The music blares from the band onstage. The drums pick up, the guitars squeal satanic riffs, and those vocals rumble. Around you the movement picks up. You think that someone has stumbled and accidentally pushed up against you, but then it happens again. Before you know it the entire floor has broken out in a chaotic battle. People are flying all over the place, slamming into each other and running around without any apparent goal.
You panic, maybe those rumors of the band being satanic were true. Maybe these people have been possessed by what the media calls ‘devils music’. Your heart picks up, your breaths become a little more shallow, and before you know it you have begun to freak out and scurry for the door. Now, in the parking lot of the venue, you look back wondering who will survive that anarchic clash of fans.
Well my friend, there is no need to worry. This battle dance that you just witnessed was the simple act of moshing, and it is a badass ritual that most extreme music fans participate in. Here at the Mutilated Mohawk, we are prepared to give you all the best tips, tricks, and moshpit etiquette to help you become a local moshing legend.
The Basics
To go over the basics in moshing is to cover a few different types of pits. The world of moshing is a complex dish of all different types of pits, however, just to save some brain-space we will introduce you to just a few of those types of pits.
The first, and most common, is just your basic mosh pit. This is when a crowd of people are running around and shoving off of each other. Read that sentence very carefully over and over again, because there is a very important key that will come up later. In this pit you can play two parts; the barrier, and the warrior.
If you are playing the part of the barrier, you are standing along the edge of the pit and shoving loose flying people back into the pit. Your job is to make sure that the legions of moshers do not break through and interrupt other people who are just watching the show. This also helps ensure that people don’t just fly out into an open floor and lose momentum. You are the wall that separates the pits of hell from the casual bystander. This is also a good position to take if you are gassed from the pit and need a breather.
The second crucial player in the standard mosh pit is the actual mosher. By taking this position you are the warrior in a war where it is every person for themselves. You are to run around and shove off of everyone and everyone you can. You will most likely loose your footing, and you might even be shoved so hard you go flying, but don’t worry that is all but normal. In the mosh pit there are two important things to understand. The first is that there is always going to be someone bigger than you that is gonna send you flying. The second, and probably most important, is to never underestimate someone. I’ve seen tiny men and women be the biggest and baddest thing in the pit. I’ve seen old people take elbows to the face like it was nothing, and then go on to absolutely launch me across the pit. While the big guys are intimidating, everyone in the pit has the potential to be an absolute killer.
The second most common type of pit is the circle pit. This is a type of pit where the crowd begins to run in a circle formation. When encountering this pit your main job is to run with the herd. It’s pretty amazing, especially at large outdoor festivals where massive amounts of people get into it. This one can be less chaotic than your standard mosh pit, however chaos can also break out in this one.
With circle pits there can be instances where people break out in the middle of running and start shoving each other, which destroys the circle and takes things back to the standard mosh pit. Sometimes, depending on the amount of people at the venue, a standard mosh pit will break out in the middle of the circle pit. This is also interesting, and really ramps the energy up because of the amount of movement and chaos.
The final type of mosh pit that an introductory mosher will have to worry about is the wall of death. This type of pit is a violent test for any mosher, and is also insanely satisfying. This type of pit happens when the pit splits into three factions. People will separate, leaving a massive space in the middle of the floor, and as the breakdown hits they will charge each other and clash.
There is a warning that must be said. While the two sides of this pit are separating the actual ‘wall of death’ will form. This is composed of the people who, after the sides begin to part, are still remaining in the now vacant hole of the pit. These folks make up what is known as the ‘wall of death’, a prestigious and honorable title for any mosher. This is probably one of the most intense pieces of any mosh pit, as both sides will collectively charge you. This position is not recommended for first time moshers because of how insane it is. However, if you are determined to be a official ‘wall of deather’ then you can try your luck. Just understand, once that breakdown hits, there is no escape from the wrath of hell that will ensue.
Mosh Pit Etiquette
Now that you are introduced to the basic types of pits, it’s time to learn the most important thing in the pit; MOST PIT ETIQUETTE. Please, please, please, pay attention here, because if you want the ‘family respect’ you gotta know how to treat each other. Yes, even in the pits of hell there is still respect for each other.
The first and foremost rule is to never, ever, and I mean EVER, swing your fists or kick. Crowd-killing is a blasphemous act in the pit, and don’t be surprised if you don’t get your shit rocked if you participate in this act. The term ‘No Karate In The Pit’ should be a testament that you hold near and dear to your heart if you want to earn respect amongst your fellow moshers. The guy swinging his fists and kicking everyone is an asshole. Nobody likes that guy, and usually people on the sidelines get pissed enough that they gang up on him. When you are in a pit, your goal is to SHOVE each other. Sure, everyone catches an elbow every now and again, and accidents do happen, but when someone is going apeshit and flinging their fists and kicking it ruins it for everyone. This is how people get seriously injured, and injury isn’t the goal.
Sure, when you do survive your first pit you will show off your bruises and tell tales of your chaotic triumph. However, nobody wants to be seriously injured. We are metalheads, we are punks, and we are family. A family that doesn’t want to kill each other. So please, never ever crowd-kill. It’s a dumbass practice for dumbasses.
The second and just as important rule as the first is to always help a buddy. You, and everyone else in the pit, will fall. It’s just going to happen. When people are running around and shoving each other you will just lose your balance and come crashing down to the floor. This can be scary, but fear not fledgling, moshers always have each others back. When you do fall to the ground it is common mosh pit etiquette for the moshers around you to pull you up to your feet and make sure you are okay.
This rule works both ways. Because you would want this treatment if you fell to the ground then you gotta give this treatment to others. If anyone, and I mean anyone, falls to the ground in the pit then it is your job to lend that person a hand and get them to their feet. In fact, its really common and best practice to form a makeshift wall around the person who fell so that they don’t get accidentally trampled on by fellow moshers. Like we previously mentioned, nobody wants to get seriously injured in the mosh-pit.
Another really important rule, and almost sad that it has to be a rule, is to not use the chaos of moshing to ‘cop a feel’. Groping chicks, or dudes, in the pit is not cool under any circumstances. The pit is for people to have fun in, get their mosh on, and be amongst friends. Copping a feel violates another person and is a huge asshole move. If you genuinely want to be apart of any extreme music scene then being the ‘dude who gropes people in the pit’ is the fastest way to not only get hated, but also get your ass kicked. Most metalheads and punks have a general consensus of a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for this kind of behavior. It’s disgusting and ruins the pit for those that fall victim to that kind of asshole behavior.
Well, there you have it. A beginners guide to moshing. With the incredibly epic knowledge that you have obtained from this article you can now go off and mosh with the legions. At the next concert, just as you feel the floor begin to rumble, you can mosh easy knowing that you are fully prepared for everything the pit has to bring.