Rhapsody of Fire at Studio TD – 12-05-2023

It is always cool to see bands that bring back ancient memories. Having the opportunity to see Rhapsody of Fire at Studio TD was one of those times. I listened to them as a teenager, and they are one of the first “epic” metal bands I discovered. Unholy Warcry is still a song that I listen to today. Sadly the band has changed a lot in the last few years but it is still a pleasure to see them live!

The band was supported by Uriel, a really nice local Montreal band, Seven Kingdoms (That I discovered recently and really like their energy and their famous hamburgers !), and Windrose. I must say that I never heard of Windrose before, and it is a shame because they are just AMAZING on stage. I will definitely follow them and hope to see them as headlines in the future! Go Dwarf Metal!

Here are my photos.

Uriel

Seven Kingdoms

Windrose

Rhapsody of Fire

Photographer’s Corner

Before all, Studio TD has FINALLY set up a photo pit with crash barrier. You can not imagine how happy I am about that. It allowed me to have so much liberty compared to what I was used to in this venue. With that it switch from a venue that I never go, except for a band that I would not want to miss at all, to one of my favorite in Montreal.

Thank you Studio TD.

Photographing Uriel

No much to say for Uriel. The band is a bit static on stage. Your best client will be their bassist. He is the one moving the most. One thing is that the band has a lot of members, so the stage was a bit tiny for them. I am pretty sure that it would be better on a larger scene.

Their lighting was pretty bad, but we are used to that for the first band in such a venue.

They have really awesome dressing on stage though! Just for that it is worth getting to photograph them.

Photographing Seven Kingdoms

If you followed the last time I shot them when they were opening for Powerwolf.

They are always smiling a lot which is really nice. They have even more hamburgers on stage. They move a lot, especially the lead guitar, who will be your best client to shoot, the other guitarist is also a good client.

But this time their lighting was better, still not perfect, and this allowed more flexibility to get good shots.

Really a band like that is a true blessing for a concert photographer.

Photographing Wind Rose

Imagine a mix of both of the previous bands? Really nice costume and a band smiling, jumping, and moving a lot. Then you kind of have Windrose. They were just amazing on stage. They move a lot, I can not really set a “good client” as they were all a pleasure to shoot.

The lighting was pretty good. It was lacking a bit of light, I needed to set some high isos. But other than that it was a great band to photograph.

Photographing Rhapsody Of Fire

For Rhapsody of Fire, your best client will be the singer. He is moving and interacting with the audience a lot.

The rest of the band comes sometimes in front, especially during solos, which allows them to have good close-up shots.

The lighting was good, but a bit disappointing for a headliner band. If you are used to Stadium of really big venues, you may find them really cheap on the light. But remember that this is a band that is putting its music before all.

Gear used for Skinny Puppy at Studio TD:

My gear for Rhapsody Of Fire at Studio TD:

• Canon R6 + RF 70-200mm F/4 L IS
• Canon R6 II + RF 14-35mm F/4 L IS

I would say that the new Lightroom’s noise reduction tool was a blessing and allowed me to get some killer shots that would have been ruined by the noise/grain otherwise.

Thanks Thorium Mag, who allowed me to get to Studio TD to shoot the event. You can find the review by my friend Albert, in French, here.

Let me know what you think about the photos!

You can find the rest of the gallery here.