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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!

Damnation And Deliverance

I had never shot at the Palace before so it was to be a night of firsts. I made my way to the front of the stage 20 minutes before Opeth were to kick off their set. I wanted to familiarise myself with the front of the venue and get a feel for the place – as you do.

With 10 minutes to show time, I made my way into the designated photo-pit and sternly checked my gear again and waited for the band. Several other photogs made their way to the pit.

Anthems Of Rebellion

I heard about Arch Enemy’s tour of Australia back in June. I’ve been a fan of the band for a while and last saw them at Festival Hall a few years ago in support of Megadeth. I definitely wanted the opportunity to photograph them so I decided to email the band via their website. When the promoter all but ignores you – cut out the middle man and go straight to the source.

Pop Crimes

Bit of an impromptu gig tonight. My girlfriend happens to be a very big fan of Rowland S. Howard. So much so when we bumped into Rowland at the Nick Cave exhibition a year or so ago, he knew her by name. I recently bought her Rowland’s new album Pop Crimes for her birthday – but tonight, she bought us tickets for tonight’s album launch gig at the Prince Bandroom.

Core Meltdown

I’m not usually a fan of the Metalcore genre. For the most part, it’s raucous nature and somewhat pretentious technical stylings leaves me scratching my head. It sounds like each individual band member is playing a different song.

But I wanted to photograph such a gig and in the end, I was pleasantly surprised with Poison The Well’s set which was injected with melody throughout. I will definitely be checking out some of their discography as frankly, I really liked what I heard tonight.

3 Minutes, 1 Song, & 1 Spilt Beer

Back in 1996, I was as big a Marilyn Manson fan as you could get. The band, having signed to Trent Reznor’s label ‘Nothing Records’ – had released a couple of classic albums, ‘Portrait of An American Family’ and the magnificent ‘Antichrist Superstar’. A couple of records I played to death. Matter of fact, I still listen to them today.

Death Dies Hard

Arriving at the Corner Hotel somewhat late – knowing full-well that the venue rarely has a designated photo-pit area isn’t the smartest thing to do. If I was to get any decent shots tonight I was gonna have to hustle through the crowd and pretty much hope for the best.

Catching the tail-end of Sydney act Ink, (they weren’t too bad at all) – I slapped on my photo-pass around the neck and proceeded with the ‘scuse-me-shuffle’ to the front of the stage.

One Shot

In a night that photographically proved to be so bitterly disappointing, let’s start with some positives ok?

Firstly, Monster Magnet are an amazing live band.

When you can hear the Marshall stacks purring that monotonic electronic hum and drone before the band has hit the stage… you know your ears are about to get pummelled!

No, I’m Not With The Band

With a stench of marijuana and beer in the air, I met up with my contact at Billboard as I had been requested to shoot some shots of Death Metal legends Morbid Angel half an hour before they were to hit the stage. Wow! I was so excited about that I can assure you.

I waited at the foot of a stairwell which led to the band’s dressing-room and took in the sights, sounds and smells around me. A scantily clad young lass tugged at my ‘Media’ pass around my neck and with my camera hanging over my shoulder, I was mistaken for someone in the band’s entourage several times.

“No, I’m not with the band…”

Are Friends Electric?

It’s unfortunate but when it comes to the career and music of Gary Numan, all that most people know of the man is the sporadic hits he had in the late 70′s and early 80′s. Granted that these hits were absolute classic tunes that helped define a fledgling genre and inspire many ‘Electronic’ and ‘Industrial’ artists. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails proudly wears the Numan influence on his sleeve and has covered the Numan classic ‘Metal’ in the past.

Eternal Kingdom

I’ve only ever had a passing interest in the music of Cult Of Luna. Never a fan and about the only time I ever really listened to them is when my colleague at work would play them on heavy rotation. I couldn’t get into their Prog Metal/Doom/Sludge histrionics but let me say this, coming home from the gig tonight – I’m converted.