DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
ATTICA RAGE
Reitermania hits London and I was at the legendary Underworld venue in Camden Town to photograph the show for Soundshock.co.uk.
Attica Rage have the job of warming up a very sparse Camden Underworld before the main event. Their blend of hard rock meets thrash is never going to be groundbreaking, but is good enough to get the audience banging their heads. Overall they perform their role well without being particularly memorable, with ‘Contradictions’ and ‘Dark City’ being two of best. This was a definite improvement on the last time I saw them open up the second stage at Hammerfest last year, but now they have the challenge of kicking off main stage events at this year’s event.
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter hit the stage about thirty minutes later and surprisingly the usually tiny stage looks a lot bigger with all of the kit pushed right to the sides and the swing of keyboard player Dr. Pest being place on the adjoining aisle. Vocalist Fuchs even brings along his hydraulic platform although due to the low ceiling he would have either been squished or made an emergency entrance to The Worlds End pub above.
The set list draws heavily from The Apocalyptic Horsemen’s latest album ‘Licht’ but also includes the best of the rest as the band storm across the UK trying to make a name for themselves after two terrific performances at Bloodstock Open Air and Hard Rock Hell 3 in 2009. Unlike their early days, the new songs are primarily sung in German, and maybe like Rammstein, this has resulted in a change from a standard melodic Death Metal sound to something a bit more unique. It has certainly captured the hearts of the not even half full Underworld as the audience sing-along, head bang and most throughout the show.
One surprise in the setlist was ‘We Will Never Die’ from the Have a Nice Trip album being played mid set. The track has proved to be an epic set closer in the past and one of those tracks with everyone wants to get involved with and chant along. I guess it’s different from a festival though were you need to end on a memorable note to an audience who is not there for you.
As for the photography, at the Underworld you usually have to stand at the side of the stage unless you want to risk a pissed up surfer landing on your camera while battling it out in the pit. But because the crowd was a fairly sparse and I was the first person on the dance floor, I took my chances at the front. It was definitely worth while as I have never seen the Underworld produce anything resembling decent light before. I was able to shoot as high shutter speeds meaning I was still able to produce sharp images despite being bashed around by the moshers… the only difficulty came in composing the pictures.
I’ve never seen lighting like that at The Underworld! Awesome shots!
The lighting took me completely by suprise. So glad I got there early to be at the front instead of at the side barrier.