70,000 Tons of Metal: Unleashed
Written by Anika Evans Wednesday, 23 February 2011 21:13
Metal Unleashed
It's been a month now since 2000 metal heads boarded a cruise ship in Miami along with 42 of their favorite metal bands. An observation as one of those 2000 was that everyone who was on that ship came off of it describing similar feelings about the experience: From the enthusiasm as the trip began, to the intensity of the cruise itself, and the let-down as we headed home and had to come to grips that it had come to and end for this year. Because of the downright overwhelming onslaught of bands to see, people to meet, and things to do, however, it wasn't the same experience for any one cruise-goer, and in that lays one of many beauties of the 70000 Tons of Metal adventure. These images are one way I captured my experience.
Of course no metal-loving photographer could pass up the opportunity for some straightforward shots of bands playing on stage. You'll recognize Ensiferum, Týr, Twilight of the Gods, Sabaton, Korpiklaani, Amon Amarth, and Finntroll in my favorites being shared here. One of the highlights for me was when Joakim Brodén, lead singer for Sabaton, requested at the end of their set on the pool stage that he be carried over the crowd and tossed into the pool. A willing crowd didn't let him down. You don't see that at every show!
Normally you go to a venue, see the bands, and you might hang out and share a beer and a conversation with band members before they head on to the next city. While “everyone has a backstage pass” was kind of a cheesy catch phrase used when promoting the cruise, it was no exaggeration. Very neat was that everyone was more or less in the same boat (pardon the pun), whether band member or band devotee. The lines became blurred -- we were all just metal heads, there to enjoy ourselves and interact with other like-minded people.
Two events on the ship I thought were particularly fun and illustrative of the experience: The late-night karaoke jams, and a table hockey tournament put on by the members of Sabaton. While the table hockey game was carefully planned – the members of Sabaton bought the games before boarding the ship – the karaoke was more of a planned event that took on a life of it's own. Those post-show karaoke sessions that lasted well into the morning hours made for some of the most special memories – and photos.
I know I'm not alone in anxiously awaiting the chance to sail away on the second metal cruise adventure. For now, though, we'll have to live with the memories of 2011. Thanks for checking out these photos, and thanks to MetalTome for providing this forum in which to do so.
My name is Anika Evans and I'm a photographer living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Living and breathing metal, I enjoy photographing metal bands, metal heads, and even big chunks of metal like freight trains and scenes in scrap yards. Check out www.manteega.com for more band photos, other work, and information about the possibility of harnessing my skill and vision for your project – no job too big or small. I also welcome your feedback on any of my current work.
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Subscribe to this comment's feed Christopher said: 
 | Great work! You're photos are great! I hope we can get you some work by promoting your material from shows. We are starting an advertising campaign soon and will be featuring your articles/photos. So you should start getting tons of traffic  |
