Photo Essay: Heavy mettle

Metalheads in Nairobi gather every three months at The Undertow, a heavy metal festival that showcases local performers. The most recent iteration was held in March at Shelter in Westlands

Metalheads in Nairobi gather every three months at The Undertow, a heavy metal festival that showcases local performers. The most recent iteration was held in March at Shelter in Westlands, and featured Autometal, Crystal Axis, DjZontor, and the Kenyan shamanic black metal band Chovu. Photographer Patrick Meinhart was there for AFP.

In a country where R&B and Afrobeats dominate, The Undertow brings together black metal, punk and hard rock bands allowing them to perform in front of their fans. Above, Autometal gets the mosh pit moving.

Many in the crowd are here for Chovu’s Undertow debut. Anyone who doubts the seriousness of African metal should seek them out on Spotify or YouTube. Their 2022 single Mwikali is scary dark, but 2023’s Death Trap is lethal.

Who is that masked man? It is Geekspeak Radio’s Kenneth Mwatha, acceding to portraiture from Shelter’s shadows.

Chovu guitarist Brian Saibore broods backstage, holding court in the midst of a multiplying metal entourage.

Chovu’s vocalist – the mysterious Preston Rot – channels the mythos of the shamanic metal band that was born in the slums of Shauri Ya Moyo.

As Saido shreds and Rot growls, Chovu rips apart any casual assumptions about what goes on in Nairobi under the cover of darkness.