“So why are we dreaming alone?”
Photos by Grayce Leonard.
Raven Records is fast becoming London’s hub for the most choice events, hosting signings, fan parties, and exhibitions. It’s a record store first and foremost, designed to give those inclined towards distortion the perfect browsing experience, and hosts a café and alcohol-free bar. Raven Records is physically small, which feels so, so honest to the ‘heavy scene’, as once one starts getting really involved, it becomes quickly apparent how tight-knit and small the community is.
On the weekend of the 28th February the venue hosted a unique event that shone a light on the photography community. We at Boolin have been heavily involved in live coverage in the UK for several years, so all the names taking part in the event were well known to us. Steph Evans was the event’s host and curator, with galleries from herself and Sabrina Ramdoyal, Jasmine Marceau, and Angelina Emmanuel. All these photographers have been very busy contributing to the likes of Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Hardbeat, and of course Boolin Tunes, plus jumping on tours with bands and working with venues and festivals.
Besides their own portfolios and social feeds, photographers typically don’t get to select which specific shots are given pride of place to become coveted as ‘the shot’. Publications, artists, and their teams are usually the curators, and their choices of what shots to use (typically from tens or hundreds of options) only give certain shots a prime-time view. Beyond The Barrier was an opportunity for these four photographers to self-select their displays, meaning their own assessment of quality becomes paramount, and the personal story behind each shot becomes more important. Furthermore, in the year of our lord 2026, there are simply few opportunities to commit high quality images to high quality paper. Physically examining print copies of shots is an art in and of itself, lost to the infinite scroll of hyper-contrast screens. This was another reason why Beyond The Barrier was such a delight.
The opening on the 27th was something of an ‘industry’ night, as the room was rammed with musicians, photographers, press, and all the folks that make things work behind the scenes like PR and managers (of course, there were plenty of friends and family, too). These sorts of moments are really precious – the natural time that you might meet another creative or manager is almost always ‘on the job’, chiefly at shows or festivals where there’s scant time for small talk. The chatter that unfolded over the background of curated photography was very special. As a scene, we need more moments like this to create the all important ‘connections’ which are the lifeblood of creative industries.
Dobbin chatted to each photographer about one of their chosen shots – see the images and their thoughts below.
Sabrina Ramdoyal
This is the iconic Mr Kerry King of Slayer fame, one of the greatest and most influential guitarists. This is from his solo tour where he had other veterans along with him, who had played for Machine Head, Death Angel, Exodus, plus an old band mate from Slayer. This was taken at Manchester Academy 2 back in August 2025 for Metal Hammer. I went in ready to capture the terrific solos he’d be playing in the first three songs. There was a moment where he was using his whammy and focusing on his pedals – after waiting a whole minute, his mouth opened for that roar. At that moment I knew this was the shot, everything that I wanted from that set, something I’d wanted to capture for many years. The guitar itself is incredible, and the look plays into his entire artistic method. Everyone will know his stance and how he lets out the emotion of every single string he hits.
Jasmine Marceau
I’ve always been a fan of Against The Current; not to show my age but I first saw them play O2 Academy Islington many years ago! Every time they come here I try to shoot them. I interviewed them at Slam Dunk and got the nerve to introduce myself to Chrissy Costanza and have her write a tattoo for me. This shot of her was taken in London’s Camden Assembly. It shows so much movement, poise, and energy, and I love the lighting in it. The symmetry of the pose is great, and the motion in the ribbon, which matches the lighting, is sublime.
Angelina Emmanuel
This is Alan Ford – not a musician but an actor, who came on before Malevolence at O2 Academy Brixton. He’s a classic mobster – everyone in the room was so surprised to see him. I managed to shape this photo where he looks beautiful but so, so hard. The entire line up for this show was incredible – Speed, Dying Wish, and PSYCHO-FRAME– so adding Alan to the line-up, even if you didn’t know him, you knew it would be heavy. Initially he was backlit, so he was actually introduced by his voice: “‘ello, Brixton!”
Steph Evans
This was As It Is at the Electric Ballroom, a venue I’ve shot multiple times, but this was the first time I was doing so for a band – something to tick off the bucket list. It was pretty much sold out and it was the last day of the tour. It was so much fun getting involved with the crazy crowd, especially seeing all the fans that came to multiple shows. On a typical tour I just do photography and some video, but this tour had meet and greets, live recaps, and recording whole songs in full. They really put me to work, with lots of sleepless nights spent sitting like a prawn editing, but I loved it. It was a very chill touring party where we were all friends. It was one of the best weeks of my life, really life-changing.