Kerry King At Centre Bell

The Ashes of Leviathan tour passed through town back on August 1st and though he wasn't headlining this particular show, our second performer has a long history of visiting Montreal.  Kerry King was the next to hit the stage, and he has been here several times over the years with his band Slayer.  They appeared at three different editions of the Heavy MTL festival, twice in headlining slots.  Super Groups have popped up over the years, but I defy you to find a more metal Super Group than the gang Kerry King brought with him.  Joining Kerry King on stage was a who’s who of the scene.  Mark Osegueda of Death Angel on vocals, Phil Demmel, formerly of Machine Head on guitar, Kyle Sanders of Hellyeah on bass and rounded out by Paul Bostaph, who has drummed for Testament, Exodus and Slayer.  You know what you’re going to get with Kerry King. A bombardment of thrash metal that will leave you melted to the floor where you stand.  With his iconic look of tattoos, long beard and aggressive guitar playing, I've always thought of Kerry King of being the visual representative of thrash metal.  If someone were to ask what thrash metal looks like, one look at Kerry King would do a better job of defining the genre than any combination of words.  Though Slayer as a band retired a few years back, Kerry King has still been writing music and released his very first solo album, From Hell I Rise, this past May.  The album is the perfect continuation from his time in Slayer, which makes sense as he was a founding member.  Though Slayer may be done, it’s good to know that Kerry King will still be out there keeping the music alive.

 

If you would like to find out more about Kerry King and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website.  If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Malevolence, Mastodon and Lamb of God, who also performed that night, you can do so by following the link.  Much thank to Monica Seide-Evenson of SpeakEasy PR, Selena Fragassi of FR-PR and Christopher Gonda of V13Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  Kerry King will be continuing with the Ashes of Leviathan tour to the end of August.  The tour itself is not to be missed, but the same goes for Kerry King.  Be sure to catch his show when it comes to town.

Malevolence At Centre Bell

The Ashes of Leviathan tour rolled in to Montreal back on August 1st.  It was a night of loud guitars, pounding drums and wailing vocals which got off to a great start thanks to a band from England who was making their very first appearance in Montreal.  Malevolence had the unenviable task of opening the show at 5:40PM on a week night.  That time, coupled with the disaster that is driving in the area around the Centre Bell, not to mention finding parking once you get there meant that the crowd was a little sparse as the opening notes got played.  I almost missed the performance myself as the gang of other photographers was being escorted to the stage as I walked in the door.  Thankfully, someone came back for me.  The crowd may not have been as large, but Malevolence didn’t let that get them down.  Rather, it seemed to fuel them.  Pushing to crowd to get more involved as their set went on, to the point where the roar behind me was as loud as a group that would have usually been twice as large.  It was their first visit to Montreal, and hopefully won’t be their last.  Their latest of three albums, Malicious Intent from 2022, was featured heavily in their setlist and they mentioned that a new album was being worked on.  Hopefully they'll tour it when released, and should they return to Montreal, hopefully they'll get a better start time.  All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 with ISO's ranging from 1600 to 3200 and using various focal lengths.  Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Malevolence during their performance during the Ashes of Leviathan tour.

If you'd like to find out more about Malevolence and their music, you an do so by following the link to their website.  If you would like to see the photographs of Kerry King, Mastodon and Lamb of God who also performed that night, you can do so by following the repsective links.  Much thanks to Moncia Seide-Evenson of Speak Easy PR and Christopher Gonda of V13 Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  It is very much appreciated.  Malevolence continue with the Ashes of Leviathan tour before touring in Europe this Fall.  Be sure to check them out.

Feathered Friend

I guess my priorities may be a little bit misplaced.  Most people, when on vacation, take photographs of their families, their surroundings and themselves.  Me, I like to just sit myself down in a chair and wait for the birds to fly by so that I can shoot them.  Photographically, of course.  Though my Mom probably knows this better than I, and will certainly provide a correction should I be wrong, I believe this little guy to be a Grey Catbird.  I found him from the previously mentioned comfortable chair while on vacation.  I noticed him land in a tree just across from me.  As luck would have it, he turned just as the sun broke through the crowds and perfectly lit the side of his little head.  The photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  As usual, I thanked my model and then he flew away.  It's those little moments that I really enjoy.

Hide And Seek

One of the more popular games in our house these days is Hide & Seek, though the two participants need a little bit of work on their technique.  One tends to always use the same hiding spot while the other responds vocally when we call his name out while we are seeking.  It appears that this little lady bug could use a little bit of practice when it comes to hiding as well.  I found this playful little thing hanging out on a leaf next to some apple blooms on one of our trees this Spring.  If it was meant as a hiding spot, it should probably rethink the spot as his red and black colours really stood out against the green of the leaf.  All the better for me, as I am pretty happy to have seen it.  The photograph was taken at  f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably get back to looking for the little ones as it is my turn to seek.