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New England Metal & Hardcore Festival April 22-24, 2010Apr 26 '10 (Updated Sep 19 '10) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line 3 Days of METAL!!!!!
Spring vacation! Some go to Disney, others go to the beaches. My son and I went to the 12th annual New England Metal Festival at the Worcester, Palladium. If you would like to read about three days of metal and mayhem, read on. Thunder, Lightning and Hailstorms! Before we even left our town on a sunny Thursday afternoon, a huge surprise thunderstorm rolled into our neighborhood with thunder, lighting, halestorms and a power outage! All the power in three towns or more went out, but that did not deter us from heading for Worceter, Massachusetts for the 12th annual NEMHF. We rode out of the thunder and lightning and arrived at 6:30 p.m. just as the first band hit the stage. The Worcester Palladium If you've never been, the Palladium is a popular stop for metal bands on tour. It was EM Loews theater, and it is a huge square building. As you go in, you enter a lobby with stairs going up in front to a small room which is upstairs at the Palladium. This room is literally wedged under the main stage's balcony. It is sideways and has a bar along the back and a stage on one side. There are no seats. It also has a small balcony running along the back of the room where merchandise is usually sold. The stairs to the left and right of the lobby lead downstairs to a graduated orchestra pit with various levels. There are no seats except some booths at the back. Finally at the bottom is a large flat area by the stage where the mosh pits form. Above is a huge balcony. The Palladium can hold about 500 people in the upstairs room, and about 1900 people in the main venue. Day One! A Metal Party! Anyone who wanted to trek out to Worcester who had a ticket for the two day Festival, could make it a three day festival at the Pre Party on Thursday, April 22nd. (or you could pay ten dollars at the door). It was quite worth it, the show was upstairs in the small room, and we had no problem going directly to the front of the stage. I like the upstairs, because the only thing between you and the band is the monitor speakers that sit at the front of the stage. I was literally close enough to reach out and touch the guitar strings. The first bands on were Within Ruins, Wrath and Rapture and Armor for the Broken. We enjoyed all three sets, and when I wandered to the upstairs balcony, I got to chat with the musicians from Wrath and Rapture. They were glad I enjoyed their set, and I got my photo taken with them. Up next was probably my favorite band of the night, Massachusetts own metal bands, Thy Will Be Done. I was right in front of their guitarist Chris. It was a great set, they did many songs from their current album In Ancient of Days as well as their debut album Was and Is to Come. I would make one simple observation on the festivities Thursday. There should be a weight limit to stage divers. If you are going to dive off the stage and expect us to catch you, weigh under 200 please. You don't see me stage diving, and there is a reason for that. A Christian metal core band from Alabama was up next, My Children, My Bride. I had not heard them before. Everyone enjoyed their humorous opening. The PA blared out Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, while the band stood with their backs to us. As the song got to the part after Ra ra roma ma ma, the band started to play loud crunchy guitar chords, and then they delivered quite an impressive set. I wandered about the venue and up to the balcony again as special guest White Chapel put on a performance. They would be on again on Saturday night on the main stage. When I went up, all the members of Thy Will Be Done were hanging out at their merchandise table, and I was able to chat with them and have my photo taken. They were really having a fun time at metal fest, and I saw guitarist Chris Drapeau a number of times during the weekend enjoying the show. In fact, the members of Thy Will Be Done went into the mosh pit for some of Kobra Kai's performance for the end of the evening. Kobra Kai is a cover band, and the crowd that stayed for their final set of the night was quite entertained as they performed several classic metal songs like Metallica's Battery, Iron Maiden's The Trooper and Wasted Years, some Ozzy, Judas Priest, Van Halen and even a song by Motley Crue. I also met the guitarist, Filipe from Acaro, a band that was opening on Saturday's main stage. We chatted about the metal fans of Worcester, and he said he was very excited to be touring and was also just enjoying the show. Although his band was mostly from Boston, MA, he was all the way from Chile! The preparty for Metal Fest was a blast. We headed to the local Worcester Quality Inn a bit past midnight where we had booked our room for the three nights of Metal Fest! Christians and MetalHeads! Oh My! Right next door to the Worcester Palladium is the Worcester DCU Conference Center. Hotels and parking for metal heads was difficult to obtain because on the same days as the New England Metal Festival, the MassHope Christian Homeschool Conference was also scheduled. On Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th, a couple thousand metal heads decked out in black T-shirts adorned with images like pentagrams, the number 666 and other disturbing graphic images, band names like Cannibal Corpse and Cattle Decapitation, piercings and tatoos roaming the streets and the restaurants with thousands of conservatively dressed fundamental Christians gathered together to learn about homeschooling and insure their children didn't have to learn about Darwin or the Big Bang Theory. They all wore name tags and badges that said MassHOPE, while we all were marked with wristbands that allowed us access to the show. That was downtown Worcester on Friday April 22nd and Saturday April 23rd. The waitresses at Uno's were kept quite busy and rather amused by the two vastly different groups that filled the restaurant. After a delicious bananas foster, the manager stopped to chat with us, and we discovered he was a metalhead himself and quite fond of Iron Maiden! We actually met with quite a few from the Christian convention at the Pizzaria Uno across the street from both venues. They also found it quite amusing that the two events were scheduled on the same dates. Some asked about the bands appearing and the line up and I started to have an interesting discussion of science and theology with one man, but his table was called. Overall though, aside from some disapproving looks, the two groups didn't bother one another. They didn't try to "save" us, and we didn't try to get their children to listen to "the devil's music". (although, as noted, one band, My Children, My Bride was actually a Christian metal band on a Christian record label) Friday's Line Up! The first band on the main stage was Black Pyramid, followed by Howl and My Children, My Bride. Anarchy U.K. could not make it. The first couple groups put on a very good performance and started the day off well. We had seen My Children, My Bride on Thursday upstairs, and they performed the same general set, although they didn't start it with the Lady GaGa intro. Doom Riders rocked the Palladium next. I had never heard them before but After the Burial, proved to be a band worth listening to. They had a hard edge sound that resonated quite well. We missed Fall of Troy to grab some lunch. In addition to meeting lots of folks from the neighboring Christian Homeschool convention, I also chatted with one of the employees of Metal Blade records. We had quite an interesting talk about how metal has changed and progressed over the years. Metal Blade Records of Las Angeles has been signing metal bands since 1982! They were also conducting several interviews outside for Metal Blade TV. I picked up a pretty cool Metal Blade T shirt. We returned to the Palladium main stage in time for Valiant Thor. This band had a definite personality, the lead singer looked sort of like a southern rocker and explained that the band was from Venus and was here to tell about time and space. They had great sound. I actually met their singer the following morning at our hotel, relaxing in the lobby. He said they were headed towards Baltimore for their next show. Baroness was next, and I was looking forward to their set. I have both the Blue and Red album and they did songs from each and had the crowd pretty excited. Between the Buried and Me reminded me a lot of Opeth, they had a great progressive rock sound. We stayed pretty close to the stage for these sets, only leaving for water or sodas on occasion. The only hard part about being near the stage, is you are required to hold up the occasional surfer and pick up the occasional fallen mosher. Mastadon provided the nights headline performance, playing until nearly midnight. Mastadon put on an amazing set and showed why they were the headline act for Friday night! They performed a lot of old stuff and a lot of new from their latest album, Crack the Skye. Our ears rung as we left the Palladium! Saturday - The Penultimate day of Metal Festival! Breakfast with Impending Doom I woke up early Saturday morning in our hotel, (The Quality Inn in Worcester) and grabbed some coffee and yogurt. Soon other metal heads wandered in for coffee. I noticed that their wristbands said All Access and found out that they were the members of Impending Doom from California. They were excited about playing Metal Fest and were performing that day at 4:45. Support Your Local Band Since I had talked to Filipe the guitarist for Acaro, I knew I wanted to see their opening set on Saturday, so we made sure we appeared right on time for Acaro's main stage opening set at 12:15. Wow, these guys from Boston really rocked, their singer had an aggressive in your face vocal style and the guitar work was rock solid. The barrier didn't separate Acaro's singer from the audience, he jumped up on the barrier leaning over and screamed into the mike with members of the audience, foreheads pressed together. Then he jumped over the barrier singing among us as an impromptu mosh pit broke out. Soon he was back up standing on top of the narrow barrier rail and held the first out stretched arm he found to steady his balance - mine! I held my arm steady so he could keep his balance through the rest of the song. That is what I love about metal music, the bands and the fans aren't separated. I met the singer, Chris after the set and he laughed and said "Hey, that's the dude who held me up!" I had a photo taken with him, and learned that they would be performing at Harpers Ferry later in May warming up for Dark Tranquillity. I ran into him again walking back from lunch, and he handed me a bunch of demo CDs. If you hear Acaro is playing near you, definitely check them out. We went upstairs and caught half the set by local pirate metal band Swashbuckle and then went back downstairs and watched a terrific set by Malifice and then we wandered around and grabbed some more food from Pizzaria Uno before heading back to the main stage to see Holy Grail. By 4:15 we were back in the mosh pit as Cattle Decapitation hit the stage with a loud boisterous set. The mellow guys I met at breakfast that morning from Impending Doom became metal madmen as they performed their set at 4:45. A band my son and I were already quite familiar with from their performance with Children of Bodom last year came out next, SkeletonWitch. I had downloaded their three album discography since seeing that show, and they didn't disappoint. Fans were disappointed to miss 1349, a black metal band from Norway. They were not able to perform due to the Icelandic volcano. We went upstairs to the second stage and caught the set by Municipal Waste. Although I stayed near the back this time, my son and his friend pushed their way towards the pit for the final second stage show of the night. I was quite excited to see a band I had recently discovered, folk metal band Eluveitie from Switzerland. They went on main stage at 7:00 with quite the line up, one woman on a hurdy gurdy, another playing violin, a man on flute as well as the more traditional guitars, bass, and drums. The band alternated between hard melodic death metal sounds and aggressive celtic folk metal including an awesome final couple songs with the lead singer playing the mandolin. Judging by the speed of the mosh pit, Worcester metal fans loved this folk metal band from Switzerland! Ear Plugs! My son asked me to get him a pair of ear plugs, so I did. I thought he was going to put them in, but he said that they were for after the show, because I had woken him up snoring the night before! The balcony opened up after the second stage was done for the day, and we were able to sit for a couple sets as White Chapel and Job for a Cowboy performed. Between sets, my son and I went to the bar to get a couple colas and my son noted a man in very long dreadlocks and turned to me and said, Isn't that the singer from Shadows Fall? Sure enough, it was Brian Fair, the lead singer for Massachusetts metal band Shadows Fall there to simply enjoy the metal festival. We chatted with him for a bit and I had my photo taken with him. He seemed happy to talk with fans, and were glad we loved our local metal bands. Viking Metal! - Amon Amarth Hits the Stage! As big a fan as I am of Swedish viking metal band as I am, I have to say that we sat down for their awe inspiring set. Three days of standing, moshing, shouting, holding crowd surfers, and generally enjoying the hell out of metal fest had left us fairly tired and we needed a break. Nonetheless, this amazing band did an incredible set of Norse mythology inspired songs with all the power and might you would expect of a group of Swedes singing of Vikings and Norse gods! It's 11:30 on Saturday, it must be time for Cannibal Corpse! The Norse gods must have inspired us, because we managed to make our way back down to the edge of the pit by the time Cannibal Corpse came on stage as the final act of the 12th annual metal festival. The Palladium was packed and although you could see that three solid days of hardcore and metal music had taken its toll on its fans, we managed one last burst of energy to see the original New York based brutal death metal band, Cannibal Corpse. We had seen them before as one of the main bands for last years Hatebreed show and knew what to expect. Sure enough, soon the chain saw like guitars roared into action as George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher growled out the Gore/horror inspired lyrics of their songs. If you have ever seen the hilarious show Metalocalypse, you already know what George looks like. Dethklok's lead singer Nathan Explosion is the animated version of Fisher. He in fact was the inspiration for Brendan Small and Tony Blacha in creating that character. Nathan also sounds like George with a deep power throated growl that is a signature not only of Cannibal Corpse but death metal in general. We watched the set from just beyond the event horizon of the mosh pit and finally went right to the edge near the stage. For the first time in three days of catching stage divers, holding up lead singers and crowd surfers alike, moshing around, picking up falling moshers, I managed to get knocked flat on my butt when the gravitational force of the pit pulled me in and I collided with a spinning mosher. I was of course quickly pulled to my feet, as is pit etiquette and stayed upright for the last few songs of the show. If you ever get the chance, do not judge Cannibal Corpse by the fact they have been banned in 17 countries, do not judge them by their horrific B-gore splatter fest lyrics, but judge them instead by their live show. You will never see a more energetic pure power example of death metal on stage as Cannibal Corpse. They are a force to behold. All good things must come to an end, and finally after three days of metal, we had to venture out the doors, the 12th annual New England Metal Festival was over. One last photo please, Mr. Corpsegrinder! The surprises were not over yet. As we headed towards the parking lot, I called to my son and his friend to stop as I noted the tall imposing frame of George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher himself chatting with fans outside the Palladium. He was glad to pose for a photo with me, and my son snapped a picture as George and I flashed our "rock on" hand gesture for one last great moment of Metal Fest. We returned to our hotel and slept like the dead, departing for our home town only after a good nights sleep. \m/ Other metal tales from the Worcester Palladium! Ensiferum, with Ex Deo and Blackguard Korpiklaani and Tyr Arch Enemy and Exodus Devil Driver, Behemoth, Suffocation, Thy Will Be Done and more Epica, Blackguard and Threat Signal Atticus Metal Festival with Unearth & more Finnish Metal Festival! Finntroll, Moonsorrow and Swallow the Sun Hypocrisy, Scar Symmetry, Hate, Blackguard and Swashbuckle Fear Factory, Silent Civilian, Prong, Thy Will Be Done and Acaro Dream Theater Transmission Festival Hell and other places Mayhem Festival 2010 - Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God & more OzzFest 2010 - Ozzy, Motley Crue, Rob Halford & more Rush - The Time Machine Tour  |
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