thePULSEBy Jillian Locke
On the second day of the 13th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at The Palladium in Worcester, hardcore reigned supreme. Upstairs, the second stage experienced a surge of supremely excited fans eagerly anticipating the afternoon line-up; that energy permeated the fest and grew more intense throughout the day as many awaited the return of some of the night’s most notorious headlining acts, but let’s recap the bands that OWNED the second stage first, shall we?
Death Ray Vision, the super-group brainchild of Brian Fair (Overcast, Shadows Fall), Mike D’Antonio (Overcast, Killswitch Engage) and Colin Conway (Cannae/Frozen) killed their 3pm slot with the punk-driven, metal-infused, thrashtastic sound that certainly garnered more fans since Friday’s performance.
The Carrier, in typical fashion, crushed their set, sending fans flying, swinging, jumping and stage-diving through the intense, fiery, flames-shooting-from-his-eyes performance of vocalist Anthony Traniello. These dudes never disappoint, and this performance packed the same ferocity that has already made The Carrier a household name in local hardcore.
Next up, veterans Shai Hulud took the stage. Since the band’s inception in 1995, Matt Fox, then 23, has crafted the sound and driving force with which Shai Hulud has carved out their niche. Fox is most certainly the veteran of the band, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he moves on stage amidst the current, very young line-up. “Since we don’t make that much money as a band, it’s hard to retain members. There have been a lot of line-up changes.” But the core of Shai Hulud ~ the passion that Matt Fox started the band with and still injects it with, through every album and every performance, still perseveres; and even though it takes roughly five years for a new album to surface, when it does, we know it’s quality. “Shai Hulud has their own pace ~ we want to make sure that what we record, we back 100%. I’m quite confident that everything we’ve released is a quality album for our band,” says Fox. “We don’t make a living off this band ~ we’re all broke. The trade off is to have little money and know we made a very good f**king record. At the end of my life, at least I’ll know I did what I did for the right reasons.” And those right reasons brought Fox to NEMHF, once again, to belt out some righteous riffs and see the band EVERYONE came out to see, Blood for Blood. “I’m really excited to see Blood for Blood. I love ‘Outlaw Anthems’ ~ it’s intense. It’s really something to see these tough, no nonsense guys writing a f**king emotional whirlwind of an album.”
Fox might as well have been describing these bands as well ~ Lionheart, Trapped Under Ice, and the almighty Terror shut down the first half of the day, sending the crowd into a frenzy of pile-ups, stage-rushes, the hugest sing-alongs you’ll ever see. Next, the herd of fans rushed downstairs to see what was undoubtedly the highlight of the day ~ BLOOD FOR BLOOD. Seriously, BLOOD FOR BLOOD. I think people who haven’t been to a show in years came out to support this Boston legend, and no one left The Palladium disappointed. I’m not going to lie and say I know the set list, but from the reactions of the crowd, fans heard what they expected to hear and saw what they expected to see; BfB filled the void that years without a live performance left in the hard little hearts of their starving fans.
And finally, the next most anticipated return of the night, BIOHAZARD, closed out the day of joyfully excruciating hardcore with their unique mix of brutal-skull-smashing hardcore/metal (NOT metalcore ~ a very important distinction), leaving the show-goers sweaty, bruised and exhausted, with just enough energy left to forge on to the final day of the fest.
The Final Day
Saturday, April 16th, was a gray, raw day in Worcester. The line outside The Palladium started to form around 10am, and kids shivered in their t-shirts awaiting entrance to the last day of NEMHF. Whereas hardcore ruled Friday’s roster, today, metal took precedence.
Before I showcase all the awesome musicians I was lucky enough to speak to Saturday, I have to point out one band, and please try to look past the name. Hung, who took the second stage at 12:30pm, really, really blew me away. A progressive melodic death metal band from NYC, Hung features an electric violinist that practically serves as a second guitarist. Their sound, energy and emotion took everyone by surprise, and I highly recommend checking them out.
Moving on, the first band I got to catch up with was Lazarus A.D., a WI-based, straight-up heavy metal outfit that SHOOK the second stage as they showcased their 2011 release Black River Flows. Having just returned from Europe and prepping for an excursion with The Cavalera Conspiracy in a few days, bassist Jeff Paulick and crew certainly love the comparisons to Metallica, Testament and Pantera they’re receiving, but definitely hope to carve out their own niche within the heavy metal scene. “I hope, as we continue, we’re thought of as our own. I think that’s the ultimate goal, for everyone,” says Paulick. For the rest of 2011, the crew will turn their attention to more worldly locations, like South America and Japan. As for whom Lazarus A.D. was most excited to see, hands down, Times of Grace got all their votes.
A Life Once Lost made their triumphant return to the fest, marking their first appearance since I’d them for the first time in 2006. The past five years have been a rocky road for the PA wrecking crew, but guitarist Doug Sabolick assured me that a new album will be ready this fall…FINALLY! “We spent a year negotiating with one label, and then they pulled out,” Sabolick explains. “Now we’re on Season of Mist, and after Metal Fest, we’re going to finish the album and put it out this fall.” Having only played 20 shows in the past year, ALOL is eager to get back on stage. “We’re getting the ball rolling. Today is really all about showing people what to expect from the new album.” If their performance is any indication of what is to come from ALOL, then I for one cannot wait until fall; the brutality has intensified, the mood has darkened, and all the frustration and drawbacks they’ve dealt with over the past year or so have been eloquently streamlined into some of the most murderous, pummeling riffage ALOL has ever produced. Bravo.
Switching gears, The Contortionist took the main stage early in the day, and the huge crowd they played to was certainly a testament to the name these five young gentlemen from IN have already made for themselves. “It couldn’t have been better ~ it was an awesome crowd,” says vocalist Jonathan Carpenter of their debut performance at NEMHF. Guitarist Robby Baca had similar sentiments: “This is the first time in a long time that I’ve had stage fright. I’ve never played in front of that many people before.” Promoting their hugely-received 2010 release Exoplanet, these master tech/sci-fi/gamer aficionados are just beginning their journey towards becoming progressive, scientific metal masters, and they were extremely excited to see their progressive heroes Saturday night. “We can’t wait to see Between the Buried and Me again. We’ve seen them tons of times!” Maybe The Contortionist will be touring with BTBAM when they come around again…we can only hope to see these fine young gentlemen in our neck of the woods so soon.
And last, but by no means least, the one and only Jesse Leach was able to chat for a few minutes during Dying Fetus’s sound check. “We sing posi songs about overcoming and staying positive, and we’re going on in the middle of a bunch of death metal bands,” Leech laughs. Since Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leech once again joined forces to release The Hymn of a Broken Man, Times of Grace has blown up overnight, and so far the response has been astounding. “When we sing in front of a crowd of people and they know every lyric, it’s kind of mind blowing,” says Leech. “I have so much gratitude to anyone who’s ever supported me ~ I wouldn’t be able to do this without all of you. The past 10 years have been a rocky road, but so far, so good.”
Another year, another blown eardrum…the 13th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival has come and gone, and the countdown for next year is ON! See you in the pit!
