Me and Vinnie, in Raleigh - Agnostic Front

Let me set the stage. Tuesday night, Turnstile played Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC, with Obituary, Angel Du$t and Agnostic Front in support. We put in for photo passes. It didn't work out. It happens.

But we couldn't not shoot. We were on a mission: we had to shoot Agnostic Front. Period.

Agnostic Front held it down. The sound was phenomenal. Did I say that already? Good. It was fucking great. Roger had the crowd going, and Vinnie was grooving and working the crowd right alongside him. Mike Gallo was jumping around on bass and pounding out heavy riffs. Craig Silverman kept the riffing steady and worked the stage with Vinnie. Behind them, Danny Lamagna kept time like a metronome and kept it all flowing. They ran through a lot of the favorites and closed with a killer cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop."

But enough about the show. Here's why Agnostic Front mattered so much.

It was a strong bill top to bottom, but Agnostic Front had our focus because Madball is coming to Greensboro to Hangar 1819 on Nov. 18th . Madball frontman Freddy Cricien (Freddy Madball) is the younger half-brother of Roger Miret, Agnostic Front's longtime frontman. When Madball started in 1988 as a side project, Cricien was backed by members of Agnostic Front: Roger Miret on bass, Vinnie Stigma on guitar and Will Shepler on drums.

This is a family thing. A true NYHC story, and it's playing out in North Carolina over two shows. At RAG Media (IG: @adrianpomilio @Metal.Rag and @Hardcore.Rag), we love NYHC. Without Agnostic Front, we'd only have half the story.

So, no photo pass. What do you do? You do it the NYHC way. You do it yourself.

Red Hat's rules allow a point-and-shoot camera with a fixed lens. I happen to own one. It has a 28mm lens and it only shoots black and white. Good enough. My job was simple: get to the fucking rail early and shoot from the mosh pit, not the photo pit.

Agnostic Front was so incredible that I felt that it was all I needed.  I sat around for a few Angel Du$t songs and decided to head home.  I needed to see what I actually captured.  So for all you fans, enjoy the photo library.

Now we wait for Madball, and the chance to close the NYHC circle here in North Carolina.