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A Cleveland native and rock photographer, Hannah Verbeuren went to Chagrin Falls High School and knew early she wasn't going to completely fit in. She gravitated toward classmates who listened to punk and metal bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Deicide.
“I was one of the oddballs at the school that would wear band T-shirts to school,” she says via phone from Cincinnati, where she's on tour with the Cleveland metal band Midnight, the subject of her new book of photos that she's dubbed "a visual violation." “There was a select group of us that caused a lot of trouble in Chagrin and made it into the newspaper quite a bit. We even made it into The Plain Dealer. One of the articles was titled something like ‘Are Skate Punks That Bad?’ It was this whole exposé on us. I guess we were intimidating because we hung out in groups.”
But Verbeuren, who followed local hardcore and metal bands like Integrity, Boulder and Outface, would capitalize on her outsider status and develop it into a career as a rock photographer, publicist and writer. A former Scene contributor, she's assembled a stunning collection of photos for Midnight: A Thousand Nights in Sodom.
The book is currently available for pre-orders through Bazillion Points, an imprint whose motto is "fine books on rough subjects," and Verbeuren is selling the book at the merch table with the band as it tours. Midnight performs at the Rock Hall on Saturday, Aug. 17, and Verbeuren hopes to be on hand for the concert (even if she doesn’t make the show, she says the book will be for sale).
About ten years ago, Verbeuren, who has a degree in photography from Cleveland Institute of Art, approached Midnight frontman Athenar about capturing the band for a book of photography. He liked the idea.
“I had sought the band out," says Verbeuren. "I fell in love with the band and dragged my husband to a show. I didn’t really know Athenar, but we had mutual friends. I hadn’t spoken to him personally. At the time, I was finishing my photography degree and was immersed in creative thought. I had this idea. We made plans, and we did a shoot, and I entered the first photo into a contest and received runner-up. It was exciting. I actually think I should have won the contest. My photo has more edge to it.”
Verbeuren eventually went on the road with the group and shot them at castles in Germany and did photo shoots of the band for magazines like Decibel.
“I think the book is what a Midnight fan would want to see,” she says. “I went backstage with them, and it’s a good variety of things.”
Verbeuren says she's well aware of how male-dominated the metal world can be and hopes that her book and career serve as an inspiration to other women.
"I'm on the road now, and I'm the only female traveling with the group," she says. "You're reminded all the time that you're different, and it's cool to an extent. It works out okay, but there are reminders that it's different. I have to just believe that I'm not weird, and there's a reason I'm into all this stuff. I'm selling the book now and getting to meet people in person, and it means a lot to me that girls have come up to me and think it's great that a girl made this book. That's been filling my tank. It's great to have that feedback."
She also hopes that the book captures the band’s mysterious aura.
“I feel like with Midnight, there is this element of danger and risk mixed with some sex and humor and tongue-in-cheek,” she says. “I felt that that is necessary at the core. In some of the pictures, you can laugh at Athenar, and he’s laughing with you. I wanted to capture the personalities of the band members."
Capturing the band's essence has been challenging given that members don masks for their performances.
"It’s quite hard when you’re dealing with people in black masks," says Verbeuren. "I had to capture moments that created that feeling without any kind of exchange through eyes and smiles and anything. It was important to get that essence. There’s an energy to the live shows, and there is mystique behind the scenes. It’s cool to keep that mystique there but also give people something they haven’t seen before.”
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“I was one of the oddballs at the school that would wear band T-shirts to school,” she says via phone from Cincinnati, where she's on tour with the Cleveland metal band Midnight, the subject of her new book of photos that she's dubbed "a visual violation." “There was a select group of us that caused a lot of trouble in Chagrin and made it into the newspaper quite a bit. We even made it into The Plain Dealer. One of the articles was titled something like ‘Are Skate Punks That Bad?’ It was this whole exposé on us. I guess we were intimidating because we hung out in groups.”
But Verbeuren, who followed local hardcore and metal bands like Integrity, Boulder and Outface, would capitalize on her outsider status and develop it into a career as a rock photographer, publicist and writer. A former Scene contributor, she's assembled a stunning collection of photos for Midnight: A Thousand Nights in Sodom.
The book is currently available for pre-orders through Bazillion Points, an imprint whose motto is "fine books on rough subjects," and Verbeuren is selling the book at the merch table with the band as it tours. Midnight performs at the Rock Hall on Saturday, Aug. 17, and Verbeuren hopes to be on hand for the concert (even if she doesn’t make the show, she says the book will be for sale).
About ten years ago, Verbeuren, who has a degree in photography from Cleveland Institute of Art, approached Midnight frontman Athenar about capturing the band for a book of photography. He liked the idea.
“I had sought the band out," says Verbeuren. "I fell in love with the band and dragged my husband to a show. I didn’t really know Athenar, but we had mutual friends. I hadn’t spoken to him personally. At the time, I was finishing my photography degree and was immersed in creative thought. I had this idea. We made plans, and we did a shoot, and I entered the first photo into a contest and received runner-up. It was exciting. I actually think I should have won the contest. My photo has more edge to it.”
Verbeuren eventually went on the road with the group and shot them at castles in Germany and did photo shoots of the band for magazines like Decibel.
“I think the book is what a Midnight fan would want to see,” she says. “I went backstage with them, and it’s a good variety of things.”
Verbeuren says she's well aware of how male-dominated the metal world can be and hopes that her book and career serve as an inspiration to other women.
"I'm on the road now, and I'm the only female traveling with the group," she says. "You're reminded all the time that you're different, and it's cool to an extent. It works out okay, but there are reminders that it's different. I have to just believe that I'm not weird, and there's a reason I'm into all this stuff. I'm selling the book now and getting to meet people in person, and it means a lot to me that girls have come up to me and think it's great that a girl made this book. That's been filling my tank. It's great to have that feedback."
She also hopes that the book captures the band’s mysterious aura.
“I feel like with Midnight, there is this element of danger and risk mixed with some sex and humor and tongue-in-cheek,” she says. “I felt that that is necessary at the core. In some of the pictures, you can laugh at Athenar, and he’s laughing with you. I wanted to capture the personalities of the band members."
Capturing the band's essence has been challenging given that members don masks for their performances.
"It’s quite hard when you’re dealing with people in black masks," says Verbeuren. "I had to capture moments that created that feeling without any kind of exchange through eyes and smiles and anything. It was important to get that essence. There’s an energy to the live shows, and there is mystique behind the scenes. It’s cool to keep that mystique there but also give people something they haven’t seen before.”
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
