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The mosh pit. Never such a misunderstood facet of a subculture as this. Originally, the mosh pit was more of a circle dance, running with high dancing knees in a circle, stumbling about and just generally having a good time, but as the music got rougher, the mosh pit got tougher. Occasionally you will see a group of mohawked punk rockers dancing in a traditional "circle pit", but more and more what you see in the crowd resembles more of a football game than anything else.

And why? More often than not, participants emerge with bumps, bruises and bloody noses, and yet, they are smiling. Masochists? Maybe, but that's their business. It falls into the roots of the music, the underground. The theory behind underground music is total release, loud, fast, unabashed emotion channeled through electric guitars and heavy bass beats, and what better way to react to this unabashed emotion that allowing your body to take total control?

As one "moshes", dances, and screams along with the chorus, their heart rate speeds up, sweat pours out, and the adrenaline kicks in. The camaraderie that comes with the silent, but complete physical contact of a mosh pit is incomparable. It is a high that one will always fail to describe accurately.

For most people involved in the "mosh pit culture", the pit just is. They could not imagine their music without their mosh pit or their mosh pit without their music. And why attempt to explain it? Do we ask heroin addicts why they like heroin? Do we ask mothers why they want to hold their babies? One is addictive and the other natural, the pit, however, is both.

Learn more about this author, Renee Asher.
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