Samael Creative exists to vanquish design mediocrity to make bands and brands more commercially successful through impenetrable ideas and bulletproof creativity.
#LetTheMonsterLoose

Welcome to the dark side

My name is Richard Samael Forsman.
I'm a multimedia creative freelancer based in Helsinki, Finland and I offer art, photography, graphic design, web design, video and motion graphics for big brands to garage bands.

So, where do you want to start?

Find out who Samael is, see what Samael does, or head to the contact page and send your message to the deepest pits of Helsinki.

Just relax, grab a cold one, and make yourself comfortable. I got this.

Latest Posts

Check out some of the latest posts from Samaels works and blog

Latest From Social Media

Check out the latest posts from the Samael Creative Instagram and follow for more creative magick.
Ivan King at Hellsinki Industrial Festival 2023⁠
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The third and final act of the Hellsinki Industrial Festival Pre-Club evening was IVAN KING from Italy. I was surprised to see him play at the pre-club instead of the main event, and it seems I wasn’t the only one as a few mentioned IVAN KING being their favorite artist of this years Hellsinki Industrial Festival.⁠
Multiple people mentioned knowing him from his mask crafting while I knew him as an artist of both arts, I wasn't able to connect these to until the evening before the show. Unfortunately, the mask he wore during the first song really muffled his voice, so he took it off for the rest of the show. I’m glad I got a few good shots of him early on because he looked really cool with the mask on.⁠
I was really glad we also got a chance to talk a little bit multiple times during the Hellsinki Industrial Festival as I found him quite a nice guy. Usually I'm not really talkative unless I'm being talked to first. Maybe something I should try to get better at in the future because this year I talked a lot with so many new people. I hope we get to see IVAN KING back in Finland soon!⁠
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Testing out something new of making a little "magazine cover" for each of my new posts now on. What do you think? Love it or hate it?⁠
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All photos by me.⁠
Gear:⁠
Sony a7RV⁠
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II⁠
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM⁠
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#gallery #digitalart #photography #photographer #musicphotography ⁠#hellsinkiindustrialfestival #hellsinkiindustrialfestival2023⁠
#band #concertphotography #gig #livemusic⁠
#creative #ivanking #ontherocks #valokuvaaja #valokuvaajahelsinki
Duper Dragon Punch!! at Hellsinki Industrial Festival 2023⁠
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SUPER DRAGON PUNCH!!, a Belgian band that played tunes inspired by ’80s video games. I was expecting retro game music similar to what I’ve seen in previous years, like DIVMOD who played music with a GameBoy, but SUPER DRAGON PUNCH!! was nothing like that. Instead, they played like any other industrial pop or synthpunk band, and the show felt more like a punk concert than an industrial one. The vocalist was full of energy, jumping around and luring people to the dance floor.⁠
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⁠
Testing out something new of making a little "magazine cover" for each of my new posts now on. What do you think? Love it or hate it?⁠
⁠
All photos by me.⁠
Gear:⁠
Sony a7RV⁠
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II⁠
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM⁠
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#gallery #digitalart #photography #photographer #musicphotography ⁠#hellsinkiindustrialfestival #hellsinkiindustrialfestival2023⁠
#band #concertphotography #gig #livemusic⁠
#creative #superdragonpunch #ontherocks #valokuvaaja #valokuvaajahelsinki
Deathstars at Tavastia-klubi 31.10.2023⁠
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I’ve always playfully compared DEATHSTARS to THE 69 EYES, being the Swedish industrial version of the Finnish Goth rock act. To me, a few songs sound very similar, but on stage, they were a completely different beast. I think I’ve seen a glimpse of these guys once before at Tuska Festival, but never seen a whole show; too bad because they had a nice stage performance and made me feel young because I was just a kid when the band started and I first heard about them. Their stage presence was golden, especially with Skinny Disco waving his dreadlocks all over – I bet almost every music photographer loves those shots, me included – and Cat Casino stealing the spotlight by posing constantly. I also loved how closely the vocalist Whiplasher Bernadotte interacted with the audience, although I do wonder whether he ever got his hat back from the eager fan who got to wear it most of the show.⁠
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⁠
Testing out something new of making a little "magazine cover" for each of my new posts now on. What do you think? Love it or hate it?⁠
⁠
All photos by me.⁠
Gear:⁠
Sony a7RV⁠
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II⁠
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM⁠
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⁠
#gallery #digitalart #photography #photographer #musicphotography ⁠
#band #concertphotography #gig #livemusic⁠
#creative #deathstars #tavastia #valokuvaaja #valokuvaajahelsinki
Priest at Tavastia-klubi 31.10.2023⁠
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Not too long ago, I saw PRIEST playing at Hellsinki Metal Festival, but damn, their show keeps being amazing every time I see them. I really love how each member of the band conquers every inch of the stage whenever they get a chance. At least for me, synthwave isn’t music to sit and listen to, but to be danced to and I loved how many people in the audience felt the same way. I was lucky to be up on the balcony when Mercury came down in the middle of the audience giving his blessings because I was able to get a few nice shots from above. Big thanks to the lighting tech again for giving some extra light, so the people could get a chance to snap a few selfies with him as well.⁠
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⁠
Testing out something new of making a little "magazine cover" for each of my new posts now on. What do you think? Love it or hate it?⁠
⁠
All photos by me.⁠
Gear:⁠
Sony a7RV⁠
Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II⁠
Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM⁠
⁠
⁠
#gallery #digitalart #photography #photographer #musicphotography ⁠
#band #concertphotography #gig #livemusic⁠
#creative #priest #tavastia #valokuvaaja #valokuvaajahelsinki
@kingsatanofficial conquering the stage at Tavastia, Helsinki.
Tavastia is held somewhat of a cult standing as a venue for a few generations including mine. It seems like an achievement that every Finnish band needs to collect to play there.

#photography #photographer #musicphotography #kingsatan #tavastia #valokuvaus #valokuvaaja #valokuvaajahelsinki #metalphotography #industrialmetal
A couple shots from the Darkest Hours at On the Rocks with DJ NoiZu and DJ Oppressor.
More pics from the Without Warning and Fear of Domination gigs coming soon! 😘

#photographer #photography #musicphotography #clubphotography #djnoizu #djoppressor #ontherocks #darkesthours
Time wrap up the journey through the underworld of Pimento 2023. I hope I see you all of you next year especially those who couldn't join us this time!

👻 Sumu Sofia
👻 Talvikki
👻 Tiitta

Full galleries on my site. Link in bio!

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It has been quite an eventful end of the year and still continue to be so, but I'm catching up with all this slowly. Still tons of stuff to show you!
TFP shoots are pretty much booked for the rest of the year, but I'll let you know if I get an opening for them. Otherwise I'll need to catch my breath while wrapping things up and get back to shooting TFP in January.

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This week I still have two events coming up. Tonight Apocalyptica and Fear of Domination later on saturday. See you guys hopefully there!
Reaching near bottom of this journey trough the underworld of Pimento 2023.
Next we have some light magic and a hunt for lost souls.

👻 Rosemagoria
👻 Satu Eterna

Check out the full galleries from my site. Link in bio!

#photographer #photography #eventphotography #darkfusion #tribalfusion #bellydance #pimento2023 #pimento #rosemagoria #satueterna
Delving deeper into the underworld of Pimento 2023.
The next 3 shows offerent adrenaline pumped action, monstrous outfit and some playful fires.

👻👻 Nemoria Parvi
👻 Occult Obscura
👻 Pepper Sparkles

Full galleries now live on my site. Link in the bio!

#photographer #photography #darkfusion #tribalfusion #bellydance #nemoriaparvi #occultobscura #peppersparkles #pimento #pimento2023
Let's continue again with our journey trough the underworld of Pimento 2023.
In this set we have two Marias... There's a Finnish joke I could add to this, but let's be adults for a moment 🤓
And as a third a group so big that I had troubles finding a good shot with all of them in it.

👻 Maria Morte
👻 Maria Siofra
👻👻👻 Myrna

Ps. Full Pimento 2023 gallery on my site. Link in my bio!

#photographer #photography #darkfusion #darkfusiondancer #tribalfusion #bellydance #pimento #pimento2023 #ontherocks #mariamorte #mariasiofra #myrna
Let's continue our journey trough the underworld!

All Pimento photo galleries from each performance are now uploaded to my site. Go check them out, link in the bio!
I also added a fancy new search function to make it easier to find what you're looking for as the photo archive keeps growing in increasing pace.

Continuing these posts alphabetically:
👻 Hades, the host himself who guided our journey.
👻👻👻 Hallanmaa
👻👻👻 Kaven

#photographer #photography #eventphotography #darkfusion #tribalfusion #bellydance #pimento #pimento2023 #ontherocks
Ever wanted to visit the underworld? 💀
At Pimento 2023 we got to take a peek what's waiting for us after passing. 💀

Here's the first performers in alphabetical order:
👻 Aada Pyykkö
👻 Anni Dohlen
👻 Azul Anaesthesia

Don't forget to read the article I wrote for the @tuonelamagazine

Been too busy to make any posts, but now the chaotic rush is finally over and I can get back to finishing the tfp shoots that I've had to leave hanging. Prepare your buttocks because a lot of posts incoming 🔥🔥🔥

...and yes I'm finally adding full galleries to my site! I know a few of you have been asking for them a while already 🫠

#photographer #photography #bellydance #pimento #ontherocks
#darkfusion #eventphotography
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SAMAEL IS BASED IN THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELLSINKI - FINLAND
THE COUNTRY OF THE MOST METAL BANDS PER CAPITA IN THE WORLD

Are you ready to rock?