By Jillian Locke
I know there’s more music out there than just metal and hard rock, but they’re just too damn good not to write about! Plus, I get to use fun words like “juggernaut” and “pummeling” and “death, doom and destruction!” That being said, here are some updates on some local boys, some not so local boys, and the common bond that ties them all together ~ an unflinching mission and dedication to rock!!!

The Funeral Pyre is raising eyebrows and horns with anticipation of their forthcoming May 27th Prosthetic Records effort, Wounds. Check out the first single, “Black Earth,” on www.myspace.com/thefuneralpyre. Loosen up those neck muscles and get ready to jostle that brain around as the swift and satisfactory thrashings of The Funeral Pyre invade your dark, metal soul.

Worcester boys The Acacia Strain are still hard at work pounding the pavement (well, actually touring the pavement) to promote the follow up to their 2006 Prosthetic Records release, The Dead Walk, entitled Continent. Joining forces with Zeuss at Planet Z studio, whose resume boasts the likes of Municipal Waste and Hatebreed, Continent is slated to be released sometime this year. They’ve also again enlisted the talents of artist Paul Romano for the album’s artwork ~ he has not only worked on The Dead Walk, but also has ties with Mastodon and The Red Chord. In the meantime, catch a preview of the new material at the 10th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival April 26th at the Palladium. www.myspace.com/theacaciastrain

The Orpheum Theatre in Boston will provide the background for a truly monumental prog-rock performance May 20th as 3, Between the Buried and Me, and Opeth open up for the kings of prog-rock themselves, Dreamtheater. Joey Eppard, vocalist/guitarist of 3, had this to say: “We’re so excited. This is the biggest tour we’ve ever done. It’s a real honor.” No doubt that 3 will really fulfill their spot on the tour, as they’re being granted the opportunity to play with the founding fathers of their genre. “With music, I take progressive at face value. If music is progressive, then it’s taking things a step further. That’s all we ever try to do. It doesn’t mean more parts, but there’s more layers in the songs, which is just as potent. There’s quality and depth ~ it takes the listener on a journey.” The band has re-released their 2007 Metal Blade album The End is Begun with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play.” It’s a must-have for anyone interested in the next generation of progressive metal. www.myspace.com/3

Speaking of The Red Chord, I am monumentally pissed I missed the March 30th show at the Palladium, as they thrashed alongside Baroness, Converge, and Genghis Tron. A tighter line-up I have not seen for a long, long while, and somehow I managed to miss it. How do I keep missing Genghis Tron??? I also missed Marc Rizzo of Soulfly play Haverhill, MA with his band at Welfare Records (www.myspace.com/welfarerecords) March 30th. Two amazing shows blew through the greater Central MA area in one night ~ I hope one of you got to see at least one of them!

Check this column out on-line at www.thepulsemag.com for some extras, including interesting insights from Florida’s Between the Trees (not so metal, but worth checking out) and major highlights from NEMHF (very metal, and also worth checking out, which I get to do on both Saturday and Sunday of the three-day festival!). Next month, set your sights on Iron Maiden (!!!) at the Tweeter Center June 20th ~ get your tickets now before they disappear and run to the hills (oh, sometimes you just have to succumb to the cheese…but isn’t that partially what metal is all about?!)!

For fans of the Acacia Strain, behold ~ Connecticut’s Emmure. The French spelling for “immure,” a word that encompasses imprisonment, being encaged, and all the feelings that would inspire such brutal, soul-crushing doom from hell (www.myspace.com/emmure and www.emmure.com). I highly recommend it for readying yourself for the fight of your life, or telling that one m*thaf*cka to burn in hell. The band’s latest effort, The Respect Issue, is a rapture of fury, heartbreak, and the sound of everything you thought you knew crashing to the floor. But like the phoenix, this album inspires even the most broken soul to rise from the ashes to become the biggest, strongest bad-ass that ever walked the earth, telling everyone who has ever disrespected you exactly where they can go, and rising above. “The Respect Issue is our heaviest release to date. We really wanted to make a darker record compared to our previous ones. We feel we succeeded,” attests lead vocalist Frankie Palmeri. “It’s an angry, pissed off record…” The Respect Issue in itself is a hit back at all the hard times we face in our lives. The cover art features TNA World Wrestling Champion Kurt Angle, and Emmure has even contributed a theme song to TNA’s SACRIFICE on Spike TV throughout the month of May. “Victory Records has a great relationship with TNA, and we were 100 percent confident in their approach to getting people excited about the record. So including one of our songs for their weekly program and Pay Per View special is really a big step in our career. It’s s allowing us to reach more people and we’re grateful for that.” Embarking on a U.S. tour this summer, Emmure is looking to be heard and looking to destroy. I hope you caught these dudes on the first day of Metalfest last month at The Palladium!

Check out www.metalhammer.co.uk/gods/ to vote for our favorite New Yorkers ~ Every Time I Die ~ for the Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2008 Best Breakthrough Artist. And let’s not forget the legendary Testament, who have also been nominated for Best New Album for The Formation of Damnation. Joined by Children of Bodom, In Flames, and Disturbed, Testament will be blazing the stage and shredding to the metal gawds. The awards are being held in London on June 16th, so check the link and make your metal voice heard!

Save some gas money for this summer, because a manically metal road trip is at hand. Brace yourself for one of the sickest line-ups in decades: Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Motorhead, and Testament are joining forces for the “Metal Masters Tour,” set to pummel everywhere EXCEPT New England! You can check them out at Susquheanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ on August 6th, Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on August 9th, and Nikon at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NJ on August 10th. All of the bands will be supporting new releases along with the classics we all rock to die for. The legendary mayhem will be worth the cool mint you’ll spend on getting there!

A Locke on Rock Special ~ 10th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival Teaser

I survived the 10th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival this past weekend at The Palladium, and all I have to say is I experienced the voracity and vivaciousness of a born-again Christian, except as a born-again metal head. Seeing Worcester swarm with metal and hardcore kids from the far-reaching points of the nation warmed my heart like a cheesy Hallmark commercial makes moms cry. There’s a reason this epic festival is held in Massachusetts every year ~ because Massachusetts is the heart and soul of metal, and the congregation of loyal followers flock to Worcester every year for a taste of brutality, to reunite with friends from past shows, and to bask in the sheer glory of getting their collective faces torn to shreds for three glorious days of metal and hardcore.

That said, I haven’t come close to catching up on the sleep I lost, and would like to offer up a little appetizer o’ highlights from the festival ~ but no worries, check back in June for a full recount of the whirlwind and bliss of all that is the NEMHF. I’m no spring chicken anymore man ~ so I need some recovery time to recollect and fully recount the monumental performances and happenings of the weekend!

I missed Friday night, which featured In Flames, Children of Bodom, and Megadeth, but I have it on good faith from a dedicated metalhead that these bands rocked The Palladium to its very core, leaving fans hungry for the next two nights!

Saturday saw the likes of Embrace the End (check back next month for a mini-interview), Trap Them, Cockpunch, Soilent Green, On Broken Wings, First Blood, and Municipal Waste (complete with “Boner City”) on the second stage, while Skeletonwitch (check back for antics from hang-out time with Scunty D., Harry, and Mullet Chad), Through the Eyes of the Dead, Kataklysm, Hate Eternal (blast-beat gawds from blast-beat hell!), Worcester’s own almighty Acacia Strain, Behemoth (Bible-ripping fun for the whole family!), Massachusetts boys Shadows Fall, and the mighty messengers of the dark messiah themselves, Dimmu Borgir!

Sunday was hardcore heaven with Recon, Since the Flood, Stick to Your Guns, and Emmure, Full Blown Chaos, and Shai Hulud, spliced with visitors from far away lands representing the Pagan Festival, including the eight-piece Celtic metal troupe from Switzerland, Eluveitie, whose merch was completely sold out by the time they hit Massachusetts! WAAF’s Mike Hsu was presented with the first NEMHF trophy for his efforts with and support of the 10 years-and-running festival, right before the mighty Meshuggah took the stage. Closing the epic weekend was the classic gathering of Ministry, whom I unfortunately missed due to the drive and early work day ahead of me!

So again, check back next month for more deets and the actual feel and essence of the NEMHF ~ this weekend seriously made me feel like Cameron Crowe must have felt when he started his career as a rock journalist! It was absolutely an “Almost Famous” weekend! Until then, keep your palettes thirsty for the guts and glory of this magical metal weekend!

Photos (from top to bottom): The Funeral Pyre, The Acacia Strain, Genghis Tron, Emmure, Behemoth, Megadeth, First Blood, & Meshuggah