PHOTOS FROM THE NEW ENGLAND METAL AND HARDCORE FESTIVAL HAVE BEEN POSTED HERE, AND AT WWW.MASSMETAL.NET!!
New England Metal and Hardcore Festival
4/20/12-4/22/12
The
most depressing time of the year, in my opinion, are the days after The
New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. For the past 5 years, I've
been traveling to Worcester, checking into La Quinta Inn, and having the
best 72 hours any metal head / music fan can have. This year was no
different, and perhaps on of my favorite bills to date. My legs are
sore, my ears ring like a bitch, I've overdosed on cheap beer and hot
dogs, but I miss every second of NEMHF already.
LETS RECAP, SHALL WE?! This year we were introduced to bands like OBEY THE BRAVE (former Despised Icon members), FLESH GOD APOCALYPSE from Italy, and GLASSCLOUD (with members of The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, and Of Mice and Men), while punished by NEMHF veterans like The Acacia Strain, Oceano, Unearth, IWABO, Mychildren Mybride, The Black Dahlia Murder, and many more. They successfully separated the metal and hardcore this year, the main stage being the heavy/thrash/death metal, and the second (and smaller) stage being the hardcore section. Let the enjoyable headache begin:
DAY 1! Lots and lots of good diverse bands, we got a big batch of 20 minute sets with really quick set changes, just enough time to drink a beer or 2 and have a handful of cheez-its. FIrst Legions, Fit For An Autopsy, and Conducting from the Grave took care of our terrific breakdowns and death metal fix, and later skeletonwitch filled the awesome beard quote for the day. The Contortionist was probably the outlier band of the day, with their experimental and obscure sound (which isnt a bad thing, its actually pretty great). They had a 20 minute set as well, but filled it with pure musical goodness. Obey The Brave and Flesh God Apocalypse made their NEMHF and MA debut and were welcomed with open arms to our metal state, while Carnifex, All Shall Perish and Oceano (this was rumored to be their last live show ever, but I dont believe that ended up holding true) came back to the Palladium to crush our ears and rattle our chest cavities. With all the great music we saw on Friday, hometown heroes The Acacia Strain came and stole the show, as they always do. Their set was perfect, and loud, and even though it was just 45 minutes long, they made great use of their short set. To be honest, I left right after TAS got off stage, I wanted to leave on a high note (not literally) and that was by far the best performance of the evening. Day 1 was metal perfection, and its only just begun.
DAY 2! The second day of the festival was an even more diverse day than the first, incorporating more genres than yesterday. From Periphery to iwrestledabearonce, from Hung to Overkill, we covered all of our bases on this, the second day of the greatest festival on planet earth. First band we saw was Hung, who incorporated a violin, enough said! That set the tone for the day, different and awesome metal. God Forbid hit the stage with their 20 minute set, plugging a new album and played the classics, Holy Grail followed thrashing our faces off with hair, riffs, and high pitch screams. Periphery had a 30 minute set, as well as iwrestledabearonce, and the crowd was packed with fans of both bands. IWABO always puts on a great high energy show, showcasing their awesomely different brand of metal. They played a mix of new and old jams, as did the next two bands, Unearth and Protest The Hero. Unearth is very familiar with the Palladium, as theyve been around forever and are native to these lands, they put on an awesome show, as usual, and were followed by the Canadian prog metal masters Protest The Hero. They crammed their 40 minute set with new and old songs, and humorous little bits in between, they were probably one of my favorite acts of the evening. Metal Legends Overkill followed them, with large cab amps in tow to match their large image, these fellas have not gone downhill with age, they can still play like they did back in the day. Guitar Hero's own DragonForce had an hour long set before some more MA natives closed the show, All That Remains. Now, I don't want to sound biased or......rude.....but I disliked ATR's latest album. When they spent the first 45 minutes playing tracks from said album, I was not happy, and ALMOST didnt stick around, but I'm very very glad that I fought that urge. The last half of their set was packed with tracks off of their first 3 albums, and they sounded great. I tossed my camera into my trunk (carefully of course), and hopped into the crowd with the rest of the crazies, to get thrown around and covered in nasty man-sweat. Again the home town metallers stole the show, and ATR made sure everyone left smiling with sore necks and drenched shirts. Until tomorrow, the final and saddest day of the festival.
DAY 3! Its like the last day of a great vacation, you're still excited, but disgusted because you know it has to end, and soon. Once again a healthy mixture of newbies and vets, with some christian death metal tossed into the mix. Glass Cloud debuted with a great 20 minute set , showing us what theyre all about, and were followed by metal from the likes of I The Breather, Like Moths to Flames, Volumes, and Texas In July (whom put on a great heavy performance). NEMHF vets Mychildren Mybride hit the stage and sounded great as always, followed by the party that is Atilla, and Chelsea Grin who debuted some new material. For Today and Emmure had some longer sets, both of which had new albums come out recently, and kept the heaviness moving along smoothly. Local favorites Vanna played for about 40 minutes, they always excite the crowd, and led the way for the final two bands of NEMHF 2012, Everytime I die, and the reunion performance of Killswtich Engage with original vocalist, Jesse Leach. KSE played for about 90 minutes, and HOLY MOLY was it a monster of a set. Not only did they sound amazing, their set was amazing, and their energy was amazing. The SOLD OUT Palladium crowd was insane, and again, I put my camera in a safe place and hoped in with the rest of the nostalgic fans ready for Jesse and KSE to end our weekend of metal beauty. They put on the best show at this years festival by far, and started their new chapter with a bang.
Overall this festival was amazing, so many great bands, a few great debuts, and one INCREDIBLE reunion. It was put together and organized perfectly, and I couldn't ask for a better NEMHF weekend. Now, I shall drive home sweaty and depressed, and count down the days until next years New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.
LETS RECAP, SHALL WE?! This year we were introduced to bands like OBEY THE BRAVE (former Despised Icon members), FLESH GOD APOCALYPSE from Italy, and GLASSCLOUD (with members of The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, and Of Mice and Men), while punished by NEMHF veterans like The Acacia Strain, Oceano, Unearth, IWABO, Mychildren Mybride, The Black Dahlia Murder, and many more. They successfully separated the metal and hardcore this year, the main stage being the heavy/thrash/death metal, and the second (and smaller) stage being the hardcore section. Let the enjoyable headache begin:
DAY 1! Lots and lots of good diverse bands, we got a big batch of 20 minute sets with really quick set changes, just enough time to drink a beer or 2 and have a handful of cheez-its. FIrst Legions, Fit For An Autopsy, and Conducting from the Grave took care of our terrific breakdowns and death metal fix, and later skeletonwitch filled the awesome beard quote for the day. The Contortionist was probably the outlier band of the day, with their experimental and obscure sound (which isnt a bad thing, its actually pretty great). They had a 20 minute set as well, but filled it with pure musical goodness. Obey The Brave and Flesh God Apocalypse made their NEMHF and MA debut and were welcomed with open arms to our metal state, while Carnifex, All Shall Perish and Oceano (this was rumored to be their last live show ever, but I dont believe that ended up holding true) came back to the Palladium to crush our ears and rattle our chest cavities. With all the great music we saw on Friday, hometown heroes The Acacia Strain came and stole the show, as they always do. Their set was perfect, and loud, and even though it was just 45 minutes long, they made great use of their short set. To be honest, I left right after TAS got off stage, I wanted to leave on a high note (not literally) and that was by far the best performance of the evening. Day 1 was metal perfection, and its only just begun.
DAY 2! The second day of the festival was an even more diverse day than the first, incorporating more genres than yesterday. From Periphery to iwrestledabearonce, from Hung to Overkill, we covered all of our bases on this, the second day of the greatest festival on planet earth. First band we saw was Hung, who incorporated a violin, enough said! That set the tone for the day, different and awesome metal. God Forbid hit the stage with their 20 minute set, plugging a new album and played the classics, Holy Grail followed thrashing our faces off with hair, riffs, and high pitch screams. Periphery had a 30 minute set, as well as iwrestledabearonce, and the crowd was packed with fans of both bands. IWABO always puts on a great high energy show, showcasing their awesomely different brand of metal. They played a mix of new and old jams, as did the next two bands, Unearth and Protest The Hero. Unearth is very familiar with the Palladium, as theyve been around forever and are native to these lands, they put on an awesome show, as usual, and were followed by the Canadian prog metal masters Protest The Hero. They crammed their 40 minute set with new and old songs, and humorous little bits in between, they were probably one of my favorite acts of the evening. Metal Legends Overkill followed them, with large cab amps in tow to match their large image, these fellas have not gone downhill with age, they can still play like they did back in the day. Guitar Hero's own DragonForce had an hour long set before some more MA natives closed the show, All That Remains. Now, I don't want to sound biased or......rude.....but I disliked ATR's latest album. When they spent the first 45 minutes playing tracks from said album, I was not happy, and ALMOST didnt stick around, but I'm very very glad that I fought that urge. The last half of their set was packed with tracks off of their first 3 albums, and they sounded great. I tossed my camera into my trunk (carefully of course), and hopped into the crowd with the rest of the crazies, to get thrown around and covered in nasty man-sweat. Again the home town metallers stole the show, and ATR made sure everyone left smiling with sore necks and drenched shirts. Until tomorrow, the final and saddest day of the festival.
DAY 3! Its like the last day of a great vacation, you're still excited, but disgusted because you know it has to end, and soon. Once again a healthy mixture of newbies and vets, with some christian death metal tossed into the mix. Glass Cloud debuted with a great 20 minute set , showing us what theyre all about, and were followed by metal from the likes of I The Breather, Like Moths to Flames, Volumes, and Texas In July (whom put on a great heavy performance). NEMHF vets Mychildren Mybride hit the stage and sounded great as always, followed by the party that is Atilla, and Chelsea Grin who debuted some new material. For Today and Emmure had some longer sets, both of which had new albums come out recently, and kept the heaviness moving along smoothly. Local favorites Vanna played for about 40 minutes, they always excite the crowd, and led the way for the final two bands of NEMHF 2012, Everytime I die, and the reunion performance of Killswtich Engage with original vocalist, Jesse Leach. KSE played for about 90 minutes, and HOLY MOLY was it a monster of a set. Not only did they sound amazing, their set was amazing, and their energy was amazing. The SOLD OUT Palladium crowd was insane, and again, I put my camera in a safe place and hoped in with the rest of the nostalgic fans ready for Jesse and KSE to end our weekend of metal beauty. They put on the best show at this years festival by far, and started their new chapter with a bang.
Overall this festival was amazing, so many great bands, a few great debuts, and one INCREDIBLE reunion. It was put together and organized perfectly, and I couldn't ask for a better NEMHF weekend. Now, I shall drive home sweaty and depressed, and count down the days until next years New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.
