Metal mania

Correspondent Scott McLennan reports back from the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Worcester last Friday:

For heavy-metal fans, the opening of the 11th New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at the Palladium was like an early Christmas. Only louder. And sweatier.

Metal is not a style of music lauded for its nuance, but a creatively packaged fest brings to light the twists and turns the genre has to offer. On Friday, the bill ranged from the dire menace of the Acacia Strain to the subhuman thrash of UK vets Napalm Death to brutal diatribes from Suffocation to the taut wallop of All That Remains (above). It was gratifying to see the locally bred Acacia Strain and All That Remains deliver on the promise of so many previous Metalfest sets, which served as stepping stones in their respective careers. North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me delivered Friday’s most memorable set, rising above the din with manically paced epics that pushed the quintet past the traditional boundaries of aggressive music.

Best T-shirt of the night: a Spinal Tap-inspired “This festival goes to 11.”

With Saturday’s show headlined by Lamb of God sold out in advance, it seems Metalfest was able to trump the recession blues.