the Pulse - Entertainment Beat: The New England Metal & Hardcore Festivals Returns

The New England Metal & Hardcore Festivals Returns

And Jillians is better than ever

By SASHA HNATKOVICH

April 2005 - For those about to rock – The New England Metal & Hardcore Festival is back. Now in its seventh year, the festival is recognized as one of the best heavy music festivals in the country and this year, with over 80 acts scheduled, it’s going to be one of the biggest.

Presented by Decibel Magazine and Prosthetic Records, the three-day festival will run on two stages from Friday, April 22 to Sunday, April 24, at the Palladium on Main Street in Worcester.

On Friday, Connecticut’s back-tobasics HC band Hatebreed, metalcore Unearth, and 90s death metal group Obituary will take the stage. Headlining on Saturday are metal gods Danzig (with special guest Doyle), Cleveland electro-metal sextet Chimaira, and Canadian death metal specialists Cryptopsy. Theatrical hard rockers King Diamond, “Ithyphallic Metal” pioneers Nile, and Swedish Soilwork will close the weekend on Sunday. As I Lay Dying, Between the Buried and Me, Black Dahlia Murder, Evergreen Terrace, Extol, Glass Casket, Ion Dissonance, Nora, Red Chord, Still Remains, Strapping Young Lad, Trivium, Twelve Tribes, and Walls of
Jericho are just some of the other bands scheduled.

This year, a film crew will once again be recording every second of the action — both on-stage and behindthe- scenes — for another live DVD. Don’t miss the record labels, vendors and record distributors that will set up shop in the balcony of the upstairs room. Better get your tickets now — last year’s festival sold out more than two weeks in advance. Single day tickets are $35 per day. Three-day passes are $99. Tickets are on sale at all Strawberries Record Stores, online at tickets.com, or by calling Tickets.com, Inc. at (800) 477-6849. The first 25 people in the door on Friday get a free Metal Maniacs T-shirt.

Eat, Drink, Play – Located at 315 Grove Street in Worcester, Jillian’s Billiard Club recently underwent a major renovation. The popular dining and entertainment complex now sports a new look, with cosmetic improvements to the interior and exterior of the building. Get psyched for new 62-inch HDTVs and plasma screens — perfect for viewing the Red Sox this spring. And start saving your quarters because Jillian’s has added dozens of arcade games to its Amazing Games room. The menu has also been revamped, but still specializes in popular American cuisine; enjoy items ranging from salads to burgers to pizzas. Call (508) 793-0900 for more information.