For Australian bands, breaking into Europe isn’t just another tour — it’s a test of endurance. Long flights, relentless schedules, unfamiliar crowds and the constant pressure to prove yourself night after night all come with the territory. For Sydney heavy rock band Battlesnake, that challenge became the backbone of their latest tour documentary, Year Of The Snake.
Filmed during a relentless European run that saw the band play dozens of shows in just ten weeks, the documentary pulls back the curtain on the realities of life on the road — from towering festival stages to the chaotic, sleep-deprived moments between cities.
We caught up with Rhys to talk about the making of the film, the realities of touring Europe from Australia, and what it means to live inside the whirlwind of a 75-show run. Anyone who has taken on a project of this scale knows the work doesn’t stop when the tour ends. Beyond surviving the intensity of the road, there’s the challenge of shaping hours of footage into something that captures the spirit of the journey — distilling the chaos, energy and camaraderie of life on tour into a film that drops the viewer straight into the heart of it
Interview by: Sergio M. Photos & Video: Rhys Bennett
When did the idea of documenting the tour first come up?
Was the plan always to make a film, or did it grow organically once the European run started taking shape?
The plan was always to jump on the tour and create a documentary of sorts, with the flexibility to kind of create it however I wanted. I liaised with Battlesnake’s bassist Elliott primarily to discuss what we wanted to get out of it a few months prior but we’ve had a close working relationship for a few years now so there’s a lot of trust now on the visual side of things.
What made this tour feel worth documenting?
The first time I ever captured the band live I was immediately drawn into the theatrics of it all. Their musicianship and their stage presence is unlike anything I’ve really seen before and ever show feels really exciting. The idea of capturing the band on some of the biggest stages they’ve ever played to a brand new audience felt really exciting and it was. They covered some bucket list festivals on that run including Download Festival, Pinkpop, Rock For People, Copenhell to name a few. I feel insanely comfortable travelling with all of them as well, we’re all very close now so it was always exciting even during some of the stressful times with lack of sleep and tight travel schedules.
For Australian bands, touring Europe is a huge leap — financially, logistically, and mentally.
From your perspective behind the camera, what does it actually take to make a tour like this happen?
I think first and foremost if your intention is to make a lot of money from this then you’re probably in it for the wrong reasons. I think you really need to be obsessed with the work you’re creating regardless of the financial outcome. It can be extremely taxing both emotionally and financially to tour particularly for as long as Battlesnake have done on this run. A great tour manager can definitely make or break the band as well during this time. Thankfully they had king of sound and logistics Harry Frank to be their surrogate dad on tour as well as their manager Taylor James to keep everyone focused.
What were the biggest challenges before the tour even started — especially for you as the videographer?
To be honest there wasn’t really many hurdles for me prior to the tour. They predominantly only really appeared during the tour. Mainly backing up data from each show every night and editing on a flight or in the van, making sure I always had batteries charged. When you need to charge 8 camera batteries, a laptop and a Gimbal each night in a room you’re sharing with 8 other people it can be tricky.
After that long flight and finally landing in Europe:
What’s the first reality check that hits you?
It’s good to be back was the first thing I thought. The last time I was in Europe was in 2019 and the intention was to tour a lot more after that but as it did for many, Covid caused a delay to that. I had about 5 or so days to relax before I met up with the band which started things off fairly comfortably.
When you’re filming a tour that intense, preparation becomes everything.
With shows almost every night, how did you structure your days to make sure you had everything you needed to capture the story?
There’s never really a dull moment with the band, between the 6 of them pointing a camera at any one of them at any given moment, you’re bound to get great footage. I figured as long as I have a moment to interview them individually towards the end of the run and prepared questions based on my experiences leading up to talking with them, then I could piece together all the performance footage and everything in between to have it make sense. Theoretically it made sense but practically it was a bit of a nightmare sifting through all that footage, but it was a fun process.
At some point every long tour hits a wall. When did the routine start to feel like survival mode?
There was a run of shows that really drained all of us. They were supporting Eagles of Death Metal in Germany and they had just played a show in Berlin, the following morning we had to drive to Leipzig for a show, then back to Berlin that same night to have maybe an hour of sleep, to get a flight at 6am to the UK where they played 2 shows that same day and another the following day. Then had to get another 6am flight to the Czech Republic for a festival. We were all running on fumes and there were a handful of errors leading up to that but overall everyone stayed pretty calm and collected.
Fans see the stage and the energy, but rarely what happens behind the scenes.
What’s something about touring with a band that most people would never imagine?
I dunno how it is for every band but for Battlesnake they’re a costume band so you can imagine how gross those costumes get after back to back shows particularly during summer festivals. Rather than washing them every night they decided that a spray bottle of vodka made more sense to neutralise the smell of them. Did it work? Yes. Did they smell like vodka instead of BO? Yes and no…
Looking back now:
Is there one moment from the tour that really stands out to you?
There were a few really great memories that stood out. I think they’d all agree getting to Download festival and seeing people lined up in the front row in a tent of 5000 people dressed up as characters from their music video singing along to every song was really special. Copenhell was incredible as well the crowd at that festival is unlike any I’ve seen before they’re all so energised and hungry for new music. I don’t think I’ve come across a crowd of people that were so into a band they’d never heard before. I stayed back at that festival for an extra day to work with The Prodigy and they agreed that it was a really special crowd to perform to. One of the best festivals I’ve ever been to.
What was it like having the camera rolling for weeks on end? Did the band eventually forget you were filming, or were there moments where you thought, “maybe this shouldn’t be on camera”?
It’s tiring, more so because when they were sleeping between shows I was editing galleries and videos to promote the upcoming shows so it was non stop which takes its toll. They never got tired of flipping me off anytime they noticed the camera was rolling so no they never forgot. Elliot and I had agreed prior to the tour that if there was ever a moment that it felt like I should turn the camera off on them, keep rolling even if one of them got pissed off.
When people watch the documentary, what do you hope they feel?
It’s a short watch. Since it was just me making it I needed to keep it succinct as much as I would have loved to have made a feature length doco of them. My hope is that it captures the excitement that I and many of their fans feel from watching their live show. It’s so rare to see a band win a crowd over as quickly as they do. Going from crossed arms in judgment from the crowd, to circle pits and chants for one more song, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a band that can influence a crowd quite like they do. That excitement I would hope translates in the doco.
How involved was the band in shaping the film?
Did you have a clear direction from the start, or did they trust you to capture the story your way?
During filming there wasn’t much involvement but I would send sections to the band during the edit to get an idea if it was what they wanted to get out of it. The main thing we spoke about is that we didn’t just want to capture the big live show but also show some of the mundane elements that are a part of touring. There’s a lot of waiting around, a lot of travelling and looking out the window and sleeping whenever you can find the time. I wanted to really try and focus on all of that to show how much work goes into playing these shows.
What was the toughest moment of the entire run?
The sleep deprivation and diet I think. For the most part a lot of the shows had great food but in between those shows you’d be eating from convenience stores a lot and with a lack of sleep it really made you feel like shit. Aside from that it was a really good run without too many hiccups.
And on the flip side:
When did you have that moment where you realised the whole thing was worth it?
Hearing the crowd at several festivals chant “Battlesnake, Battlesnake, Battlesnake” as they walked off the stage made it definitely feel worth it. They’ve been one of my favourite bands to capture for a long time so I knew it would be worth it but that moment never gets old.
Australian bands have a reputation for being relentless when it comes to touring.
Do you think that same mentality applies to the people behind the camera — photographers and videographers on the road?
I have said for a long time that this is one of the most thankless and exhausting things you can do. Financially it’s not sensible and it can weigh heavy on your mental and physical health if you don’t set boundaries for yourself. But you do it because you’re obsessed with creating something you’re really proud of. I can’t speak for every photographer or videographer but I’m really proud of what I’ve created over the years and whilst it’s been incredibly tiring to do if I could do it all over again from the start I would.
Having worked with different bands across Europe:
Do Australian bands approach touring differently compared to European or American acts?
I’d say it’s about the same, when you’re with a band that all gets along, at the end of the day, it’s just a group of friends doing the thing they’re best at.
Now that the tour is over and the film is out in the world:
What does Year Of The Snake represent for you personally?
I think for me I never really imagined I’d get to create something like this for anyone. Every year I’ve been a photographer I feel like I’ve created something that I never really thought I could achieve the year prior so I think it really represents a lot of growth and endurance to lean into the thing you are passionate about. I love creating for bands to represent to the world who they are visually and I’m incredibly grateful whenever a band trusts me to do that for them.
Did making the documentary change the way you look back on that experience?
Enough time has passed now that I can watch it and be reminded of how much fun the experience was. I had to give it some space after the edit because I was tired of watching the same section over and over again. But now It’s a nice timestamp of something we all got to experience and achieve.
After surviving a tour like this: What’s next for you? Would you approach documenting another tour in the same way, or did this experience change how you’d do it next time?
I’ll be heading back with Battlesnake in July to Europe for 2 months so we’ll definitely be brainstorming ways to make this run more engaging than the last. Whether that’s in the form of a documentary or not we’ll have to wait and see.
