Headbanging is a perfectly natural response to music, up there with the urge to form a mosh pit or get battered when it’s sunny out. Researchers have even observed the practice of violently bopping one’s head to rhythmic sounds (that’s the scientific phrase, FYI) across the animal kingdom, from pigeons to sea lions. But it’s been finessed into an art at Bloodstock, the UK’s biggest independent metal festival.
This weekend saw 18,000 metalheads and moshers congregate at Catton Park in Derbyshire to listen to headline acts like Megadeth, Killswitch Engage and Meshuggah. There’s something joyous about the act of thrashing your head around to truly heavy music, even if it does come with some downsides (doctors once begged ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted to stop headbanging after he developed whiplash), but hey – what’s life without a bit of risk?
Videos by VICE
VICE photographer Christopher Bethell joined fans in the moshpit to document one of metal’s most time-honoured rituals. If you want to check out what this headbanging looked like in action, head on over to our TikTok.