during Pantera, and some guy got carried out on a stretcher. It was fucking insanity. One of the best times I ever had.
I saw Life of Agony at a club in NC, and it was an absolutely magikal experience. Pantera, Slipknot, Korn, Disturbed and MetallicA were all brutal for a little guy like me.
But I saw Rage Against the Machine at Lollapalooza in '96. I was 15 years old. I thought I was going to DIE! No show since that has been half as bad.
Mexico City, circa 1980’s. I used to live there and I was really into Death Metal at the time. I met a lot of bands and they all said the same thing - Mexico had the most violent mosh pits they had seen.
The shows were always on the outskirts of the city, in really bad parts of town, with absolutely no security and no sound level regulations. Shows were always INSANE. It was practically impossible NOT to be in the pit because the whole damn place would be shaking.
In 1984 I went to a Carcass show and ended up breaking my wrist diving off the stage. I didn’t go to the doctor, though, just ate some pain pills, waited for the band and took them to party at my sister’s house. Good memories.
The difference was that as violent as Mexico’s concerts were, people were always friendly. I mean, people were constantly getting picked up in an ambulance but they were all accidents. Nobody punched anybody; there were no brawls. The environment that you are describing is bullshit. That’s not a mosh pit, that’s bunch of drunks assholes with ego problems.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
It was 1982… several acts on the bill…TSOL the headliner. The pit was churning. Someone took a stage dive and I took a boot to the ear. Swelled up like a muthafucka.
This was back in the days when only punk had mosh pits, and metal was nursing its faggy “hair-metal” cousin. [/quote]
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
It was 1982… several acts on the bill…TSOL the headliner. The pit was churning. Someone took a stage dive and I took a boot to the ear. Swelled up like a muthafucka.
This was back in the days when only punk had mosh pits, and metal was nursing its faggy “hair-metal” cousin.
Actually, it was called “slamming” back then.
[/quote]
I’ve seen some alright mosh pits. Nothing like you guys describe though. I don’t think I would want to be in a pit where people are throwing punches to the face and knocking out teeth. That’s not fun. I just randomly push the sh*t out of people when I’m in there.
One time this fat ass 300 pound woman was trying to crowd surf and she got pushed on my head from behind. My neck hurt so bad. About 5 feet in front of me she got dropped. It was funny.
[quote]NoeticFront wrote:
Nobody punched anybody; there were no brawls. The environment that you are describing is bullshit. That’s not a mosh pit, that’s bunch of drunks assholes with ego problems. [/quote]
So true, Noetic. Back in those days, it was common to see people actually HELPING up those who had fallen or were hurt. The camaraderie was there, unlike today where everyone is broken off into different factions and attitudes.
My opinion: metal and rap attitudes ruined the mosh pit “etiquette”
“Mosh pits” nowadays sucks… you go to a concert to head bang and enjoy the music, and suddenly people are kicking at your knees and punching you in the face…
When people are slightly brutal, but still just having fun, that’s the best mosh pits. A good example might be In Flames. I was extremely tired after the concert, could barely walk home. I was never punched or anything. But DAMN my body hurt the next days. Especially the neck of course, headbanging while jumping around for 3 hours straight should not be done by inexperienced metal heads like I was at that time.
Iv had my fair share of violent metal show moments…especially being one of the few people attending shows in this area of the country who refuses to deal with the dancing, spin kicking, ninja bullshit.
When I was in high school, I saw Between the Buried and Me at New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC and what happened during the breakdown in “Shevanel Cut a Flip” is still by far the most frantic, violent concert moment Iv seen.
At an Unearth show I attended in 2004, during “Zombie Autopilot”, there was a 200+ person circle pit inside of Ground Zero (a relatively small venue in Spartanburg, SC). I got run over by a 50 year old biker guy that looked suspiciously like Paul Tuttle from American Chopper.
Craziest show in general still goes to Dillinger. That was mind blowing.
Most brutal pit experience?
Don’t remember that. I know of one club where the ceiling was so low I hit the lamp with my shoulder during stagediving and it came crashing down, only to be kicked to pieces by the mob. Wasn’t brutal though, I think it was some pal’s ska band.
But I have a most magical mosh pit story to share:
Biohazard came into town and I was sick. I felt like shit, it was the second day of the drama, I had fever, everything was spinning, you know, a light flu or something similar.
It looked like I was gonna stay in bed for the whole weekend.
But still, BIOHAZARD was playing not far from my house! Plus I knew a doorman who would let me in for free so I (un)naturally rose from the dead and zombie marched to the unholy grounds.
The humid air was half sweat half tar, so it wasn’t that bad and the people were, at least for hardcore, rather timid.
The music did what it was supposed to do. After a few songs sickly me was busy moshing, banging and screaming.
Just before the last song, I said bye to the guys and left.
And, as my lungs drank the fresh air, I felt that I was cured like through some shamanistic mass healing ritual !
I was completely healthy, felt good and slept like a baby.
That’s proof for me that Rock music has all kinds of spirits.
P.s. I think Madball had had the most wicked moshpit I ever encountered. Pure murder.