Editorials

The Ten Commandments of Moshing

II. Thou shalt make unto thee as many graven images as possible.
Pits are high theater. What captures your eye when you gaze into a pit? The looks on the participants' faces, their style of moshing, the way they are expressing their connection to the music. There's nothing wrong with hamming it up, putting on a show and letting your dark-side flow.

III. Thou shalt not take the purpose of the horde with which thee trod in vain.
Moshing should be fun. It should allow you to obtain a broader, more spiritual connection to the music. Every note played, every word sang, should attain more depth and power as they work their way into your soul. Granted, moshing involves a massive venting of aggression and frustration, but this physical punishment has a purpose, for it teaches us that, in spite of our mortality and physical frailty, the ultimate triumph of our spirits is irrevocable. If you find yourself experiencing more misery (in the form of negative emotions) than ecstasy in a mosh pit, you are missing the point entirely.

IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
It is perfectly natural for your thoughts to turn briefly to The Creators—Tony, Ozzy, Geezer, and Bill—as you perform this time honored ritual which they so graciously made possible on February 13, 1970.

V. Honor thy fallen brother (or sister).
Moshing is not about 'winning.' It's about a spirit of community—in the midst of shared ecstasy made possible by incredibly heavy and uplifting music. When someone goes down, it is your duty as a member of this community of good people to pick that person up immediately, no questions asked, so that they may rejoin the fray quickly and safely.

VI. Thou shalt not kill.
Does this one need explanation? Keep those elbows down at chest level. A swinging fist probably isn't going to be lethal, but if you find yourself delivering blows to someone's head with your elbow or forearms, you need to settle down. And never purposely cut someone's legs in a pit—never.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
We've all heard the horror stories about women being sexually assaulted in pits, particularly at some of these larger Nu Metal festivals (I want to state for the record I've never seen anything like this in 20 years of going to real metal shows). Needless to say, anyone who engages in such acts is the worst kind of scum on the earth.

VIII. Thou shalt not steel.
Anyone who brings a foreign object into a pit is either a coward or totally out of their mind. So spare us the spiked bracelets, skull rings, and all other unnecessary accoutrements. Moshing is about the meeting of flesh and bone. Don't take that for granted.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Don't talk s#&% about someone on the fringe of a pit when you're catching your breath. Even if someone is an outright dick and deserves it, that's something that is almost always going to be detected and corrected (in time) by the community. Moshing is about physical—not verbal—communication.

X. Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbor's.
Be yourself. Pits prosper from diversity. Ethnic diversity, diversity in dress, diversity in hair length, you name it... And nothing brings people of different backgrounds and styles together like moshing.

By: Ladd Everitt

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