Seven Stories…John Currie

Photographer: John Currie
Site: www.obsidianmirrors.com
Based in: Southern California

ONE

Alda @ Neumos – Seattle, WA

This is a photo taken during my first series of metal shows outside of California this past December. I’d never traveled out of state for shows, and being accustomed to the Los Angeles scene I really had no idea what to expect. I was completely blown away by the Cascadian metal scene. Absent were those that attend shows only to parade around in costume or inflict injury on others – here everything felt much more real, alive, and raw. Alda is a relatively young band, and they played with more soul than a lot of bands that I’ve seen throughout my time in the metal scene – a performance that can only stem from actual faith in their own conviction. Without a word, the band took the stage and constructed a small fern altar – the skull of a small animal placed carefully in its center – and began a beautifully destructive set that will always retain a place in my heart. Here Alda’s backup vocalist unleashes a wave of  raw shrieking into the mic overhead while bathed in pale blue stage lights, conjuring  a very primitive and animalistic visual that fits the Cascadian aesthetic nicely.

TWO

Dispirit @ Scion Rock Fest – Pomona, CA

One doesn’t go to ‘see’ Dispirit so much as they experience them. My friends and I were walking hurriedly around downtown Pomona trying to locate the tent that the band had set up in, as their set had already begun, when we saw it. A normal-looking, white fair-esque tent sat on top of the asphalt in the middle of the street. Eerie blood-red light poured out onto the sidewalk, an ominous fog lazily drifting out of the only entrance accompanied by muted, rumbling bass tones. It was not unlike an entrance to hell. We entered the tent, which couldn’t have been more than a hundred feet in length with no twists or turns, and were immediately lost. In an absolute absence of any kind of ventilation, the band had flooded the entire tent with fog, which coupled with the red stagelights made navigating a bit interesting. Still unable to discern anything through the haze, we headed toward the light. As we neared the front, we were able to just barely make out three vaguely human silhouettes actively engaged in spinning something of a trance over the crowd. It was a set you felt much more than heard; the kind you find yourself slowly swaying to, eyes closed, not entirely of your own volition. As their set was running a bit on the longer side the band didn’t have time to get into another 10minute+ song, and so chose instead to close with… A Slayer cover. The crowd, which until that point had all been absorbed and stuck in place, exploded into the frenzied chaos you’d expect from a blackened John Gossard cover of Slayer. While strange, it definitely worked.

I’d brought a friend who’d never been to a metal show with me that night. Outside the tent after the set, he wore a slightly bewildered look on his face.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked.

“Dispirit. Did you like it?” I replied.

“Fuck yes.”

THREE

Skeletonwitch @ Vacation Vinyl – Los Angeles, CA

If you’ve never seen a large bearded man absolutely flip the fuck out on stage, you probably haven’t been to a Skeletonwitch show. Frontman and vocalist Chance Garnette’s aggressive flailing, unexpected stage dives, and recreations of killing someone with a microphone cable lend themselves to the band’s specific breed of blackened-thrash metal nicely. I had the opportunity to attend a free show inside of Vacation Vinyl (a killer record store by the way) back in 2009. In lieu of a stage, the band setup their equipment on the floor, handed out Colt .45 to everyone in the crowd, and proceeded to smash through an awesome 30 minute set. The level of interaction you get out of shows this small is always incredible and consistently seems to make for great memories. We got to hang out with the band afterwards, and they’re all very cool dudes.

FOUR

Agalloch @ The Proud Bird – Los Angeles, CA

I was fortunate enough to make it out to 3 out of 4 West Coast Agalloch shows last year, and the band did not disappoint in the least. I absolutely love the way this shot turned out – the brittle blue stage light competing with the red overtones of light just off-screen coupled with the soft edges of a long exposure reflect the mood of stillness, solitude, and contemplation that accompany the slower parts of the epic In the Shadow of our Pale Companion. It something of a personal achievement for me as I was able to capture the essence of my favorite band in a photograph, and I can revisit that night in my mind perhaps a little more clearly because of it.

FIVE

1349 @ The House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA

Along with Gorgoroth, Burzum, and Darkthrone, 1349 were among my first exposures to black metal and I’ve always enjoyed revisiting bands that have opened doors to different genres for me. That night was the first time I’d been able to score an “official” photography pass from a venue, and was thus the first time I’ d been allowed on the other side of the steel barrier that separates the stage from the crowd in larger venues like these. The band’s entire set was played in near darkness, and I decided against shooting with flash because of it. It was the first time I’d done that, and after some on-the-fly tweaking, I was in love. The rich atmosphere that flash can destroy is something you don’t notice you’ve lost when new to shooting shows, and I’m glad I took the advice of others and stepped out of my comfort zone.

SIX

Vektor @ The Metaphor Cafe – Escondido, CA

Vektor plays an odd breed of sci-fi themed tech-thrash, and their shows are an absolute blast. These guys are a welcome change of pace from the countless number of bands that get so lost in their message that they forget how to have fun. Alternating between harsh vocals and Halford-esque screams, frontman David Disanto warned us about the perils of the human genome project, the death of mankind at the cosmic hands of asteroids, and utter destruction wrought by hordes of robots as humans are hunted to extinction. Goofy? Yep. Fun? Definitely. The outstretched hands of the crowd imitating the mind-numbingly fast tapping solos played on a guitar adorned with rusting pieces of an old computer sum the band’s set up pretty well.

SEVEN

Agalloch @ Berbati’s Pan – Portland, OR

Seeing Agalloch for the first time in their hometown was a surreal experience. After two days of straight driving and a few complications, I was not in the best of moods when they finally took the stage. I watched as the band carefully placed tree stumps along the front of the stage, embellishing them with a small urn and deer’s leg wrapped in bark. A mournfully sad cello intro track accompanied the lighting of incense inside the urns, and Berbati’s was soon filled with aromatic woodsmoke. The atmosphere was set, and I instantly forgot about whatever had been bothering me up to that point. The ritual was an incredibly cool experience, and I snapped the only photo I brought home with me from the Portland show.