Day three put the HARD in New England Metal & Hardcore festival this year. This was the No Sissies Allowed day. Observe.
Opening ceremonies were conducted by Seattle’s TO THE WIND, and they put on a good show, however unremarkable. Nothing bad to say, though I haven’t any accolades to shower upon them. After them, a whole big space of my doing nothing but bothering people and flexing my superb awkward swagger until THE GREENERY, a Long Beach skate crew whose singer has a bone to pick with the concept of stages, because separating yourself from the crowd is not punk.
The Greenery’s new album “It’s Looking Grim” drops in June.
Too fast, too furious, and it’ll make you wanna act a fool. The Greenery play a mix of Thrash, Hardcore, and straight up balls-out Punk that has the speed of CEREBRAL BALLZY, the rousing hardness of “Rotting Out”, and the obsession with boarding that connects the two. I certainly wouldn’t mind catching them again. One fun thing I learned from this set was that I may or may not have found the singer’s MOTORHEAD hat, which apparently went missing and was so painful of a loss that he dedicated a song to it. I invoke finder’s keepers law and am justified in my acquiring of this killer headgear.
I heard a bit of racket being made downstairs by Australia’s BEYOND THE SHORE, and went down to see what was up. Apparently the once passable I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN impersonators have taken a turn for the worse and don’t even bother trying to sound remotely interesting. That and a crowd of 20 people not throwing down to the chugs was enough to make you flaccid. Taking the stage after them were WAKING THE DEAD, a passable Crossover Thrash act, but nothing that made me rethink all of my once held notions of how it should sound.
WAKING THE DEAD is led by MIKE CLARK (ex- ST/NO MERCY)
Heading back upstairs, I intended to see what all the fuss surrounding WARHOUND was about. Seamlessly melding Hip-Hop and Hardcore can be done, and has been done. Just look to bands like CANDIRIA for an example of how to do it tastefully and with a steaze indefatigable. Warhound on the other hand, while not necessarily bad at what they do, take the more thuggish extreme of hip-hop, and not exactly the “Wu-Tang ain’t nuttin’ ta fuck wit” type, either. It’s certainly heavy and has that bounce, but the attitude is more funny than anything, even though you can tell they come from the mean streets of Chi-town and are un-ironic in what they’re talking about. For fans of DEEZ NUTS? (Editor’s note: Deez Nuts has fans?)
Following the hardest ever were TURNSTILE, who are also respectably hard, despite their name being a random object. I guess they like trains. They sure know how to get a crowd going, and even got some glorious pile-on action, which is a sign that the kids dig it. Following that was THICK AS BLOOD. By now you’ve probably realised I spent the majority of my day upstairs. It was more fun there, is all. Florida’s not a happy place. Just look at all the Death Metal bands that have come from there, as well as these hatemongers that got some fools crowdkilling early on. Music is passion, it’s true. I got a fist to the eye just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I gotta say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. That set the tone for a fun set, oddly enough, even if Turnstile had a bigger draw, resulting in an oddly vacant floor in comparison. I got down. Local boys SWORN IN came on next and played a lot of heavy stuff, which makes sense since they have yet to write anything that isn’t. My seeing these guys was a long time coming, and I’m glad I finally got to. In a more packed setting, I imagine it would be far more satisfying, though their heaviness that errs on the side of a djent feel and the eternal wellsprings of anger held by their vocalist is massive enough when there’s room to practice your spinkicks.
I decided against my better instincts to go peek at THE PLOT IN YOU(terus). Generic trash, throw it away. I stand a greater chance of getting a nosebleed drinking a glass of water at home than I do standing in a The Plot In You pit. Luckily Remembering Never, though I’d not previously heard them, obliterated the thoughts of that horrible experience from my mind with their OG Metalcore swag. Having gone on a hiatus some years back, apparently it’s quite exciting that they’re doing things once more, and having seen them in action, I can say for sure that they’re a much needed breath of fresh air in a world where Metalcore means anyone suffering through a break-up. Clean sections sparingly used between punishing breakdowns, circle-pit parts that didn’t sound forced, and of course, the abundance of quotable lines that give the audience cause to shout along with all of their might. It’s inspiring, I say. For fans of Ligeia who are sad that they’re dead and drunk.
Most of the early day on Day 3 was deathy hardcore bands and deathcore bands like I DECLARE WAR.
Speaking of hiatuses (hiatii?) TRAPPED UNDER ICE made the announcement that they would be going on one in August of this year. I, not being a fan, am not taking the news too hard, but their legions of loyal pit warriors made this one count, with mic-rushes galore and rugged pit antics for those truly unafraid to emerged bruised in the name of Hardcore. TUI til they die. I’m sure they’ll be missed, but they’ll be back, and probably to more intense crowds than before. Whether or not they’re Metallica fans is a question we’ll have to wait to see answered definitively at another time.
SICK OF IT ALL sold a special tribute shirt to NEMHCF co-founder Scott Lee.
Thus concludes the upstairs portion of this programme.
After getting a little poster signed by SUICIDAL TENDENCIES (fo’ free, bless their hearts), it was time to witness some endless circles made by our favourite speed metal drunks in D.R.I.
Hey Harold…I’m pretty sure Van Gogh wants his ear back, man.
How much can one really say about D.R.I. that doesn’t just boil down to “Ahh it was fast and people were running around!”? Because that’s basically what it is: an explosion of pure Crossover enjoyment that not even some fool wearing stripes and acting a fool (the wrong way, mind you) can ruin. They didn’t invent the circlepit (I think), nor did they invent the skanking run (or did they?), but since both are so synonymous with them, it was of course what one may expect to be the main flavour on this mosh smorgasbord.
LOU from SICK OF IT ALL….. still undisputed!
New York’s finest in SICK OF IT ALL are the ones that I personally attribute a lot of the modern day tuff guy hardcore to, but by Jove they’re fantastic. Old boy Lou hasn’t aged a day in their 28 years as a band, it’s incredible. Looking and sounding just as fresh as on record, the band delivered prime cuts like “Just Look Around” and “Step Down” like it wasn’t no thang. Sick Of It All was the rallying cry for all of the dads in the building, as the bald and aged among us were out in full force, circling as though this was their final day on Earth, and throwing down harder than some of the kids upstairs. It’s a sight to see, the geezers out to play. Sick Of It All? Nah, I could go for a couple more songs, please. It was all over too soon, but luckily the cycos in Suicidal Tendencies were up next for all of us who have a bone to pick with your polite society.
You still can’t bring them down………
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES are the reason why Punks and Metalheads are on friendly(-ish) terms today, so thank them whenever you see a guy in a SLAYER shirt and a guy in a cut up CIRCLE JERKS shirt in the same pit not punching one another. They and D.R.I. essentially paved the way for Crossover and Metallic Hardcore of all types, so it’s a pretty big deal that they are once again sharing the stage. MIKE MUIR has aged physically, but his voice and attitude towards life have thankfully remained ever fresh and relevant since their self-titled LP released in ’83. Still cyco after all these years, anthems like “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow If I Can’t Even Smile Today?”, “Possessed To Skate”, “I Saw Your Mommy”, “You Can’t Bring Me Down”, and of course, the almighty “Institutionalized” still have the same punch that they did when they were first penned. The new line-up hasn’t changed a thing as far as their energy goes, as they’re just as vital as the group of youngsters that initially formed the band. The mini-speeches Mike made between songs were at once inspirational and wide-eyed and had a touch of the lunacy that attempting to play by everyone else’s rules brings on a free-thinking mind. I don’t exaggerate when I say I could listen to MIKE MUIR spoken word on how to subvert societal norms with the same interest as I would HENRY ROLLINS describe his interactions with strangers. Fuck with life regularly.
It seemed like half the crowd was on stage for the big finish.
In all, New England Metal & Hardcore Festival XV was a massive success. Hundreds, thousands even, from all over the world, including a crew that came all the way from Japan just to see Terror, all united in their love of heavy music. It’s a wonderful thing, and I wish all shows were this grand, if not quite as expensive. But fuck it, I got in for free because I’m cool. Cheers, fuckers.
In the first of a new series of interview segments on Metal Army America, we bring you Conversations From the Crypt! We’ll be doing a series of interviews that are more in-depth and longer than our typical pieces usually are. Last fall we caught up with hardcore punk and metal legend CYKO MIKE MUIR. As the front man of the ground breaking SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, the funky and fun INFECTIOUS GROOVES and other projects like CYKO; he has influenced several generations of the most important bands. All of his projects have new releases in the works for 2012 and beyond, including extensive touring in Europe and their recent appearance at the Orion Music and More Festival in June. We interviewed Mike about the excellent collection he released last fall- CYKO MYKO: The Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour Part I, but we covered a host of other topics too. He gave a lot of perspectives on his career in this wide-ranging chat.
MIKE MUIR performs with ST at the recent Orion Music and More Festival in New Jersey. Image by Evil Robb Photography.
So thanks to a crazy amount of traffic and hotel getting to most of Saturday was missed. When got there in time for most of CAGE THE ELEPHANT on the Fuel stage. Then it was time to head to the Damage Inc. stage for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES! I’ve NEVER seen them before and holy hell, were they good! Everyone in that band is a beast! Especially the rhythm section of drummer Eric Moore (T.R.A.M.) and bassist Tim Williams. Kicking it off with “You Can’t Bring Me Down”, they set off a steam rolling crushing set, playing hit after hit up until it was time for an INFECTIOUS GROOVES mini-set with Robert Trujillo on bass. It made the hassle of getting there well worth it!
Over thirty years in the game and Mike Muir of S.T. and INFECTIOUS GROOVES still rules.
I got to check out KIRKS CRYPT. A little museum of Kirk Hamments’ horror memorabilia collection. From vintage posters to painting and full sized costumes and masks. It made me very jealous! It To top it off, Linda Blair was there as well! I look forward to October for the release of his book, TOO MUCH HORROR BUSINESS about this collection. I caught most of ARCTIC MONKEYS headlining set on the “Fuel” stage, and boy are they very British! Granted they are, but still, they reminded me of BLUR and OASIS mainly. A good chunk of the crowd dug them a lot.
Then it was time for METALLICA on the “Orion” stage….
Whaddya mean no “Orion” at Orion Fest?
Starting with “Hit the Lights” they ran through four more songs as the warm up to playing the entire Ride the Lighting album. After a brief and kick ass intro video, they came out ass backwards! No, really! They started with“The Call of Ktulu” all the way to “Fight Fire with Fire”. I Enjoyed “Fade to Black” and “Escape” the most. They came back with a nice three song encore of “Battery”, “One” and “Seek and Destroy”. To much grief from a lot of people about no “Orion” The song, famously attached to the late CLIFF BURTON, for which this fest is named for. I guessed they’d save it for tomorrow.
Kirk shared his horror collection and then some guitar solos.
Set List:
Hit the Lights
Master of Puppets
The Four Horsemen
Sad But True
Hell and Back
The Call of Ktulu
Creeping Death
Escape
Trapped Under Ice
Fade to Black
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ride the Lightning
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Encore:
Battery
One
Seek and Destroy
DAY TWO:
THY WILL BE DONE tore it up early on day two.
Now due to a lil health issue, I had a short visit to the ER that morning. As a result I missed GHOST, Oh well, would’ve been weird to see them in the daytime anyway. Some bands just work better at night. I was really bummed to miss LANDMINE MARATHON. I’ve wanted to see them for awhile.
Bummed I missed this band. I heard they were awesome.
So when I finally arrived I caught BEST COAST, like with ARCTIC MONKEY’S it was nice to hear something a little different and mellow. I got to see this cool new band called THE TRUJILLO TRIO, on the “Vans Skate Ramp”. Robert Trujillo & Family put on a dirty, crusty, grindy, punk rock show. I hope something gets released soon!
Robert Trujillo was a triple threat this weekend.
It was good intro to the insanity for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER! I ended up pitting my ass off throwing crowd surfers left and right. Haven’t really done that a in awhile, holy cardio workout Batman! It felt great!
Ripper Owens and CHARRED WALLS OF TH DAMNED were amazing!
I had to sprint across to the “Frantic” stage to catch the first show of the year for CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED! Ripper Owens’ and Richard Christy’s unstoppable juggernaut! They were awe-inspiring to watch. Then back to “Damage Inc.” for the headlining set from SEPULTURA! They are in the midst of a tour over in Spain, but flew in just for this. The pit felt like a UFC match and some douche was decked out in gloves and a mouth guard. It was a rough pit. Now musically, this band is amazing! DERRICK GREEN has been in this band long enough that I forgot someone else used to sing for them. New drummer Eloy Casagrande, that kids a monster! He even broke a bass pedal. after that I checked out the sick car show there while AVENGED SEVENFOLD closed the “Fuel” stage. They like fireworks and pyro just at much as METALLICA does.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD likes to blow shit up!
After a cool video intro, METALLICA started of the set with “Hit the Lights” and “Master of Puppets”, like last night, then went to “Fuel”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Shortest Straw” before starting “The Black Album” (Metallica) in reverse. I don’t know what it was, but “The Black Album” just sounded better then Ride. Mind you I haven’t heard this about in over ten years. They just sounded tighter on this material. The encore this time consisted of “Blackend” and “One” and then a James spoke about the festival and dedicated the last song to Cliff, “Seek and Destroy” wait what!? Not “Orion”!? What the hell!? This is bullshit! That’s some of the comments I heard around me. My best guess as to why no “Orion”: maybe it’s kind of a bummer to play it and they didn’t want to end the festival on a downer.
Set List: Hit the Lights Master of Puppets Fuel
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Shortest Straw The Struggle Within My Friend of Misery The God That Failed Of Wolf and Man Nothing Else Matters Through the Never Don’t Tread On Me Wherever I May Roam The Unforgiven Holier Than Thou Sad But True Enter Sandman Encore: Blackened One Seek and Destroy
Day two was more enjoyable than Day One, overall.
All in all, it was a great family festival. It was really good seeing kids there. I’ll most likely bring mine next year. There was enough different musical styles to keep everyone happy and it was worth the long trip to Atlantic City. I want to go back again so lets hope for an Orion fest in 2013!
We caught up with singer Alissa White-Gluz of Montreal metallers THE AGONIST. Alissa is not your typical artist in any way and is starkly candid compared to many in the business. In our interview she revealed her unique perspectives on topics like her bands’ new album, the evolution of the group, the value of a trusted producer and much more.
Prisoners came out this week on Century Media.
MAA: The new album is coming out soon, so what can you tell us about it?
AWG: The album is called Prisoners. It comes out June 5th in North America and June 4th in Europe. It was a pretty lengthy process to record this album so we hare really happy to have it finally done.
MAA: How would you characterize the evolution of the band from the Lullabies for the Dormant Mind album to now?
AWG: It’s hard to say because the album is so new. I still think Lullabies is the best. On Once Only Imagined, Danny was the sole instrumental song writer. On Lullabies.. Simon wrote a little bit because he also plays guitar. On this album we also had Paco writing. So it was Danny, Simon and Paco; though mostly Danny. I have always written all the lyrics and vocals. I think the difference for this album from the last is that our musical influences have diverged. Rather than having a really coherent idea of what we all wanted to do, it was more of a struggle. That is why it took so long. The result is Prisoners.
THE AGONIST in 2012: Forward into battle!
MAA: What does Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) as a co-producer bring to the band that you continue going back to him?
AWG: Oh he’s amazing! It’s convenient since he’s in Montreal and he’s a friend of ours, really understands us and he’s very efficient. For me personally, I love recording vocals with him. I would go with someone else, and I have recorded with other people for guest vocals, this and that. He’s a really patient person. He picks up on things quickly. He’s also a really musical person so its great to have that person who understands what you are trying to do and be able to guide you in the right direction. We did want to go with someone else just to get a different feel, but Christian does such a good job it was enough of a reason to go back with him.
MAA: THE AGONIST is out on the road supporting KITTIE. How is the tour going?
AWG: We are actually on the road right now, rolling on our way to Houston. The tour has been really good.
MAA: What made you want to be a writer and a singer in the first place?
AWG: I can’t actually, really cite anyone. I was just talking to my drummer about this a few minutes ago. I never really sat around as a teenager and admired bands and said I want to be like that or do that. I had friends with bands who needed a singer and I just sort of fell into it. I had done some plays and theater so I was like ‘Okay, whatever. I’ll give it a shot.’ After I joined my first band is when I started listening to metal. I thought “This kind of sounds like what we are doing, so I will try to do this or that.’ Writing wise I just never really studied anyone. Honestly, I just kind of do it. I’ve never planned anything out. If the result is good, that’s really lucky. I definitely didn’t train for it the way that maybe some other people have.
MAA: You are well known for your interests outside of the band like activism, fashion, painting etc. Is it all under one umbrella as “art” to you, or do you need to compartmentalize things to achieve your goals?
AWG: No it really is, that’s a good way to put it, compartmentalize. It’s more than just art, I consider it expression. Whether I’m performing a show, or giving a speech on animal rights, or talking to somebody that needs advice I’m just expressing what I think is good for someone to hear, see and know. It’s not really individual goals, it’s who I am and what I do. I am not cut out for public figure status. I’m not into everyone knowing my name or recognizing me. I like to pass on messages. That’s why I write lyrics the way I do. That’s why I’m active in the causes that I care about.
MAA: Why is Montreal such a fertile place for bands and artists to come from?
AWG: It’s hard to say because I am was born and raised in Montreal and I have never lived anywhere else. Maybe we’re complacent because we have so many good bands. There is always political issues going on. The two languages (English and French) probably add to that. There are so many different races of people. Montreal is so eclectic. You’ll have people that tour in metal bands and then they go home and do Rap, or they do Jazz or they play lounge music. There is really a good amount of talented people. It’s probably the same in other places. From touring I do know that for example, there are definitely certain cultures tied to certain cities. Like, for example Dallas, which is tied to cowboy culture. Portland has a hippie culture and perhaps Montreal maybe doesn’t have one specific culture, we have many. And that is probably what helps make really strong bands.
MAA: Why is it such a priority to reach your fans on social media like Twitter and YouTube as much as you do?
AWG: I just started doing it because there were so many fake profiles of me online, like fake band and Alissa pages that were giving out false information on us. We were hearing from fans ‘why did you cancel your show in Argentina?’ And we never had a show in Argentina. There were these fake sources giving false info and I had to do something. I just started taking control of it so there would be one specific thought that people could go and find the real information and make people pay attention to the official sources. And also to divert attention away from the fake sites. It’s a double-edged sword and you have to be careful. People tend to think that they know you. People need to realize that I talk to thousands of people each week. As much as I want to respond to every question, and I say this on my bio on Facebook, there are lines of respect that have to be there. Most people are still strangers to me. If people treat me like a human being with respect, then I have no problem meeting them and getting to know them. In most cases people are losing all sense of common courtesy when it comes to meeting performers after or before a show.
MAA: Well I’m not totally shocked by that! Thanks for sharing that and good luck on the tour.
