As the heavy music community rallies together to simultaneously combat the spread of COVID-19 and ensure there’s a stable future for the industry to return to post-lockdown, fans have been afforded many amazing opportunities to give back. This week, another such opportunity has arisen that grants fans the rare chance to help and secure themselves a timeless piece of heavy music history with veteran metal photographer Nathaniel Shannon announcing a charity auction in partnership with MetalSucks.
High quality, still photos that run the stunning breadth of Shannon’s 20 year career will be sold in the name of raising funds for tour crews, whose livelihoods have been effectively kneecapped in the aftermath of tour/event cancellations and reschedules en masse. Funds raised from the auction will go to supporting tour managers, techs, drivers, lighting designers, sound engineers, merch sellers and the many other supportive roles that come together to form the nervous system of the music industry.
An entire list of the shots available can be found after the jump, however to get you salivating now, we can confirm that the auction will feature live shots of Slayer, Megadeth, Every Time I Die, Faith No More and many, many more from the thousands of live events that Shannon has captured.
Organisers have confirmed that once the logistical costs are covered (printing, shipping), 75% of profits will go to US-based For The Nomads, a charity focused on ensuring tour crews remain gainfully employed throughout the pandemic. The remaining 25% will go back to Shannon; himself a member of a tour crew whose line of income was severed on account of COVID-19.
There will be limited prints available, so consider yourself forewarned to not fuck about.
Other such innovative methods from creatives tasked with keeping their projects afloat during these uncertain times include Underoath/The Almost’s Aaron Gillespie launching an online store selling various rarities and curiosities, and Thursday, who announced they would be turning their old merch into various items of PPE.
Feature image: Nathaniel Shannon
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