The New England Hardcore and Metal Fest kicked off with a bang on Friday night and never gave up. Three days of metal mayhem and fans who took every advantage of the chaos these bands were putting forth.
The Worcester Palladium is not a huge venue, to execute and event like this requires some tremendous organization. The loading/offloading of the band alone could be cause for riot but somehow they have made this look effortless. I have no idea how they do it in such cramped quarters.
When you get bands like All That Remains and Black Dahlia Murder to headline your first two nights there really is no way to top that. The line up this year was stellar and the fans soaked it in and in the incredibly hot and dark venue could have lit up the entire city with the energy that was being released.
There was your typical freak show mosh pit antics but once again the amazing staff of the Palladium let the action happen but kept it in tight control. I don't think anyone will report that the security staff were anything but fantastic. This venue has such and outstanding front line, proof again of a well run hall.
The air circulation was a bit rough but you have to figure doors were at 1pm each day- we're talking nearly12 hours of in your face metal day after day. No one is going to want to clean that place up- and well, most likely no one will. There were injuries but there should be, this is metal- it gets ugly.
What stunned me more than the precision of this event is the crowd itself. Worcesters hardcore scene is vicious but this was a brotherhood that I had not seen before. Could be that they were on best behaviour so they wouldn't miss their faves but regardless there was a lot less smack talk going on. The scarce female population could be another factor, no need to impress the ladies so that could have added ot the vibe.
Sunday night brought out the heavy hitters and my reason to be there Chelsea Grin. I had heard so much about them that I just had to get to see them. A freak New England rain storm didn't slow me down once I realized their set time. I'm glad i made it and I will dub them the best of show. Yeah, that good.
I am very proud we were part of this event and hope to come again next time. Metal lives and it belongs to the kids