Avenged Sevenfold At Centre Bell

After some more intimate park setting this month, it was back to the vast confines of the Centre Bell to photograph one of the bigger metal acts to have hit since the year 2000, Avenged Sevenfold.  First bursting onto the scene in 1999 with a more metalcore sound, Avenged Sevenfold have been evolving their sound from metalcore, to a more traditional heavy metal style in the mid-2010s to an even more experiemental sound with all kinds of blended influences on their latest album, Life Is But A Dream, which was released this past June.  The album also features some recordings made by their late drummer 'The Rev', their first to do so since his death in 2009.  Musically, the band was in top form as the crowd roared for them in anticipation.  After a mass sing along to some of the songs being played over the PA, including the Backstreet Boys hit, I Want It That Way.  I certainly didn't have that moment listed on my bingo card.  Strange pre-show tunes aside, the first crowd surfer went by my head about half-way through the first song, so you know the fans were ready for action, and their heroes didn't disappoint.  The first three songs that we were allowed to shoot seemed to permanently played in strong blue or red lighting.  Not the colours of choice for photographs, so I decided early on to underexpose my shots and then play with them a little afterwards in Photoshop to give the band a cold, steel like look.  I tried a few in black and white, but I personally preferred to keep the light as it was for that almost cyborg kind of look.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 53mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 16000 at 67mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 16000 at 30mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 16000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 8000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 16000 at 38mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 16000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 70mm

f.3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 16000 at 33mm

f.3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 16000 at 67mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 16000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 53mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 16000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 16000 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 16000 at 41mm

If you'd like to find out more about Avenged Sevenfold and their music, you can do so by following the link to their webiste.  Thanks goes out to David Benveniste and Gracie Mintz of Velvet Hammer Management for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  If you'd like to see the photographs of Alexisonfire, who played earlier that night, you can do so by following the link.  This was the fourth show of a North American Tour that will see them on the road until mid-October.  Check them out to see when they are playing near you.