The fifteenth annual The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival came along at just the right time this year. Concerts are often a needed respite from whatever is ailing your life at the moment. Even though fans had come for the event from all over the world, Boston and the entire state of Massachusetts had been having a rough week. Earlier in the week, the Boston Marathon bombings occurred at the hands of some piss poor excuses for terrorists. The night before the show the city of Boston was in lock down as the manhunt tightened. All the roads were closed in or out of some parts of the state, but the show was never in doubt. Although I was stressed out and we got a very late start on the road, we made it and it wasn’t a total loss on the day. My trusty spies at the show told me early bands such as Code Orange Kids, Vygr, Holy Grail and Black Breath were all apparently terrific, even though I missed them. Ugh.Continue reading →