WALL OF DEATH (MOSHING)

:''For the carnival motorcycle attraction, see Wall of death.''
The 'wall of death' (also known as the 'Braveheart') is a form of moshing seen at hardcore, punk rock, metalcore, and Heavy Metal concerts, in which the audience divides into two sections, with a gap of at least 10 meters between them. The two groups then run into each other at high speed, in a rather violent fashion.
This form of moshing has hit the news because of numerous injuries, including reports of the death of a German metal fan, later found to be unrelated. The wall of death may have been created by hardcore band Sick Of It All.
Virginia based metal band Lamb of God used to get the crowd to perform the wall of death during their song "Black Label", but after too many fan injuries, singer Randy Blythe was prohibited from inciting the wall. He is still seen as saying, "You know what to fucking do" when "Black Label" starts playing. Generally, many fans know that by time "Black Label" starts, they should already be preparing for the Wall of Death. Footage of Lamb of God's Wall can be seen on their DVD Killadelphia, during the song "Black Label". However, sometimes the band doesn't want the crowd to start the Wall. In concerts, if the crowd starts chanting "Wall of Death! Wall of Death!" Randy may try to silence them, first with hand gestures and "shhh"s and finally just saying "Shut the fuck up!"
It is also known as the Braveheart because of the film of that name, in which English and Scottish soldiers ran into each other on the battlefield. The Braveheart has been made famous by Chimaira from their performance at Ozzfest 2003; frontman Mark Hunter has earned the nickname "Metal Moses", for his ability to part the crowd at a concert, similar to how Moses is said to have parted the Red Sea (this title has rarely been used, however, since it was realized that the Old Testament states that God, not Moses, split the sea). As a result, decent footage of the 'Wall of Death' can be seen on Chimaira's DVD The Dehumanizing Process.
Hemlock, a band from Las Vegas, Nevada, performed the wall of death at the Pound in San Francisco on April 19, 2002. It should be noted that they were in fact opening for Chimaira, who had yet to perform the move in their career. This may have inspired Hunter to attempt it at following shows. Another band to inspire a Braveheart is the Seattle-based horror rock fivesome Aiden, most notably at the crescendo section of their song "I Set My Friends On Fire", and yet another is Flatfoot 56. Flatfoot 56 splits the crowd before they play, "Battle of the Bones", telling each person to choose a target. Once the song reaches its crescendo, people rush together, then pair off, checking into each other repeatedly and creating the appearance of a real battle.
New York hardcore band Murphy's Law have a song called "Wall Of Death" referring to this form of moshing.
Some bands have developed their own adaptations of the wall of death. Cephalic Carnage's version is called the wall of carnage. Instead of having the audience divide into left and right sides, the audience is split into right, left, top, and bottom. This creates a bigger, more intense motion, with bodies coming from all sides. Hardcore band Throwdown created an inverted wall of death, in which the crowd at the front (nearest the stage) runs to the back, which is usually a much calmer section of the audience.
In the Umeå hardcore scene during the 1990s, the wall of death was usually done in two levels. Two lines of people would form in the back of the concert hall, and the back line would lock arms with each other, kneel, and pick the front line up on their shoulders and charge towards the stage — knocking down everyone in the way. There have even been sightings of two or more fans attempting to build an actual wall in the middle of the venue, using bricks and mortar they had snuck inside.
At the Harlequin, Redhill, it has become tradition to have a separate pit going between the two walls so that when they clash there is further havoc caused by the moshing already going on.
A Life Once Lost incited a Wall of Death at their performance in Fort Collins, CO, on March 30, 2007.
Before performing their song "Through the Fire and Flames" on the 5th of May 2007 in Sydney, Australia, British power metal band Dragonforce's vocalist ZP Theart incited a wall of death during the introduction of the song. The Wall clashed 20 seconds into the song and the event has now become an ongoing event at subsequent shows during the songs performance.
Crossover Thrash band, Municipal Waste is known for inciting the wall of death at their shows - usually asking white shirts to be pitted against black shirts.
Metal band Bullet For My Valentine also encourages this form of moshing, along with circle pits and mosh pits, especially during the song "No Control"
The metalcore band Caliban has also been known to incite the Wall of Death at concerts, often with a member of the band between the two sides directing the audience's actions.
Killswitch Engage has also used the Wall of Death, recently as the Vans Warped Tour.
Blessthefall used the Wall of Death on the Vans Warped Tour '07.
Thursday has also used the Wall of Death at least once, in Columbus, Ohio while on tour with Rise Against.
Power Metal band Dragonforce used the Wall of Death during their 2006 Inhuman Rampage over North America tour.
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Contents

See also

References

See also

★ Sick Of It All video showing the Wall of death

★ Cat Power

★ Moshing

★ Circle pit

★ Metalcore

★ Ozzfest

★ Lamb of God (band)

★ Chimaira

★ Throwdown

★ Metal (Music)

References

1. Google Video