All I have to say is fucking SLAYER!!!

This is probably the most exciting thing I have gotten to do in the music world, photograph Slayer. I have to say that it was a dream come true to be able to capture this night. I got some pretty amazing pics that I would love to share with ya!

This one is my favorite of Kerry- He is a fun person to photograph. He has so many cool features about him.

I just love the expression that Tom has on his face in this pic. The blue light around him just makes this pic pop!

The colors that were used for the lighting of this show just brought out interesting sides of all the members of Slayer. The color green suits Jeff well:

Last but not least, here is one of our two favorite guitarists together:

Please do go and see the entire album. There are so many cool pics in this album. Check them out here!

Slayer!!!

Behemoth and All That Remains added from Tampa Show!

I finished these two bands first because I have never seen them live before and they impressed me the most! I really enjoyed both their sets and feel like they are going to be in heavy rotation in my iPod.

Behemoth -they are truly a brutal band. I was dying in my tank top and shorts at this show and complained about the heat. Tampa is definitely not a place you want to be in the Summer. The humidity was high and not only did you sweat, but it just stuck to you and made it worse. These guys walk on stage in corpsepaint and full gear and I got hot just looking at them! They put on an amazing show and had an endurance anyone can admire. If it were me up there, I would have passed out. Later on I find out that they are from Poland! (I am part polish too). That is why they are warriors! The crowd welcomed them with a great pit and I think all had a great time.

Nergal, Orion and Seth were the only ones that I could take great pics of. Poor Inferno was hidden behind the kit, so I did the best I could. Did I mention that I happened to be right under Seth when he spit out "blood" and I got bathed in it? I didn't bother washing it off and a lady came up to me later and asked me if I realized I had blood all over me. I told her yes and kept walking. That was too funny. Here are a few pics from that show:

Behemoth Album on Tormentia Photography

All That Remains puts on an interactive show. They have a great cohesion with each other and Phil really stirs the crowd up and gets them involved. I have to say I really love Oli and Mike's guitar work. Jason just makes drumming look easy; we know its not. I save Jeanne for last because she is living my childhood dream. Back when I was growing up, you didn't see girls in metal, other than Lita Ford and the other chick "hair" bands. It's so cool that she will give a generation of girls out there the hope that they too can shred with the boys. Jeanne, you are one my new heroes!

All That Remains album on Tormentia Photography

Whew.. recovering from all the Mayhem!

So in the last week, I have attended 3 different stops on the Rockstar Mayhem Tour. I attended the one in NJ just as a fan so that I could enjoy watching all the cool bands on this bill. I then flew down to see the Tampa and West Palm Beach stops in Florida. I went armed with my photo passes and went crazy trying to take pics of all the bands. It is going to take at least a week of sorting pics and deciding which ones make the cut.

Just a thought; I understand that the summertime is the time that these all day festival concerts are supposed to go around. Who decided that? Especially in brutally hot states in the south? Wouldn't it be kinder to everyone involved to do these gigs in the fall up north and after hurricane season in the south? I think I must have sweat gallons for those two shows on the 11th and 12th.

Be patient with me as I sort through all of these. I must have shot over 4000 pics in 2 days. That is alot of work when you have a day job.

It's been a while! Catch up time.

I have been so busy with my "day" job and paid event photography work that I have not been able to do as much writing as I have wanted to. I am backed up about two shows worth of pictures. I have been to some cool hardcore shows and I have been glad to get the chance to get out and see some music.

was invited to come out by the guys in Unstable Foundation on July 12th and I had a great time. They played with some other cool bands like Undivided and The Judas Syndrome.

Here are a few pics from that show

Unstable Foundation

Entire Album

Undivided

Entire Album

The Judas Syndrome

Entire Album

So at a show, the unthinkable happens...

I was invited up to Dingbatz by my friends at Hellhound Studios for a night a great hardcore bands- 6 in total. The main acts were going to be For the Love Of and Agents of Man. To be completely honest, this girl has always been a metal head, so I was slightly out of my element at first. First thing I will mention is how friendly the crowd was- that was just a pleasant surprise. So I got into the grove of things and got to enjoy the first band, Pitfight. Here are a few pics from that band.

See the entire album here: Pitfight

So the next band really entertained me. The boys really had some great energy and I was able to take some really fun shots. The singer is a photographer too, so I was told. I am glad I was able to snap some pics for them. The band is Darkness Descends and here are a few fun pics of them and one of the crowd "dancing".

The rest of the album is here at Darkness Descends

The last band I was able to snap was Angelo Diablo. They had a different vibe than the previous 2 bands. Compared to the first two bands, they were a little more mellow as far as tempo, but had a deeper feeling to it. It was a nice change of pace and they definitely kept my attention. Got some fun pics of them as well.

See the rest of the album here: Angelo Diablo

So why was this the last band I could shoot? Well its because yours truly here broke her camera. Yeah you read it right, I broke my baby. I must have had something on my CF card because when I tried to change it out, I got an error message that said that the camera couldn't read the memory card. I took it outside in a panic and shone a light down into the slot. I bent a pin and there was no fixing that myself. So alas, no For the Love Of pics or Agents of Man. I hope there is a next time?

Lamb of God- Oh My God

So let me just tell you that never in a million years would I ever imagine that music would move me the way that it did at this show. Lamb of God opened up with the first few songs off of their new album, Wrath, in the exact same order as on the CD. The intro got me all excited as my heart began to pound in my throat. I had 3 songs to get this right, and of course I was worried I was not going to do well. This was my first concert where I could bring my DSLR camera, and I am still learning how to use it, so I was not sure what to expect.

Well LoG came on and it blew my mind that I was lucky enough to be in the photo pit. My jaw dropped open as they exploded into their first song, In Your Words. I had to remember the reason I was there, to take pics! I jammed out and had a hard time keeping my body still enough to take the pictures properly.

Now this part is a little personal, but I have to share so that you can appreciate and understand the feeling that washed over me. Around 3:50 seconds into this song, the boys begin to jam. The last minute in a half of this song has no singing and no words, but it speaks to me in a way that I can't describe. The way all the instruments meld into this melody brings tingles throughout my body, gives me goosebumps, and makes my hair stand up on end. Now I had a visual to go along with this feeling that this song brings out of me. The spotlight shines on Mark as he plays this part of the song and I thought I was on another plane of existence - me with my camera and him with his guitar. It looked a little like this:

The morning after the show, I was able to review my shots and I was pretty impressed with some of the shots I managed to land. They were good, but I didn't feel that I "captured" that feeling that I was describing above. By the grace of God, or of an amazing friend on this tour that I will be forever grateful to, I was able to figure out what I didn't do right the night before and correct it for the next stop on this tour. These shots that I got at the Electric Factory capture how that minute and a half felt for me and I am happy that will be able to enjoy this moment again and again:

The rest of the pictures from these two shows can be found here

Roseland Ballroom- May 8th 2009

Electric Factory- May 9th 2009

First Show, First Band- God Forbid at the Roseland May 8th, 2009

How appropriate that the first band I photograph as "Tormentia Photography" is God Forbid. This band will always hold a very special place in my heart. They are talented musicians that deserve more recognition than the industry has given them as of yet. I am proud to call them friends.

Corey on Drums, John on Bass, Kris on Guitar

Doc on Guitar

Byron- Vocals

John on Bass

To see the rest of these pictures- check out the pictures from the 2 different shows on this No Fear Tour

Roseland Ballroom May 8th, 2009

Electric Factory May 9th, 2009