The Metal Memoirs: Differences Make the World Go 'Round

Yes, I'm actually bored enough to talk about this subject....

Having been to a number of various forms of metal concerts, one cannot help but, at a point, begin, to notice the very obvious observation that different kinds of metal attracts a different subset of peoples.

For reference, I'll be basing my observations off of primarily death metal concerts (Black Dahlia Murder) as opposed to wholly deathcore shows (Whitechapel), with some more mixed genre concerts thrown in for good measure.

First off, death metal shows. These concerts are generally populated by men in their 20's all the way into middle age. Generally speaking, the male-to-female ratio is pretty steep in that women are few and far between. Furthermore, these shows tend to be a bit more tame in terms of pit prevalence. There's a higher populace of the arms-crossed-static-position sorts of metalheads, myself included in that. By no means does that mean the pit is nonexistent, it simply means that there's a definite feeling that people are more so there for the music rather than getting fucked up. That said, these are the sorts of concerts that make me feel too young....

Deathcore shows, on the other hand, tend to draw a far younger crowd. These are cocnerts filled with kids of an average combined age 16, if I had to take an educated guess. The male-to-female ratio is also quite a bit more leveled out at a rough estimated ratio of about 3:1, male:female. There are also a lot more scene kids at these sorts of shows, lending itself to an overall feeling of childishness, for lack of a better term. The pits also tend to be rife with screamo kids and, generally, douchebags. Furthermore, as a side-effect of the younger crowd, understanding of common metal show etiquette tends to get lost. Basically, these are the sorts of concerts that make me feel too old....

And of course, in-between, are those concerts that mix up the crowds. Festivals have a high tendency of resulting in this mix. But in sum, those are the just a few of the observations I've made about the crowds at metal shows. Coming up next, why I love pits!