New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Day 2 – September 22, 2024

September 26, 2024 John Merritt Leave a comment

After Day 1 saw consistent rain, the doors opened up for day 2 of the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival with partly cloudy skies, setting the stage for fans from all over to come together in a way only live music can. The Century Media Stage was used inside, while both the Nuclear Blast Records and Down Right Merch stages were setup outside in the parking lot. The stages were positioned across from one another, directly behind the Worcester Palladium.

A few highlights from Day 2 included Connecticut hardcore band “With Honor,” who referred to The Worcester Palladium as “sacred ground.” Aaron Bedard (lead singer of Bane) stated, “This band was born from this soil.” Bedard climbed down from the stage to the barricade several times to be in the action with the fans. Dating back to 1999, the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival has given the opportunity for hundreds of bands a platform to connect with fans through live music.

Another highlight was Suicidal Tendencies – comprised of founding member and lead vocalist Mike Muir, lead guitarist Dean Pleasants, rhythm guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Tye Trujillo (the 20 year old son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo) & drummer Jay Weinberg (formerly of Slipknot). They displayed very high energy throughout their entire set, with band members running around on the stage. Since the early 1980’s, the California band has been called one of “the fathers of crossover thrash”. During their set, Mike Muir used his platform and referenced skateboarding. “You fall down, get your ass up”. It’s great to see bands that have been around for over 40 years spreading positivity in this ever changing and never certain world.

This final night was headlined by Slaughter To Prevail. It was a great opportunity for the band, as they just wrapped up their US & Canada tour supporting Marilyn Manson and Five Finger Death Punch. After a day of near perfect weather, Slaughter To Prevails’ Lead Vocalist Alex Terrible walked on stage wearing his ‘Grizzly’ mask and holding his home country’s Russian Flag. The circle pit opened up, and crowd surfers rose up into the sky. During their set, Alex removed both his mask and his “Demolisher” sweatshirt revealing his full covering of torso and sleeve tattoos. Slaughter to Prevail’s additional band members had their signature masks on for their entire set. During one song, Alex Terrible was smashing his microphone into his forehead which caused blood to drip. CO2 cryo jets were setup in front of the stage, and were used throughout the Slaughter To Prevail set. At the end of their set, they covered Rammstein’s “Du Hast,” before taking a group photo on stage. The deathcore music scene is gaining attention from fans around the world eagerly waiting to see what Slaughter to Prevail is going to do next.