By Jillian Locke

Another April has passed, and with it, another crushing New England Metal and Hardcore Festival – the 12th, to be exact. Sticking to the recently adopted schedule of a pre-party on Thursday night followed by two full days on Friday and Saturday, the yearly fest once again went off with an ear-piercing bang, delivering a brutal onslaught of the best metal and hardcore acts the industry has to offer.

Atticus Clothing hosted MyChildren MyBride, Thy Will Be Done, Within the Ruins, Armor for the Broken, and Kobra Kai on Thursday night. Friday started off in true fest fashion with the Monsters opening the second stage at noon and Howl opening the main stage at 3:10pm. Between the Buried and Me took the stage around 8:30pm and gave the crowd exactly what they’re known for ~ explosion after groove after swoon after eruption, followed by a smooth jazz jam. The dudes just continue to do it unlike any other, expanding upon their highly stylized, unique style, regaling the crowd with tracks from Alaska, Colors, and the new album, The Great Misdirect.

The mighty psychedelic woodsmen from the south, Mastodon, closed off the second day of metalfest with a surprising game plan ~ they filled the first 80% of the performance with Crack the Skye in its entirety, which was backed by old black and white occult videos playing on an LCD screen on the backdrop. The performance was stellar even though the sound took some tweaking to balance out; Mastodon rose above the technical difficulties and gave the bang-up performance everyone was hungry to see.

The fest was officially in full swing on Saturday, undoubtedly packing in the highest attendance. Saturday was also Metalblade Records day, and I was able to procure four interviews with such MBR all-stars as Britain’s Malefice, Sweden’s Viking heroes, Amon Amarth, Florida’s death metal darlings, Cannibal Corpse, and San Diego’s favorite vegan animal defenders, Cattle Decapitation.

Malefice’s virgin U.S. of A. cherry was officially popped last weekend, and they couldn’t have been more excited. But how did they combat that damned volcano’s ash cloud and find their way across the pond? “By plane,” vocalist Dale Butler explains. NHMHF is a pretty stellar first gig overseas, and Malefice is very aware of this amazing opportunity. “We’re very grateful for what we do. We don’t take things for granted.” Not only were they aware of it, but they totally worked it. “I’ll be completely honest ~ we’ve been whoring ourselves the past couple of days,” Butler confesses. “We’ve been down here hanging out with kids. That’s kind of what we like to do, and we thought it was even more important to do that because, OK, we’re on Metalblade, but that doesn’t mean shit in the US…half the bands on this stage are Metalblade. So we were like, ‘We’re gonna have to come down and just hang with some people.’”

Their strategy worked swimmingly, as they entertained a sizeable crowd for 1:30pm. The kids were stoked, Malefice was in their prime, and apparently, magicians of the circle pit. “We’ve toured through Europe with DevilDriver and Behemoth, and those shows saw some sick circle pits,” Butler described. And how does one engineer such a pit? “Put me in front of an audience. The sun hits me in such a way that my muscles glisten and I command the room. The kids are sh*tting their pants.”

Delivering a sense of punch-hard groove comparable to the likes of Lamb of God and Pantera, Malefice splices that power groove with some Euro-metal licks that make for an unshakable, unfaltering combination. The Brits most certainly made an impact on the crowd, shaking up the main stage super early in the day, and leaving a lasting impression that has already undoubtedly added to their following.

As for lasting impressions, Butler and guitarist Ben Symons certainly left a lasting impression with this comment regarding one the of the biggest alternative boy bands on the circuit today (in their defense, we were talking about how you can respect a band, but not necessarily like them): “They write some really catchy sh*t!,” Butler concedes. “I guarantee you, everyone here has a couple of Fall Out Boy songs on their iPod. What can I say ~ I don’t necessarily like them, but I can f*ckin appreciate them!” Upon returning to their homeland, Malefice will proceed to have a few pints, listen to some Fall Out Boy, and write an extraordinary follow-up to their brutally driving 2009 release, Dawn of Reprisal.

My next interview found me on the tour bus of renowned Swedish Vikings Amon Amarth. These burley Swedes have made more than a name for themselves, they’ve become THE staple Viking metal band; heavy, gritty metal coupled with an unrelenting melody makes their sound both accessible and a devious force to be reckoned with. And that’s just the way they like it. “We like heavy metal with the melody ~ that’s the kind of stuff we like to do,” confirms guitarist Johan Soderberg. “I saw Iron Maiden on the Power Slave tour in Stockholm in ’84 or ’85. I was about 12 years old.” With the seeds for metal greatness planted young, Soderberg provides serious energy to the Viking metal monster. “We’ve been on a headlining tour for about three weeks with Holy Grail and Eluveitie, and it’s been awesome. It’s been very loud every night!” And this night was no different ~ other then BTBAM and Mastodon, Amon Amarth was the absolute highlight of the weekend. Their energy and presence is an otherworldly experience, and they held the crowd in the palm of their Odin-worshipping hands. The only things missing were the ‘uge Viking stage-ship and simulated battles, which are saved for their European festivals. Amon Amarth owned Saturday night, hands down.

Cannibal Corpse, who closed Saturday night to a room still full of hungry death-metal fans, made yet another stellar appearance on the fest. Guitarists Rob Barrett and Pat O’Brien are more than seasoned veterans ~ they’re part of the greatest death metal conglomerate in the scene today. The Palladium is a second home to them, and they always welcome the chance to come play for the rabid Worcester crowds. Currently on tour with 1349, Skeletonwitch, and Lecherous Nocturne, the Corpse is once again sweeping through the states, leaving smashed brains and blown-out faces in their path. In most recent news, their newest video off 2009’s Evisceration Plague, “Priests of Sodom,” was released back in March, during the same week as the Milwaukee priest molestation scandal. “We’re still getting a great response,” says Barrett. “Everyone loves the video, but yeah, the timing was definitely kind of crazy.” After mutilating the crowd on the last night of Metalfest, the boys are moving on with their tour and looking towards new material.

Closing out the interviews for the day were the squealing, spitting, vegan grindcore boys from San Diego, Cattle Decapitation. They looked a little spent, but who wouldn’t be? They just belted out a tight, loud, violent set during peak fest time, between 4:15-4:35.

“This show went of surprisingly smooth, considering it’s a fest. There are so many things that can go wrong when you’re playing a fest, but this one was pretty smooth,” says drummer Dave McGraw. With the fest under their belts and a tour to continue, the CD boys are rallying their strength for more shows, more writing, and of course, more recording. Vocalist Travis Ryan has an unusual request regarding the way he he’d like his vocals to come out: “I want my vocals to be like Britney Spears or Lady Gaga. They have such quality, punchy vocals. But that recording quality is so expensive.” As for anticipated albums, guitarist Josh Elmore is pumped for another fest’s band’s newest release. “I’m really stoked on the new Nachtmystium to come out.” And according to other industry officials, Nachtmystium is the next band to watch out for, along with White Chapel, and of course, Malefice.

The entire weekend was packed with a phenomenal line-up, including:

Friday, Second Stage:
Monsters, XTheWarX, Grave Maker, Forfeit, Donnybrook!, Burning Empires, Thick As Blood, C.O.A., Mongoloids, Death Threat, Earth Crisis, Cro Mags

Friday, Main Stage:
Howl, Architect UK, After the Burial, Nachtmystium, Doomriders, Fall of Troy, Valiant Thor, Baroness, Between the Buried and Me, Mastodon

Saturday, Second Stage
Across the Sun, Swashbuckle, Rose Funeral, Arsonists Get All The Girls, XTyrantX, Gaza, Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, Alpha Omega, Soul Control, Reign Supreme, Cruel Hand, Disembodied, Municipal Waste

Saturday, Main Stage:
Acaro, Lecherous Nocturne, Malefice, Periphery, Chelsea Grin, ABACABB, TTEOTD, Holy Grail, Cattle Decapitation, Impending Doom, Skeleton Witch, 1349, Eluveitie, White Chapel, Job for a Cowboy, Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse

And this concludes the 12th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, the one weekend every year when Worcester is brought to its knees by the metal circus that provides us fans with the fodder and inspiration we need to make it to next years festivities. Until then, ROCK!

www.myspace.com/malefice
www.myspace.com/amonamarth
www.myspace.com/cannibalcorpse
www.myspace.com/cattledecaptiation