Spring is here and so is the 17th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. With so many bands on the bill this year, here are five you definitely can't miss…
Exodus
Exodus reign as some of the pioneers for the Bay Area Thrash Metal scene. The band’s latest album; Blood In, Blood Out brought back some familiarity with vocalist Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza returning since 2004’s “Tempo of the Damned” release. If you’re new to Exodus, you may recognize guitarist Gary Holt as he’s been playing with this band called Slayer. Maybe you’ve heard of them. If you haven’t checked these guys out, do it and thank us later. If you have, we don’t have to tell you twice.
Death Angel
Taking the second spot are gentlemen who also hail from the Bay Area. Death Angel formed in the early eighties and helped form the thrash metal scene in the Bay Area along-side bands Testament and Exodus. Despite multiple line-up changes over the years and a break up, they officially reunited in 2001 and have maintained their status by releasing albums that just keep getting heavier. With their spring tour about to kick off, and a new album in the works I think this band is one that’s on everyone’s can’t miss list.
Nuclear Assault
Three thrash bands in a row? Maybe it’s a bit overkill but what can we say other than people love thrash metal and these guys deserve the third spot. Unlike the previous two, these guys were born on the East Coast and bring something different to the stage due to their
progressive take on thrash metal. They use odd time signatures with melodic vocals that still stand out and hit you in the face. Hard. It’s loud. It’s aggressive. It’s NYC thrash. One last reason to catch them: Their performance Saturday is being billed as the final one for New England. Don’t miss it.
Thy Will Be Done
Straight out of Providence, Rhode Island these guys are veterans of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival scene with 2015 marking their 5th time playing. Projecting old school style riffs with a modern sensibility they deliver some of the heaviest, face melting, hard hitting, can’t miss sets you’ll see all weekend. With a highly anticipated new album due out this year, this band is a definite must see.
The Agonist
From Montreal, Canada and now fronted by Vicky Psarakis, The Agonist is on tour in support of their new record “Eye Of Providence”. With the album receiving mixed, but mostly positive reviews across the board it’s clear the band has taken their sound in a new direction. These days, you can expect a lot more clean vocals and melodic riffs. That being said, their fan base remains dedicated and they never fail to draw a crowd. It remains to be seen if there will be any older songs played during their set – but be sure to catch their set Saturday and find out.
Other notable bands to see are The Red Chord, Between The Buried and Me, Testament, Cavalera Conspiracy, Incantation, Code Orange and Nails.
Catch our 5 Must See bands and many more at this year’s New England Metal and Hardcore Festival taking place at the Palladium in
Worcester, MA the 17th-19th this month. You can purchase tickets for the whole weekend or individual days at metalandhardcorefestival.com. VIP upgrades are available as well.
You can also purchase tickets at the Palladium box office, FYE stores, and at ticketfly.com!
