Headbanging at sea on a heavy metal cruise – ‘As I began photographing, I realised I had white corpse paint all over my cameras’

Heavy Metal takes to the seas aboard the 70,000 Tons of Metal themed cruise

Painful bassist, Axx, left, and vocalist, Latura, wear what's known as corpse paint. MUST CREDIT: Louie Palu/Agence VU/For The Washington Post

Louie Palu
©Washington Post

Ozzy Osbourne’s voice bellowed over the sound system of Independence of the Seas as I pressed my fork into a stack of all-you-can-eat pancakes.

I sat hypnotised by calming ocean waves, while Tony Iommi’s guitar riffs on the Black Sabbath album Sabotage provided a head-banging soundtrack to breakfast.