New England Metal And Hardcore Festival Day 2

The 9th annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival is now in the books. Saturday was Metal Blade day as the label celebrated its 25th anniversary. The whole thing wrapped up with an "all star jam" with members of Unearth, As I Lay Dying, The Red Chord, Armored Saint and others. The most interesting performance of the day was Lizzy Borden. They brought out all their theatrics, with costume changes and multiple masks worn by Lizzy. After introducing the band, Mistress Juliya was later brought out on stage and "killed" by Lizzy and dragged offstage by a crew member. After the band's set a well-endowed stripper threw out free admission cards to what I assume was her strip club. It was a bizarre ending to an unusual and entertaining performance, and it was interesting to see the looks on the kids in the front of the crowd who weren't even born when Lizzy Borden was in their heyday.

The highlight for me on Saturday was my interview with Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster. He was a very nice guy, and the interview went really well. He had some interesting things to say, and look for the interview to be posted on this site in the near future. As far as the bands go, performances I enjoyed on Saturday included God Dethroned, Job For A Cowboy, Hallows Eve, and the aforementioned Lizzy Borden and Cannibal Corpse.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. The music was excellent, I was able to do several interviews, and I made some new friends and met several others in person that I previously only knew via email. There were a few disappointments as well, such as Cellador and Dark Tranquillity cancelling, but there were many more positives than negatives. Saturday night when I was standing in the photo pit in front of the stage, I turned around to face the audience and saw a packed theater and frenzied fans having a great time and it reinforced my belief that the state of heavy metal is really strong right now.