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Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder

Surprisingly with such a strong bill featuring Ne Obliviscaris, The Amenta and Cradle Of Filth – ticket sales were lower than expected.

This gig was originally scheduled for Melbourne’s Palace venue but it was switched to the more intimate Billboard. I hadn’t shot at Billboard since the Converge gig earlier in the year and it is a venue that I do enjoy working in.

Vicious Muse

There are some gigs you know full well are going to be insanity personified days before you have even set foot in the venue. Tonight was most definitely one of those nights. I mean, listen to any track that these guys have recorded and magnify that energy ten-fold and see how you fare.

When you leave a gig battered, bruised, deafened and drenched in some liquid or another – and you’re there as the photographer – something must have gone right… or wrong!

Under Black Flags We March

One begins to lose track of all the international Metal acts that tour our shores. As a photographer, more often than not, one gig just leads into the next and a deep seeded feeling of complacency certainly has a nasty habit of creeping in. One band begins to look and sound exactly like the one before it.

Pursuit of Vikings

I’ve extolled the virtues of shooting gigs at Billboard many, many times over but lately, there have been some very poorly lit shows for us photogs. Tonight’s Amon Amarth gig was probably the worst I have seen Billboard lit for many a show. Which is a shame, because for the most part, Billboard is always a pleasure to shoot at.

Anguish Of Youth

After the plethora of gigs that hit these shores last month due to the Soundwave Festival and all the off-shoots, it was kinda cool to have some downtime between shows. So much so, I didn’t even feel in the mood to go and shoot tonight’s Iced Earth gig.

Blunt Force Trauma

I sat in the photo-pit about 20 minutes before Cavalera Conspiracy were due to hit the stage. I always find this to be a calm time before hell is unleashed. It gives me a chance to get a feel for things, check out the lights and prematurely plan my camera settings. Of course, those plans get thrown out of the window pretty damn quickly but you do need to keep your wits about you because your three song limit comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

The Impossibility of Reason

Tonight was one of the hardest shoots I’ve had to endure.

The allotted three-song limit was quickly cut down to half a song as the frantic security in the photo-pit alongside me – had their hands full within seconds of the band hitting the stage. Seconds!

All Hail Satan!

With the near-encounter with Rotting Christ yesterday in the streets of Melbourne, seriously – what better way to kick off 2010′s gig photography with a nice touch of Black Metal evilness?

I was scheduled to shoot both Rotting Christ and headliners Dark Funeral at Billboard tonight – one of my fave venues to shoot at by the way – for Heavy Metal website and all round cool dudes, Metal Obsession.

Guardians Of Asgaard

I’ve lost track of the number of gigs I have seen throughout the course of 2009. Trust me, there has been a few. One of the perks of shooting live music is that you get to see the gig for free so with that in mind, one does become a little complacent. It seems, at times, that one gig just rolls into the other and at the end of the day – it can get all rather stale.

Not tonight. Not tonight boys and girls. Amon Amarth were simply fucking phenomenal. For me, this was the gig of the year such was the power and ferocity that these guys utterly impressed and blew me away!