Crowd shot, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Twilight of the Gods, by Hillarie Jason Photography
The next morning was upon us, which meant more breakfast food from the diner down the street. While we mapped our days out, I determined that I would spend most of my day at Edison once again (not that this was a problem). Prior to heading out, my roommate and I gathered cheap beer, ice, and turned our bathtub into our own little fridge. Happy with our work, we applied sunscreen, threw on our denim vests, and headed out to Edison. By the time we got to the lot and got inside, Twilight of the Gods was a little over half way through their set. Personally, the entire day revolved around Triptykon, so naturally I had a lot of built up adrenaline and found myself walking around and meeting new people. To release some more energy (after buying more patches of course) I slammed in the pit for most of Blood Red Throne. As if I was rewarded for my efforts, one of the guitarists threw me a Blood Red Throne lighter! After a set by Einherjer, I took a quick bio break, filled up my water bottle, and ran straight for the barricade where Triptykon guitar and drum techs were hard at work. Fortunately, I was still able to watch Bulldozer from a distance, but was just too anxious for Tom G. Warrior to hit the stage. The time did finally arrive as I fought off crowd surfers while screaming lyrics to old Celtic Frost songs with security. Yes, security. Specifically two of them right in the middle were headbanging and screaming lyrics with all of us crazies in the front row. During ‘Circle of Tyrants’ the two security guys even jumped the barricade and crowd surfed! I spent the next set drinking water and grabbing dinner as I really gassed myself. After my quick break, I met up with my roommate for the week to watch Arcturus play a great set and then join the mass exodus over to the headliners for the day, Razor. The Canadian thrashers brought forward an amazing set (first US set since 1992 according to many) which left fans begging for more. Some of the biggest pits all weekend were during Razor’s performance which made my inner thrash fan oh so happy. Even with Edison Lot closing for the night, there was still a set to be a part of over at the Soundstage. However, a few of us took a detour to the hotel to pre-game so we could avoid the bar lines. After a brisk walk across town, we were inside Soundstage and awaiting the first ever live appearance of Massachusetts’s own grindcore legends, Agoraphobic Nosebleed. Song after song after song flew by, as did an inflatable phallus, which brought fans to hysterics and joy at the same time. Unfortunately with the shortness in song lengths, as well as the shock of seeing Anb live, I had a hard time following along all of the songs being played. If I had to guess, we may have received around 30 songs. This was probably the largest crowd of the entire festival and it seemed more than reasonable that it was for this set. After stumbling back to the hotel, sing-a-longs, shot gunning beers, and other hilarities ensued in the hotel room to close out one of the best days of the festival.
Triptykon, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Security crowdsurfing during Triptykon, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Arcturus, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Tsjuder, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Razor, by Hillarie Jason Photography
Agoraphobic Nosebleed, by Hillarie Jason Photography
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WORDS BY TIM LEDIN
PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON PHOTOGRAPHY
