By Jillian Locke, Music Editor

Here we are, the final month of 2008, and I for one am sorry to see it end. This year has been the year of all years, and I can only hope that 2009 offers up as many good times, good people, and good albums to devour! As we all tear our collective hairs out scrambling to get ready for the holidays, here are some sweet shows to give you something to look forward to while you wade through the epic seas of crazed shoppers as the ensuing, inevitable chaos of December rains down upon you!

Gojira opens for In Flames, 12/6, The Palladium

M-E-T-A-L spells relief! The first weekend of the month offers up a ridiculously tantalizing refresher as 36 Crazyfists, All That Remains, and Gojira ignite The Palladium as they open for the always heatedly anticipated In Flames. I got a chance to catch up with vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier of Bayonne, FR’s progressive doom warriors, Gojira, after they finished up their set in Cleveland, OH. Gojira could not be happier to be touring, especially with the legendary In Flames. “We really get into In Flames, and we’re part of a very interesting bill,” Duplantier explains. “There’s a lot of contrast with the bands on the bill, and the crowds have been very excited, from the beginning to the end.” Gojira is currently touring in promotion of their 2008 Prosthetic release, The Way of All Flesh. “This album is a new page we’re turning; each album is a picture of where we are at a certain period of time,” says Duplantier. “We toured so much last year, it just left us in a really tired and weird place, and that’s where we wrote from. This album is tough, cold, and straight to the point, but still full of faith and hope.” 10 years and still going strong, Gojira is only beginning to make themselves known and become what they were destined to be ~ a staple in the wide realm of metal. www.myspace.com/gojira

The Acacia Strain – DVD video shoot, 12/28, at The Palladium!

When I think of this next band, this band I hold so near and dear to my little black heart, this is what comes to mind, in true free-writing form: cranium collapsing guttural bloody gurgling anger hatred spitting f*ck the world leave me alone bash your face in. Yep, that is exactly the imagery that floods the brain piece when exposed to the downward-spiraling awe and brute force that is Worcester, MA’s The Acacia Strain. While focusing on the degradation and annihilation of humanity, their 2008 Prosthetic release Continent simultaneously breathes new life and fierce energy into the metal combine. “We wrote The Dead Walk in a sporadic time period while we were touring,” vocalist Vincent Bennett explains. “With Continent, we took our time and wrote it over four months, then recorded it at Planet-Z studios in Hadley, MA.” The album’s theme of the complete destruction of mankind oozes through the imagery and closed-fist blasting power of Bennett’s lyrics. “It’s about what’s wrong with the world. I had gone through some things in my personal life that made me realize I didn’t need human contact…the album is about trying to be alone, and the only way to do that is to destroy every human being on earth. It’s my solution to never getting alone time,” laughs Bennett.

The bludgeoning efforts of TAS will culminate on Saturday, December 28th, as they invite fans to participate in the filming of their new DVD. Tickets are $10, but for fans who want in on the action, a $50 Golden Ticket is being offered, bringing with it all the evil goodies a hungry TAS fan could ever want: a stocking packed with a limited edition T-shirt and poster, candy, coal, a meet and greet with the band, AND a 10 second cameo on the DVD, during which time fans can say whatever they want about their beloved Worcester boys. After the meet and greet, TAS will be joined by a few good friends including Thy Will Be Done, Shipwreck, The Red Chord, Whitechapel, and Cruel Hand to spread the vicious holiday cheer with a 90 minute set featuring Continent in its entirety, after which they’ll take a 15 minute break, then come back to deliver assorted tracks from 3750 and The Dead Walk. Check out www.massconcerts.com for ticket info, as well as www.myspace.com/theacaciastrain ~ and in the meantime, check out this clip of Bennett as he offers up a plethora of people you can give Continent to! THUMBS UP!!!
vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=41025454

HALOBURN

This past September, local hard-hitters Haloburn announced the addition of their new lead guitarist, Vlad. After having been connected through a mutual friend, Vlad jumped on board back in April. “I spent the summer playing and getting to know the material.” Originally from the Ukraine, Vlad relocated to Chicago when he was nine. With a concert pianist for a father and a musicologist for a mother, Vlad’s musical inclination grew naturally. He picked up guitar and was part of a few metal bands throughout high school.

Vlad moved to Boston four years ago and attended Berklee College of Music for music business and management. “I wanted to start playing out again, and my friend Markus, who is a mutual friend of Haloburn and I, asked me if I knew a guitarist looking for a band,” Vlad says. “Things just clicked from there.” With influences ranging from Van Halen, Angus Young, Black Sabbath, Nile and Obituary to more traditional Russian music like 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Vlad’s layered musical background makes him a unique and qualified fit for the band. “It’s been Haloburn bootcamp! I’m only 22! But seriously, they’re a great bunch of guys. We have a lot of fun,” Vlad laughs.

Last month marked both Vlad’s break-out performance with Haloburn and the band’s re-emergence after a year away from the stage as they co-headlined a CD release party with fellow Boston rockers Debris on November 7th at the Middle East. They’ve already started writing new material, and seem to be steadily moving head-on into the new year. Best of luck, boys!

www.myspace.com/haloburn, www.haloburn.com

JAGERMEISETER TOUR ~ TRAPT, PROSPECT HILL, REV THEORY, HINDER

Trapt caught The Palladium in the midst of this year’s Jagermeister Tour, featuring Haverhill’s own metal tribe Prospect Hill, plus Rev Theory and headliners Hinder, on November 14th, and I got to catch up with bassist Peter Charell and drummer Aaron “Monty” Montgomery a little before the show to see how the tour was going. “The tour is going well. Reno was great, and Baltimore was good too,” says Montgomery.

Trapt released Only Through the Pain through Eleven Seven Records on August 5th of this year, and feel that the album has been received well. “It’s the most eclectic album we’ve done,” Montgomery shares. “We were trying to have a certain sound that was our own ~ this time we didn’t throw anything out,” says Charell. “Yeah, there was a real conscious effort to try everything,” Montgomery concurs. Trapt will continue to take this album to eager fans after the Jagermeister Tour ends on the 22nd of this month, as plans are in the works for their own headlining tour around March of next year. Check out www.onlythroughthepain.com and www.myspace.com/trapt for updates.

TURISAS, POWERGLOVE, DRAGONFORCE

Currently ravaging the U.S. with supporters Turisas and Powerglove, Dragonforce the epic, fantasy-themed shredding machine, brought the heat to The Palladium on November 29th. I got to catch up with lead/rhythm guitarist Herman Li after he returned from an unexpected photo shoot to check in about the tour, their 2008 Roadrunner release, and who is currently suffering from carpel tunnel.

Me: How’s the tour going?
Li: The tour is doing well in spite of the economic crisis. It’s the worst time to tour, and it’s good to know we’re not really suffering. We’ve always done good here. We started the tour in England though – we’ve been through the four seasons: England, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii.

Me: Ultra Beatdown was released this year, and one of the major differences between that album and Inhuman Rampage is the bpms. Inhuman Rampage boasts a steady 200bpm, whereas the tempo is more varied on Ultra Beatdown. Why the change-up?
Li: We have to diversify within our sound by changing the interaction between the instruments. On Ultra Beatdown, we mix up the tempo, but the songs still aren’t slow. Some of the songs are slower, and we actually had to speed up the solos because the tempo got slower. We have the same amount of bars to play, so we take the solos a step further.

Me: How do you feel about being labeled Nintendo Metal?
Li: I think it would be wrong to say we’re Nintendo Metal. Like, we listen to 20 different styles of music, and video game music is just one of them. Our sound is uncommon amongst other bands, like there’s no band that’s really huge that plays this type of music. I’d call us “21st Century Metal.”

Me: I noticed that on your videos for both “Through the Fire and Flames” and “Operation Ground and Pound” you and guitarist Sam Totman both have pop-up boxes with close-ups of your hands as you’re soloing. You didn’t take that approach in your newest video, “Heroes of Our Time.” Why is that?
Li: We purposely didn’t do it again because we already had twice. I actually watch a lot of instructional guitar videos, like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Satriani, and they have close-ups on their hands as they’re playing, so that’s where that came from.

Me: Speaking of videos, didn’t you just shoot your first U.S. video this month?
Li: Yeah, we did actually. We just shot the video for “The Long Journey Home” in L.A. We had to do some acting whereas we’ve never really had to before. It was shocking!

Me: When will it be released?
Li: In about a month.

Me: What are your plans for after this tour?
Li: After this tour finishes on the 21st, we’re going over to Europe with Turisas and hopefully All That Remains for the Japan dates.

Me: Awesome. Oh! I was wondering…does any of you have carpel tunnel? It seems a distinct possibility, considering the intensity and speed of your music.
Li: Actually, Sam has it really bad. He’s gotta do warm-ups before every show. He got it from playing too many video games.

Me: Really? Not from playing guitar?
Li: No, it’s not so much the speed I don’t think. He would just sit down and play hours of video games, and that’s what really did it.

Me: How do you not have it?
Li: I do Jujutsu before the shows. I go onstage, and my whole body is relaxed.

Prepare your senses for a pummeling and check out all that is Dragonforce at www.myspace.com/dragonforce.

ALL THAT REMAINS CANCELLATION

All that Remains has had to cancel the remaining dates of their tour with 36 Crazyfists, Gojira, and In Flames, which is set to hit the Palladium this Saturday, December 6th.

Now go forth! Eat, drink, and be merry! And as always, check here next month for more interviews, shows and updates!

Photos: Gojira & The Acacia Strain – DVD video shoot, Haloburn, TRAPT (photo courtesy Mary Ouellette), and Dragonforce (photo courtesy Mary Ouellette)