BANG YOUR HEAD (SAFELY)

Even though we try to lay him down by the fire and give him all the good lovin’ he needs, Satan Rosenbloom is a metalholic, and consequently sometimes cheats on us with Decibel or his own blog, Ceberal Metalhead. And we’ve come to live with that. As long he gets tested every now and again, we’re good to go.

ANYWAY, his latest post at the aforementioned Cerebral Metalhead is about the dangers of headbanging – more specifically, the ill effects it can take on one’s neck. Mr. Rosenbloom is currently suffering through his own neck issues (which were, alas, not brought about by headbanging or any other kind of awesomeness), which led him to think about Evansuckence’s Terry Ballsucko, who, I was surprised to learn, was partially paralyzed after a headbanging-induced stroke. (Think about that for a second: HEADBANGING TOO MUCH CAN LEAD TO A FUCKING STROKE. And here we always thought that moshing and stage diving and getting stuck watching In This Moment while waiting for the next band at Hot Topic Fest were the most dangerous aspects of the metal lifestyle.) This, in turn, led him to seek out a British Medical Journal piece about the potentially terrible side effects of headbanging, as well as some tips on making headbanging a safer activity.

Go here to read Satan’s entire piece. It’s actually really, really interesting stuff.

Also, if you have your own headbanging-induced neck injuries, share your story below!

-AR