Disturbed // Commodore Ballroom

March 11, 2016 - Had a last minute gig for Aesthetic Magazine and was beyond excited to see these guys.  Disturbed, after taking a small hiatus, was one of the bands I listened to growing up and was a gateway to the bigger scene of metal overall.

From Aesthetic Magazine:

"Chicago-based heavy metal band Disturbed, who released their sixth album, Immortalized, on August 21st, 2015 via Reprise/Warner Bros., which serves as their first studio album since 2010’s Asylum, marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career, performed at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver last night."

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Setlist:

1. Ten Thousand Fists
2. The Game
3. The Vengeful One
4. Prayer
5. Liberate
6. Land of Confusion (Genesis cover)
7. Stupify
8. Darkness (Acoustic)
9. The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
10. Inside the Fire
11. The Infection
12. Stricken
13. The Light
14. Closer/I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/Baba O'Riley/Killing in the Name (Nine Inch Nails, U2, The Who & Rage Against the Machine covers)
15. Indestructible
16. Voices (Encore)
17. Down With the Sickness (Encore)

Cannibal Corpse x Guests // Commodore Ballroom

March 4, 2016 - I'm pretty sure when most people stereotype metal (despite its countless subgenres) they generally imagine death metal.  From the growls to the blast beats, death metal has been known for its extreme sound and perhaps even more, its controversial lyricism including but not limited to: necrophilia, cannibalism, torture and mutilation.  Generally maintaining a cult following, I was beyond excited to see these pioneers of the genre greet the Commodore Ballroom to a crowd of black shirts, long hair and heavily patched jean jackets.

First for the night was LA-based, Abysmal Dawn forming in 2003.  Most of their setlist consisted of tracks off their latest record, Obsolescence, released in late 2014.  Although fairly new to the scene, they've toured with names such as Exodus, Aborted, Decapitated and Goatwhore.  They're up and coming in the scene, and had many diehard fans right up against the railing, screaming along to the lyrics.

Next up was Cryptopsy, formerly known as Necrosis, hailing from Montreal, Quebec back in '88.  Perhaps the most technical of the bands on the roster tonight, it was amazing to see that they sounded even better live as opposed to their records, something almost unheard of due to the complexity of the riffs and timing for all the band members. Lead vocalist, Matt McGachy had the crowd doing circle pits - perhaps some of the largest I've seen at the Commodore to date, taking up the entirety of the wooden floor.  The energy was great and fans were flying left, right and centre - be it in the pit, on the sidelines or being thrown into the air.

Following Cryptopsy's act came Obituary, formerly known as Xecutioner as executioner back in 1984, they finalized their name to Obituary in 1988.  Despite taking a six year hiatus from 1997 to 2003, they have returned bigger than ever - being one of the most successful and influential death metal bands of all time.  With their origins in Tampa, Florida - you can definitely hear the groove and southern influences in their music.  It was a nice complement and change of pace from the earlier bands.  Their latest album, Inked in Blood, was released in October 2014.

And finally, the most notorious of all death metal bands came the headliners, Cannibal Corpse.  Having been at it with a fairly consistent lineup backing all the way to their founding in Buffalo, New York in 1988, they are the pinnacle of death metal - being the most well-known and highest-selling in the genre.  The lyricism and album art have been highly controversial prompting bans from playing in certain countries or banning the sale of their album covers. The performance itself was LOUD.  They wanted themselves to be heard, with people claiming they could hear some fry screams a few blocks away in the heart of downtown on a Friday.  The crowd fed off their intensity and still found themselves moshing and crowd-surfing hours after the start of the night's performance.  For everyone seeking an introduction to metal and its culture, CC is definitely a great place to start.

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Setlists

Abysmal Dawn

1. Programmed to Consume
2. Inanimate
3. Perfecting Slavery
4. Human Obsolescence
5. In Service of Time
6. The Inevitable Return to Darkness

Cryptopsy

1. Crown of Thorns
2. Mutant Christ
3. Detritus (The One They Kept)
4. Two-Pound Torch
5. Halothane Glow
6. Slit Your Guts
7. Probophile

Obituary

1. Redneck Stomp
2. Centuries of Lies
3. Visions in My Head
4. Intoxicated
5. Bloodsoaked
6. Dying
7. Find the Arise
8. Don't Care
9. Chopped in Half / Turned Inside Out
10. Slowly We Rot

Cannibal Corpse

1. Evisceration Plague
2. The Time to Kill Is Now
3. Scourge of Iron
4. Stripped, Raped and Strangled
5. The Wretched Spawn
6. Pit of Zombies
7. Kill or Become
8. Sadistic Embodiment
9. Icepick Lobotomy
10. Covered With Sores
11. Born in a Casket
12. I Cum Blood
13. Unleashing the Bloodthirty
14. Make Them Suffer
15. Hammer Smashed Face
16. Devoured by Vermin

Thien // Portraits

March 2, 2016 - Thought I'd start adding some guys in my portfolio as I figured I seemed to be shooting mainly women, so I hit up my friend Thien as he dresses extremely well!  Unfortunately we weren't able to shoot too much when the sun was still up due to time constraints but we got some cool portraits at the Vancouver Public Library and eventually found ourselves with access to a relatively high-rise apartment!

Cradle of Filth x Butcher Babies // Rickshaw Theatre

February 24, 2016 - Well the night didn't start out too great as I arrived when the doors opened to a massive lineup and couldn't end up getting inside for an hour and only caught the tail end of Ne Obliviscaris., which is unfortunate really - they're a bunch of talented prog-death metal guys from Melbourne, Australia.  

Anyhoo, Butcher Babies were second up for the night and were a lot of fun.  The band comes from Los Angeles, California and stars frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, guitarist Henry Flury, bassist Jason Klein and drummer Chris Warner.  Known in their earlier days for their infamous "nipple-tape", an homage to the late Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics) and have since evolved their look as they become larger in the metal scene.  

The show itself was furious and full of energy - between the headbangers and the oggling men at the front stage (unfortunately in abundance at front-women in the metal scene), the crowd was loving it.  Shepherd and Harvey were jumping all over the stage, despite their leather-clad outfits, hair whipping back and forth.  Their set ended with Shepherd joining in the mosh for their performance of Axe Wound.

And finally the headliners, Cradle of Filth, took the stage.  The band has existed for an amazing 25 years as of 2016.  The band, hailing from Suffolk, England, originally started as a black metal band but has evolved to include various other styles of extreme metal subgenres to create their own unique sound.  Dani Filth, the vocalist, is the sole founding member with the rest of the band having joined in the last 5 years or less.

Shock value is often associated with the band, as guitarists Marek Smerda and Richard Shaw, keys/vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft and of course, frontman Dani Filth all came out in their own face paint and head-dresses to much applause from the crowd.  All-in-all, an awesome performance.

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Setlists

Butcher Babies

1. National Bloody Anthem 
2. Blonde Girls All Look the Same
3. The Butcher
4. Gravemaker
5. Igniter
6. Jesus Needs More Babies For His War Machine
7. Monster's Ball
8. Magnolia Blvd.
9. The Deathsurround / Goliath / I Smell a Massacre
10. Axe Wound

Cradle of Filth

1. Humana Inspired to Nightmare (Intro)
2. Heaven Torn Asunder
3. Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
4. Blackest Magick in Practice
5. Lord Abortion
6. Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
7. Malice Through the Looking Glass
8. Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess
9. Honey & Sulphur
10. Gilded Cunt

Encore

1. Walpurgis Eve (Intro)
2. Yours Immortally...
3. Nymphetamine (Fix)
4. For Your Vulgar Delectation
5. Her Ghost in the Fog
6. From the Cradle to Enslave
7. The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
8. Born in a Burial Gown
9. Blooding the Hounds of Hell (Outro)