[Surprisingly Little-Known Festival Terms] What Is a Wall of Death?

Last updated:2024/8/4

[Surprisingly Little-Known Festival Terms] What Is a Wall of Death?

Festival-loving girlImae Mizuki
I got totally hooked on BUMP OF CHICKEN after my best friend introduced them to me in junior high, and that’s when I woke up to music. In high school, a senior led me into the world of melodic hardcore, and I fell for it completely. Heavily influenced by the boyfriend I was dating back then, I’ve been a huge fan of 10-FEET from then until now. After graduating from my days as a hairstylist—spent staring down wigs every day—I now work staff for studios, live houses, and wedding sound, spending my days hunting for new bands. Despite being out at festivals and shows all year round, I’m still a hopeless kid who can’t even do a two-step.

We’ve explained many live concert terms so far, and up to now most of them were probably easy to guess just from the words themselves.

This time, I’d like to break down a term that’s a real head-scratcher: “Wall of Death.”

If you’re into hardcore or metal—whether abroad or in Japan—this is a must-read.

What is a wall of death?

When I go to live shows or watch live videos and read music articles and Twitter, I feel likeWall of DeathHaven't you ever seen the phrase “”?

Sometimes, "WODIt is also sometimes abbreviated as “”.

When I told the editor-in-chief of “Studio Rag e okoshi yasu,” at first they were confused and said, “Huh? What’s that?”

Even when I ask other staff at Studio Rag—where there are many band members—surprisingly, quite a few of them don’t know about it.

A literal translation of “ウォールオブデス” is “wall of death.”

It's way too scary, isn't it…?

However, it really delivers performance worthy of its name.

During the live show, excited fans split down the middle of the crowd.

And, with the cue of the song,A mass collision all at once—essentially a wall-version of a mosh pit.It is.

An image like a battle from the Sengoku periodAnd,moshIt is among the most extremely dangerous acts.

History of the Wall of Death

The wall of death is said to have originated at live shows by Sick Of It All, a hardcore band from New York.

The wall of death is the most dangerous mosh pit, where concertgoers split into left and right like an ancient battle and, the moment the song kicks in, everyone charges in full force. Said to be inspired by the film Braveheart, this form of moshing is considered extremely dangerous and has even resulted in fatalities in the past.
It’s said that the hardcore band Sick of It All originated it. Later, when Chimaira and Lamb of God did it at Ozzfest, this style of moshing spread.
TranslationWikipedia

It seems to have started overseas around 1990 and became widespread from the 2000s.

In JapanCrossfaithand/or; such as; or (used to list examples)SIM、BABYMETALI think you often get the chance to see a wall of death at live shows.

Looking at this lineup, it seems that it became widespread in Japan around 2010.

A list of songs where wall of death tends to occur

The wall of death is often done at live shows in genres like hardcore and metal, and it often happens when the artist incites the crowd.

The wall of death is dangerous!

It’s literally called the “wall of death,” so of course it’s dangerous.

In the past, it seems there were concerts where people were actually killed or injured.

two-stepand/or; such as; or (used to list examples)skadanIf anything,mosh pitIf you get caught up in the wall of death, you’ll be swallowed up just like that.

It’s truly dangerous if you don’t know this.

If you’re not used to these kinds of live shows, I recommend immediately clearing out when a mysterious circle forms in the crowd or when people start splitting to the left and right.

Mr. Okazaki Taiiku’s idea is safe and good (lol).

https://twitter.com/tamakoro00/status/903808998951944193