Ultimate Metal Festival 2008 - Taiwan

One more trip for 2008. Bhelliom and Meza Virs playing in Taipei's Ultimate Metal Festival.

The whole festival was a commendable effort by Anthelion. Just the few guys organised Taiwan's 1st festival for metal genre, showcasing bands from Japan, Korea, Hongkong, Singapore and Taiwan. It was a pity that 2 bands from Thailand couldn't make it.

Audio engineering duties for this trip was great fun. The venue looked great, but was a big acoustic headache. This is a common problem with most venue. The low ceiling with steel bracing didn't help at all. But with Yamaha's PM5D and Avolite Pearl to boot, it's party time!


Festival crew was great, nothing short of professional. Experiencing their 'audio culture' was an eye-opener. Stage crew was brilliant. They even took notes for guitar amp settings. And the highlight of the 2 nights, 2 flame throwers on each side of the drums. Rock on!


Bhelliom's set

Meza Virs' Set

Grim Force (Japan) covering 'Angel of Death', featuring vocalists from CHTHONIC(Taiwan) + ANTHELION(Taiwan) + BHELLIOM(Singapore) + Audio Blossom(Korea)

Video Clip:

Reflections 2008

Once again it's Republic Polytechnic's annual Arts Festival. It seems we just went through last 'Reflections 2007'. Time flew by quickly, so did 'Reflections 2008'.

Programme line-up this year weren't as exciting as last year's. But the whole month of November was packed with its fair share of downers and pleasant surprises. The highlight of this arts festival would be the students running various productions. It's always heartwarming to see them rise up to the occasion, taking up production roles such as stagehands, stage managers, followspotter, etc...



Although we had Hossan Leong and Main Wayang Company doing big shows in the Theatre, I really miss the chance working with overseas touring musicals. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long...

Bhelliom's Asian Decimation Tour '08

Back from Bhelliom’s Asian Decimation Tour. Being a touring sound engineer wasn’t easy, at least I didn’t expect it to be easy. Bhelliom touring together with Truth Corroded from Australia. Great fellows to be travelling with. And since Truth Corroded aren't very good with Chinese, I was more than glad to help them with technical setup. Although I must say I didn't do much, they sound great themselves.

Bhelliom

http://www.myspace.com/bhelliomsg

Truth Corroded

http://www.myspace.com/truthcorroded

Mourning Sound

http://www.mourningsound.com/

6 different venues; from Hongkong to Shenzhen to Guangzhou to Tianjing to Beijing to Bangkok.
6 different setup; from sticky faders on dusty Soundcraft to Mackie VLZs and Onyx to who-knows-what.
6 different challenges; from missing lighting cues to harsh monitors to unreasonable polish band manager.

Every venue sounds a hell lot of different.
Every venue crew were very helpful and accommodating.
Every night deserved a cheer to beers.

HONGKONG

Enroute to Shenzhen

SHENZHEN

A lil' post-gig gathering with Tsing Tao

GUANGZHOU

TIANJING

Promo Shot: Bhelliom rockin' at Tianjing

Promo Shot: Truth Corroded rockin' at Tianjing
A random night spot we found.

Tianjing Train Station

Enroute to Beijing

BEIJING - The Great Wall

Truth Corroded setting fashion trend with Bret

BEIJING


Video Clip of Bhelliom and Truth Corroded at Beijing


Bhelliom & Truth Corroded opened for Behemoth (Polish black metal)

http://www.behemoth.pl/

Some post-gig drinks with new-found friends from Germany

Some scenic views from Beijing...

Breakfast for champions: Imported Beer + Fresh Garden Salad

BANGKOK

I guess at the end of it all, it's always fun to face challenges. It's always frustrating when you are dealing with systems which couldn't handle your requirements. Speakers spec'd too low, front-of-house system not tuned and venue crew not allowing you to change certain configurations are just some of the highlights. Ultimately, the show must go on...

Thanks Bhelliom and Mourning Sound for this opportunity!