Death metal band Asphyx headbanging during a performance.

Headbanging is a type of dance which involves violently shaking the head in time with music, most commonly rock music and heavy metal music.

[edit] Origin

The term "headbanger" was coined during Led Zeppelin's first US tour in 1969.^[1] During a show at the Boston Tea Party, audience members in the first row were banging their heads against the stage in rhythm with the music.

Lemmy from Motörhead, however, said in an interview on the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years, that the term "Headbanger" may have originated in the band's name, as in "Motorheadbanger".

Ian Gillan, frontman of Deep Purple, when asked if he invented headbanging he said, "That’s a definite possibility"^[2].

Dave Tyo of Bipolar demonstrating the 'whiplash' technique at CBGB in New York City.

[edit] Health issues

In 2005, Terry Balsamo, Evanescence guitarist, incurred a stroke from headbanging.^[3] There have also been cases of people incurring whiplash from headbanging such as Craig Jones of Slipknot and it is common to experience headaches and stiff or sore necks as a result of headbanging.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Styles

There are various styles of headbanging. Various styles are often mixed together according to taste and to the tempo and heaviness of the music. They can also be performed with eyes closed and/or in combination with hand gestures such as the sign of the horns, singing, yelling, and lip syncing. Headbangers' bodies usually bang with the head, reducing the strain on the neck and making the body move in a serpentine, up-and-down fashion to the music. There are a number of different stances a headbanger can stand in.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Headbanging

• Moshing
• Stage diving
• Crowd surfing
• Air guitar
• Sign of the horns
• List of dances
• Headbangers Ball
• Heavy metal

[edit] References