Photo Reports
Although my busy personal life didn’t allow me to attend many concerts in 2023, the concerts I was fortunate to experience were truly exceptional. It was a year filled with exciting first-time experiences as a photographer, including attending Lokerse Feesten, and some of my country’s biggest venues like Sportpaleis, and Koning Boudewijnstadion. I also had the opportunity to witness some of the most iconic bands in the world: Rammstein, Iron Maiden, Within Temptation, Megadeth, and Volbeat, among others. Additionally, I had the privilege of photographing some of Belgium’s finest bands, such as Brutus, Amenra, and Channel Zero, to name a few. Belgium boasts a rich music scene, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to witness more incredible concerts in the future.
I’m not getting to do this as often as I would like, but the handful of shows and festivals (like Tuska and the first edition of Hellsinki Metal) that I managed to cover were simply amazing, and resulted in epic pictures from bands and artists like Butcher Babies, Electric Callboy, Ghost, Glenn Hughes, Gojira, In Flames, Lorna Shore, The Hu, Ville Valo, Chamber of Unlight, Asagraum, Monuments, Sodom, Batushka, Blind Guardian, and Apocalyptica & friends!
Last August, our dear friend and local GRIMM knight Ser Xavier invited his friends Prima Nocta and Trobar de Morte for the first edition of the Medieval Metal Night to celebrate his birthday. This line-up was very promising. Both bands are familiar names on the Castlefest bill and have already played quite a few headline shows. It was no surprise that tickets sold like hot cakes, and the event sold out in the blink of an eye.
Trobar de Morte is a Spanish band founded in 1999 by Lady Morte, a singer and songwriter. The band has played at several festivals and did various tours, among which a big tour with Faun in 2011. They have toured in countries such as Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, France, UK or Italy. Their live show include dances and ritualistic elements. It was the first time I saw them and man, it was a huge revelation. What a mesmerizing performance it was! Lady Morte‘s enchanting voice, the beautiful harmony of the traditional instruments and the mystical ritualistic dance formed a perfect, almost transcendent symbiosis.The band released their new record in November, so hopefully they will return to Belgium to promote it. I will be there.
The next band and headliner was Prima Nocta. Prima Nocta doesn’t need an introduction, they have already a big fan base in Belgium. They have performed several times on the Korenmarkt during the Gentse Feesten, Castlefest, Elftopia,… Prima Nocta has become one of the best folk metal acts. They pour elements of Celtic folk music, metal, and rock with traditional, medieval influences into a cauldron and brew a delicious magic potion from it. Their raw music is transmitted with an intensity that contains electrified riffs on a bouzouki, pounding drums, and gigantic bagpipes. All the ingredients were there for a terrific show and it was an absolute banger! From the very first notes, the audience went crazy to the pumping rhythm of the drums and bagpipes. Both the band and the audience enjoyed the performance to the fullest. Did I even see a mosh pit there?
The longer I’m doing this, the harder it gets every year to choose my best and/or favorite pictures I took at concerts the past year. Maybe I’m getting more satisfied with what I produce, or I’m simply improving the quality of my pictures every year again, or the shows I get to cover just deliver so much more epic moments to capture. Or maybe a bit of everything… In any case, after a year of catching amazing shows all over Helsinki, and of course amazing festivals like Tuska and Alcatraz, and a grueling process of elimination, I got to this collection of pictures featuring Battle Beast, Gaerea, Trollheim’s Grott, Avslut, Der Weg einer Freiheit, Amenra, Igorrr, Aesthetic Perfection, HIDE, SKYND, Ice Nine Kills, Utuk Xul, Rancid, Sick Of It All, Stratovarius, Testament, Michael Monroe, Volbeat, Hellacopters, Pensées Nocturnes, Amorphis, Biohazard, Killswitch Engage, Converge, Agnostic Front, Taake, Public Image Ltd, A.A. Williams, Butcher Babies, Clutch, Finntroll, Electric Callboy, Ghost, Gojira, Imperial Triumphant, Lorna shore, The Hu and Urne
2023 was a quiet year for me photography wise due to personal commitments, but what bands I did capture were amazing and interesting with the added spatter of being awesome.
This was the first year I covered a gig for GRIMM that I had in the pipeline for a while and was possibly one of the hardest to acquire a photo/review pass for, the artist in question was Self Esteem or now known as Rebecca Taylor who currently is performing in the stage production of Cabaret.
I had the honour of working with and for one of my synth Idols of the 80s, namely Martyn Ware of The Human League (early years) and Heaven 17.
The project with Martyn Ware was titled “Music for Total 3D Sonic Immersion” where the audio literally immersed itself around the room while the acts performed, which included Richard Norris (The Grid), Utopia Strong with the famous world snooker player Steve Davis and not forgetting Martyn Ware performing on a variety of synthesizers with John Wesley Barkers Strings, Tim Wheater and Cherub hitting things hard and delicately.
I also covered the entire gig of Heaven 17 on the opening night of The Luxury Gap UK tour.
Finally, as a birthday present to me from me in October I went to see Gary Numan perform an acoustic gig in a cathedral in Manchester, as a birthday gift from Gary’s tour manager I received a photo pass for the first 3 songs which was fortunate as after exiting the pit I couldn’t see a thing for the rest of the night what with the place being packed out and pillars blocking every conceivable angle!
And that’s 2023 in a nutshell. 2024 already has Foo Fighters booked for Manchester, but chances of getting a pass there are slim to none.
From the big boys selling out venues, to local faves making waves in our community, 2023 was filled with amazing talent and life-changing performances. I went on my first tour, saw my all-time favorite band, Alesana, and traveled to places I never thought music would take me, all with my camera by my side. While choosing favorites seems next to impossible, I’ve managed to narrow down my selection of photos that make me happy to had been the artist behind the lens. Lots of interesting colors, textures, and perspectives. What exactly is in store for 2024, we don’t know, but I’m excited to continue capturing passion and perseverance through music. But for now, have a look at my favorite pictures I took at all the concerts I got to cover from bands like Across the White Water Tower, Alesana, Autopsy Affair, Brand of Sacrifice, Currents, Emmure, Greyhaven, Knuckle Puck, Magg Dylan, Magnolia Parl, Midnight Threat, Norma Jean, Origami Angel, Pink Shift, Saliva, See You Space Cowboy, Silverstein, Sweet Pill, The Contactees, The SoapGirls, Virginia, We Came As Romans…
Although I didn’t take part in any festivals this last year, I think it was the most productive year for me in terms of the number of concerts I attended. Choosing a top is always complicated for me, but here are 30 photos that I like, and I hope you do too, including the bands: Fear Factory, Atreyu, Jinjer, Rolo Tomassi, Stone, The Kooks, Pixies, Wunderhorse, Yours Truly, You Me at Six, Lake Malice, Bloodywood, Epica, Avatar, The 69 Eyes, Nova Twins, Cam Cole, Sabaton, The Lumineers, Grailknights, All For Metal, The Baboon Show, Combichrist, Megaherz, The BossHoss, Cancer Bats, Kvelertak, Fixation, Ignea, Butcher Babies.
GRIMM was delighted to get an invitation to attend the premiere screening of the movie ‘Comeback’ with a red carpet filled with a whose who of Finnish celebrities and of course the whole cast! Check out the pics down below and see how many faces can you recognize!
Black Box Mikkeli is a festival curated and organized by the Finnish melodeath act on the rise Bloodred Hourglass. So when they invited us to go to the already third edition of the fest, and looking at the solid lineup, we didn’t hesitate to make the long trip to Mikkeli for the second day of the event that had a promising collection of bands with Lastout, I Am Your God, Balance Breach, Gaerea, Insomnium, and of course Bloodred Hourglass themselves as the crowning act!
Here are my top 30 photos of 2023. I’m a cinematic edit fan from the UK and believe that no one photographer is the same and that art is expressive in different ways. These photos are an expression of how I view music, the art, and the emotion during the photography stage of a gig. With Sabbra Cadabra, Crowley, Kraken Waker, Self Revolution, The SoapGirls, Nu-Castle, All Before, Audioslaves, Rage, Spartan Warrior, Twin Lizzy, and Red Hot Chilipinos, I’m offering a fine selection of cover bands, and gigs from the local club scene!
