While this is yet another post with Hostile Combover, there was some business to take care of with them, since Cole wanted some prints of their shows to hang up on his wall and give to his family. I only bring this up because it's always a bit funny to me how other people choose the photos they like most, my favorites are almost never other people's favorites. Maybe I'm just a poor judge of my own work.

I was equally looking forward to seeing the other two bands on the bill, but first, I wanted to see if I could say anything new after shooting a band multiple times.



Yeah, maybe.







Although very orange, the lighting at the Radio Room is actually a great place to shoot. The front spots are pretty bright, so I could keep my shutter speed up and get some crisper shots than usual. The only problem is that the left side of the stage wasn't lit, so most shots of that side weren't all that good, so you won't see many of them here. The warm front lighting and cool wall lights complement each other nicely, and by desaturating the purple lights, they look like stars. And who wouldn't want to play in space?

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Well, Sirhan Sirhan wouldn't. They'd rather play in hell.


Just before starting their set, they asked to shut off the front lights. They brought their own lights and plenty of smoke, so now my only light source was the drums.



Bring it on, boys. I love a challenge.





Most shots ended up as sillouhettes but listening to the music, I can tell they definitely like the darkness.

 
Heavy, heavy guitars and an unrelenting pace is pretty hard on the ears, but in a good way. The music is filled with bloody fantasies about death and destruction. I bought the CD and it sounds great. Burn It Down is my favorite track, and the distorted bass tone on Don't Shoot is the snarliest sound I've ever heard.


The musical mayhem is led by Blackie. The louder and meaner the songs got the more he enjoyed it.




And so did I.





These guys are brutal, maniacal, and put on a great show. And there's something diabolical about Blackie. Hmmm....

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The Archons are just as heavy, but they're a different breed of metal.


While the music of Sirhan Sirhan would creep up behind you and stab you in the back, this music would just pick up a truck and drop it on you, the old-school way.





Zoom blur. It looks so easy, but it's so hard to get just right when done in camera, the way I do it. The old-school way.











Chad plays a 5 string bass, but I don't think I saw him use that low-B string. He's proof that you don't need a pick to be heard and be heavy. That's the old-school way.



More bass clef tattoos!

Since I had already bought a Sirhan Sirhan CD that night, I passed on getting the new Archons CD, but they are playing a few more shows in the near future....