Interview questions created by Justin M. Norton
With June marking the second anniversary of the launch of Hellbound.ca (yay us!), we have decided to do short interviews with the staff of Hellbound so that you the readers can find out more about us and where we come from. Justin M. Norton came up with a bunch of questions, which we will be asking all of our current staff over the next few weeks.
Adam Wills was the first photographer to team up with Sean when he decided to start Hellbound, so he is the first one to be interviewed. Here is his interview below. Please enjoy!
Name and Location:
Adam Wills, Simcoe, Ontario
How did you start writing for Hellbound?
After meeting Sean (our fearless editor) en route to the inaugural HeavyMTL festival, we kept in touch. When Hellbound was still in its conceptual stages, Sean mentioned that he was looking for some contributors… just starting to get into photography, I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to grow as a live photographer. Having a contributor that’s also a web developer is never a bad thing, either.
What’s your favorite piece published during Hellbound’s two years?
With so many great writers, it’s really hard to narrow it down to one piece. Justin M. Norton’s interviews are always fantastic reads, Natalie Zed’s live reviews have such an original flair and I get so many great recommendations from our monthly “Staff Playlists” columns. Perhaps an article that sticks out, is Jonathan Smith’s in-depth interview with Ihsahn, who was promoting his “After” album.
To follow in Adrien’s previous footsteps, my personal favourite piece has to be my coverage of Devin Townsend’s recent Toronto concert. Not only was it great to shoot my favourite artist for the first time, but shortly afterwards, I got a person email from the Dev himself to let me know how much he liked the photos. One of the highlights of my very short career.
What are some of your best concert memories?
My first concert – Black Sabbath’s first reunion tour with Ozzy; my first metal fest – Milwaukee Metal Fest with Adrian Bromley; my first big shoot – Judas Priest; my first outdoor festival – HeavyMTL 2008; Type O Negative in Detroit on Halloween, 2009…
Black metal, death metal or grind?
Experimental black metal.
Person you’d like to interview/shoot but it hasn’t happened…
I still consider myself a beginner in the concert photography game, so there’s still a lot of bands I have yet to have the opportunity to shoot. But as far as personal goals go, I’d love to get the chance to shoot Mike Patton someday.
You’re attending Hellfest in Clisson, France in a couple weeks. Who are you most looking forward to see/shoot?
There’s quite a few bands that I’ll be seeing for the first time: Apocolyptica; Anathema (especially after their recent Toronto appearance was canceled); SepticFlesh. As well, there’s some legendary acts that will be great to capture live: Ozzy; The Scorpions; Iggy & The Stooges; Bad Brains… it’s a stacked lineup that will keep me running around from stage to stage all weekend.
You are suspended in limbo for eternity and can only listen to five metal albums on repeat. What are they?
Devin Townsend – Terria
Type O Negative – October Rust
The Gathering – Mandylion
Neurosis – The Eye of Every Storm
Woods of Ypres – IV: The Green Album
