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German Heavy Metal Fan Dies After Taking Part In Wall Of Death

posted Jun 29, 2005 at 2:11 AM by darkstar.  (40 Comments)

Photo of Lamb of God

Band Photo: Lamb of God (?)

A 26-year-old German heavy metal fan died over the weekend from injuries sustained at the Pressure Festival in in Herne (near Dortmund/Bochum), Germany.

The accident occured Saturday when 26-year-old — whose named hasn't been released by the German media — took part in the "wall of death," a form of concert dancing where the crowd is split down the middle and on the signal, both sides ram into each other.

The impact on the fan's liver was reportedly so significant that he died the same night at a nearby hospital.

The German media, especially regional TV, are already talking about "casualties at a heavy metal concert", and calling the wall of death an "aggressive" form of dance.

The "wall of death" was famously popularized by Lamb of God during their Ozzfest 2004 stint where it became a regular part of the group's live performance. [Click here to download a Quicktime video file recorded during last year's Ozzfest.]

In an interview with On Track Magazine conducted a few months ago, Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler was asked if the band ever feel concerned with the safety of their fans or if it is an "every fan for himself" kind of attitude.

"No, absolutely not, we definitely are concerned," Adler replied. "Y'know, we were doin' that Wall of Death for awhile, we were doin' it through the Ozzfest and we played a show on an off-date of Ozzfest where we headlined and we did the Wall of Death. And that night after the show we came backstage and there were two kids layin' there with broken legs. We went and talked to 'em and did our best to comfort 'em while they were waitin' for the ambulance and they were excited to meet us or whatever, but seein' somebody hurt after that kinda thing definitely made us stop and think about it a minute: and since that night we haven't done the Wall of Death again. It's not about people getting hurt, it's about people havin' fun and you're right, the audience is absolutely insane and we're not gonna throw out shoulder pads so nobody gets hurt. It is, in one way, every man for himself, but you gotta do your best to keep your eye out for each other when you're out there doing those things 'cause it can get pretty wild. And I think the energy and the release that we have as a band on stage and that the fans are able to have coming to see our live show, is really probably the most contagious thing about this band. I don't think we're writing records with big singles on 'em or metal anthems that people will never forget, I think it's about the show. And I think that's what's caught on and it's bringing more people out each time because of the stories, because of the fun that people are having; because the total insanity and the whole vibe. I get goose bumps when we take the stage sometimes and you can just see the eyes of these people lookin' at you, and they're all crazy. It's like somebody just released an entire prison yard to come to our show; it gets totally nuts. And I think as long as nobody gets hurt and everybody has a good time and they're able to let out a lot of the aggression and love doin' what they’re doin', then it’s more power to 'em and we're havin' a blast with it."

Source: Blabbermouth

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40 Comments on "Metal Fan Dies After Taking Part In Wall Of Death"

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Rue's avatar

Member

1. Rue writes:

That's terrible about the death of the German fan. I'm sure nobody wanted to kill the dude...accidents and sh** happen. If the fans could have stopped him from dying they probably would have...And that Chris Adler's a good man.

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 11:06 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
2. Ron Jeremy writes:

Maybe they should write better songs instead of telling kids to run into each other for fun.

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 11:07 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
3. thedude writes:

Lamb of god kick ass... but thats sad about the german dude getting killed. Now the media will probably say that heavy metal is dangerous and hurts people, when it was an accident...

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 11:23 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
4. BrIaN writes:

the wall of death is badass when i saw lamb of god, the wall of death was some serious sh** but it was fun, kinda sucks that someone died

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 2:42 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
5. # 1 writes:

what a bunch of morons. generation idiot at it's best.

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 2:48 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
6. psst writes:

It wasnt a lamb of god concert.....was it?

Doesnt sound luike it was

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 5:44 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
deathbringer's avatar

Founder, owner & programmer

7. deathbringer writes:

No, LOG was here doing Sounds of the Underground. I wonder what band was playing at the time and if they asked for theWall of Death or not.

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 5:50 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
8. Sean writes:

the wall of death has caught on . . . many other bands use it now . . . i think it was devildriver that i saw recently who did that . . . they also covered Ace of Spades

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 6:23 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
BLACKDOG's avatar

Supporter

9. BLACKDOG writes:

That is really f***ed up.He was just trying to have a good time but it goes to show that you never know when your times up.This is something that should not be done anymore.

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 6:38 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
10. Rape Jesus writes:

i guess that's why they called it the wall of death. that's a pretty metal way to die. hilarious!

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 7:32 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Cfhdon83's avatar

Member

11. Cfhdon83 writes:

stupid germans!!, stick to being nazi's and listen to Bach

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 8:34 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
12. word to your mother writes:

its called the wall of death and they are suprised someone died?now it would be surprising if it was called the wall of hugs and kisses and he died.why do metalheads do such stupid sh**?

# Jun 29, 2005 @ 10:55 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
13. brokenwings13 writes:

See how dangerous these things are?

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 12:03 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
14. you are all stupid writes:

the fact that cannot be alluded, is that the ass**** was there slamming himself, willingly, into other willing ass*****. it sucks that he died but nobody forced him into it. hopefully this could be a lesson to all of the other p***ies out there, if you want to hurt someone... beat a homeless person with a hammer.
and the only "metal way to die" is to have a piece of steel inserted into your body, not dying because your abdominal cavity is too weak to take a direct blow.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 1:39 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
DEADMETAL's avatar

Member

15. DEADMETAL writes:

thats pretty brutal ... i have participated in "wall of death" and it was great ... sux that this guy died ...

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 2:05 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
16. faHt writes:

Ok wait wait wait wait wait.....hold on a sex. so, this WASN'T a lamb of god concert?!? so what f***in poser band copied lamb of god's TRADEMARKED wall of f***ing death? I want to know this! i want to know this now. I need some answers here bi tches.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 2:55 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
17. GrindTillAIDS writes:

Wasn't i Hatebreed? They did it when I saw them last week.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 3:57 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
18. someonewithabrain writes:

what retards....what do you think will happen when you purposely inflict violent pressure on the human body? oh yea..metal rocks..lets inflict pain...such childish behavior...

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 4:32 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
19. metal_skater writes:

post 12 i agree its not called the "wall of death" for nothing. its a shame this guy died but violence is a part of metal if your not violent then your not metal. obviously god did not want him to live if he is the only one that died. i have the chimaira dvd and they do a "wall of death" in holland so its moving on through different bands now. in my poinion the "wall of death" should live on and anyone else that dies in them well f**king bad luck to you

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 6:52 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
20. tbx writes:

That sucks the dude died but it comes with the territory. You can get killed doing anything so people should'nt go freaking out blaming a metal show! Just to correct some people LOG did'nt come up with the idea of the wall of death . It was being done at Murphys Law shows back in the late 80's they even have a song titled such on a cd. Bands were probaly doing it before them.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 9:00 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Jushin_Liger's avatar

Member

21. Jushin_Liger writes:

Condolences to the guy's family first and foremost.

Having just returned from a festival in France last weekend where there was a wall of death that I took part in this news is especially shocking. I have a feeling this incident may well have occurred during Sick Of It All's set at the Pressure Fest (they encourage a large Wall of Death they dub the Brave heart from the movie, it was huge at Furyfest so I assume it would have been the same at Pressure Fest) and its a shame that such an incident is being linked back to Lamb of God. It certainly wasn't their invention and it wasn't them that re-popularised it, so they don't deserve then negative press that will come with this.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 9:29 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Jushin_Liger's avatar

Member

22. Jushin_Liger writes:

Well it turns out that this guys death has f*** all to do with the Wall of Death and was due to a long term heart problem.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 9:39 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
23. RollMonkey. writes:

Good news, everybody. Found on Uraniummusic.com

"The 26-year-old heavy metal fan who passed away during this past weekend's Pressure Festival in Germany died from complications brought about by a pre-existing heart condition and not as a result of injuries sustained while taking part in an aggressive form of slam-dancing, police in Bochum, Germany announced on Tuesday (June 2. The cause of Marco Grewen's death was found to be unrelated to the extreme type of "moshing" called "wall of death," a form of concert dancing where the crowd is split down the middle and on the signal, both sides ram into each other.

The German media had previously reported that approximately 2,000 people took part in the "wall of death" during HATEBREED's performance at the festival. A total of 25 people were reportedly taken to local hospitals to be treated for various injuries — including fractures — sustained during the three-day event."

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 11:37 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
24. Old skool thrash writes:

to post 19. u talk so much sh** boy! . "" IF your not violent your not metal "".. what sh** u talking? u listen 2 chimaira man lol!! get real bastard! u wanna listen 2 real violent music? go listen 2 old skool thrash metal f***er! metal_skater llol u aint f***ing metal! u aint true anyways

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 12:24 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
25. brokenwings13 writes:

Thanks RollMonkey for that.

That being stated, would it be of too muchg speculation to say the the kid died because his heart was working too fast from the moshing?

It was a three-day show, how many Walls would there be if Hatebreed and Sick Of It All were there?

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 1:46 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
DEADMETAL's avatar

Member

26. DEADMETAL writes:

i saw hatebreed like 4 times lat year and they did it during 3 out 4 shows ... i'm glad that the incident has been attributed to a prior condition and not as a direct result of "the wall" ... i really enjoy the wall ... i hope to do it again ... (I'm gonna see LoG again here in about 20 days, so hopefully there !) ...

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 2:28 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
27. RollMonkey writes:

It is great that the Wall wasn't the reason for the death. However, knowing the media, I still bet the news will ride this story out and make it much more trouble than it actually is. Hopefully it'll die down before anything harsh consequences start coming into effect.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 3:34 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
28. faHt writes:

So it was hatebreed? those f***in posers. stop stealin lamb of gods sh**. they are the best band ever nd you can't copy them hatebreed fags

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 4:26 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
deathbringer's avatar

Founder, owner & programmer

29. deathbringer writes:

Thanks RollMonkey. I've posted a new article about it and both are now associated with Hatebreed too.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 5:03 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
30. FAhT IS GAY writes:

hey faHt, GROW A BRAIN !! the "wall of death" has been around for a lot longer than LoG. they may have made it "popular" by doing it for the masses at ozzfest last year but its been around for a long time. and hatebreed rocks. f*** you.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 5:23 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
31. Jereth127 writes:

Chris Adler seems to be a good person with the fans well-being at heart, it is a shame that a person had to die but he knew he had a heart condition and willingly took part in something called a wall of death.
BTW, post 11, f***in' retarded.

# Jun 30, 2005 @ 8:01 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
32. yougetwhatyouaskfor writes:

wall of death? f***ing fags.

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 3:23 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
33. orlando writes:

chris adler is a goodman caring for his fans and that is a shame about what happened to that german
dude i took part in the wall of death twice at the subliminal versus tour and at a lamb of god show last year with fear factory children of bodom,andthrowdown that was a badass show here in san antonio tx
and i know how brutal the wall of deth can get and i loved evry bit of it but i dont know what to say sh**
happens

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 3:43 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
34. 666-999 writes:

damn......awesome
just plain fukn awesome
.....and sh** can apparently happen on occasion

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 4:43 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
bradispissed's avatar

Supporter

35. bradispissed writes:

it's a dumb practice anyway


braveheart nerd a$$holes.

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 1:08 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
36. brokenwings13 writes:

Brad, is it pointless to ask you again....

You can't forget. Not with that brain.

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 2:19 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
37. Johnson writes:

FREEDOM!!! Everyman for himself...if you cant stand to heat get out of the kitchen all you p***ies can just stand there and headbang but keep your a$$ out of the pit you your afraid of pain...BLACK LABEL b****ES!!!

# Jul 1, 2005 @ 2:20 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Cfhdon83's avatar

Member

38. Cfhdon83 writes:

anyone who is on an agnostic front cd kicks as s!! so fuc k u faht!

# Jul 6, 2005 @ 6:55 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
BLACKDOG's avatar

Supporter

39. BLACKDOG writes:

I'm staying out of that.Well atleast they can't blame it on activity in the pit this time.

# Jul 6, 2005 @ 10:08 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Anonymous Reader
40. bruce robertson writes:

The wall of death belongs to SICK OF IT ALL !!!! and it's even more funny in a SOIA show than in a Hatebreed show... stupid moshers !

# Jul 12, 2005 @ 10:23 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address

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