NEW ENGLAND METAL AND HARDCORE FESTIVAL

UNEARTH Joins N.E. Metal and Hardcore Festival All-Star Lineup

WORCESTER, Mass. – Massachusetts’ own UNEARTH will join the all-star lineup already announced for the 14th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival on Saturday, April 21.  UNEARTH is one of the many bands that got their start at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, later becoming one of the top bands in metalcore.

“It’s been five years since we’ve taken the stage at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and we couldn’t be happier to make our return this April 21,” said singer Trevor Phipps.  “This fest gave us a shot as an up and coming band over a decade ago and was one of the springboards for our career in heavy music.  This year’s lineup looks to be an amazing one and we are looking forward to hitting that stage.”

UNEARTH have been added to the Saturday show, joining ALL THAT REMAINS as a headliner.  Other bands include THE BLACK DALIA MURDER, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, DRAGONFORCE, OVERKILL, THE ACACIA STRAIN and many more.  To get all of the latest information on the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, visit the official site at this location.

The New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, the largest and most successful metal festival in the United States, has presented some of the biggest and up-and-coming artists in the metal and hardcore music genres over the past 13 years.  The festival is a three-day affair, beginning Friday, April 20, and is scheduled to take place at the Palladium, one of the largest venues in Massachusetts.  THE BLACK DALIA MURDER will headline Friday night, with ALL THAT REMAINS on Saturday and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will close out the weekend on Sunday night.

The most recent lineup includes:

Friday - April 20, 2012:

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

THE ACACIA STRAIN

OCEANO (final show)

ALL SHALL PERISH

NILE

SKELETONWITCH

CARNIFEX

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

MOLOTOV SOLUTION

THE CONTORTIONIST

CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE

FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY

LONGSHOT

RUDE AWAKENING

FORCEDXMINDS

THIS IS HELL

CDC

DEATH THREAT

HOUR OF PENANCE

LEGION

OBEY THE BRAVE (ex-Despised Icon – 1st US show)

LIONHEART

FIRST BLOOD

GAZA

REIGN SUPREME

INCENDIARY

PALEHORSE

Saturday - April 21, 2012:

ALL THAT REMAINS

DRAGONFORCE

OVERKILL

UNEARTH

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE

PROTEST THE HERO

PERIPHERY

BANE

100 DEMONS

HOLY GRAIL

GOD FORBID

WRONG ANSWERS

STRUCTURES

ELITIST

SUIDAKRA

HUNG

DIAMOND PLATE

Ticket prices are: $40 (Friday), $45 (Saturday), and $40 (Sunday) or $115 (three-day pass).  Tickets are on sale now at this location.  For information about VIP packages, visit this location.

Sponsors this year include All In Merch, Monster, Tama, Ibanez, Zildjian, Metal Blade Records, Break Thru Music, Shook Clothing, Planet Waves, D’Addario, Pro Mark, and Evans.

MIND MECHANICS

New Video: "Haunt The Highway"

Fair Warning: We're stepping over into the more melodic world of hard rock for just a minute...

...where we find that the group MIND MECHANICS have announced the release of a new music video for "Haunt The Highway", their first single from the album "Latest In The News" which was released independently back in the fall of 2011.   The video is assembled from footage filmed during the recording of "Haunt The Highway" and provides a behind the scenes look at the project.  The new video can be viewed in the player below.

Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, MIND MECHANICS is the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist, John Stitt, and drummer and lyricist, Gene Celeste.  In addition to their years of writing songs together, Stitt and Celeste have consistently been involved with many recording projects over the years.  The two set out on this particular project together with bassist, Sean Gregory, a veteran audio engineer and producer, with the goal of creating an original alternate rock album while maintaining the more modern and harder edge of progressive rock.

Michael David Wolf makes his super-tenor vocal contribution to the song "Haunt The Highway" as well as all other tracks on the "Latest In The News" album.  Michael's vocal style is bluesy and solid on top the band's classic rock sound.

With just enough rasp in his voice to complete the chemistry, Michael's voice soars effortlessly and melodically right over the top of the arrangement.  While "Haunt The Highway" has a contemporary edge, all of the elements of late-70's and early-80's classic power-ballad rock sound are evident.  Minus the layered background harmonies of the original genre, the feel of "Haunt the Highway" is so analogous to the old-school bands such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Kansas, Styx, Blue Oyster Cult and even Foreigner, that the song feels both new and familiar at the same time.  There are also moments where Wolf's vocals take on a persona with a much harder edge.

Writing and performing original material for nearly 25 years, Michael David Wolf continuously pushes the limits and strives to give each song it's own voice.  He's played played countless venues and spent many hours in the studio.  Michael has written and recorded over a dozen CD's and many of his projects have earned both local and international attention.

In addition to being one of the primary architects of MIND MECHANICS, John Stitt also contributes as a lyricist and can play virtually any stringed instrument.  John consistently challenges himself by improving his skills on the 7-string, 12-string, mandolin and bass.  He prides himself on this diversity and his willingness to explore and incorporate other genres including jazz, classical, flamenco and any other style that might appeal to him. His open approach to making music is what gives MIND MECHANICS their elaborate and sophisticated sound.

Drummer, Gene Celeste has been honing his musical skills for over 30 years.  Along with his contributions on drums and percussion, Gene is also one of the primary lyricists and is responsible for shaping many of the song arrangements.  When it comes to live performance, Gene's intensity and deep concentration make him a hard hitting performer.  When asked what influenced his passion for drums, Gene replies simply, "I like hitting things."

Sean Gregory is a man of many talents and a critical component of MIND MECHANICS.  He has written and recorded ten albums of his own material in a career that has spanned over three decades.  Sean has recorded hundreds of albums, demos and singles for other artists.  He has played guitar, bass and drums as a session musician and toured overseas as a backing musician for platinum-selling artists.  Sean is an accomplished producer and audio engineer and has been operating his own recording studio, TRH Music Group since 1997.   Sean is extremely passionate about what he does and his enthusiasm is contagious.  He possesses the ability to motivate and to inspire and has helped both new and seasoned artists to develop their skills and realize their goals.

The band recorded an album "November Echo" together back in 2000, but as fate would have it, group members became separated due to circumstances beyond their control.  Fast forward to 2005, and the original threesome reunite to record the more accessible and mature "Resonant Scream".  The song featured John Stitt on vocals, further demonstrating his diverse musical abilities.  In 2009, Michael Wolf returned to Toronto as vocalist for MIND MECHANICS and committed himself to the completion of the "Latest In The News" album.

The group has stated that "Latest In The News" is their most well-crafted and intentional offering yet.  For 2012, the band is planning to release another song every few months.  Talented, experienced and focused, MIND MECHANICS is heading into the studio again this month to begin production on their next song, "Turnabout".

Learn more about MIND MECHANICS at their official sites: Official Site • MySpace • Facebook • YouTube • Follow MIND MECHANICS on Twitter (via John Stitt):  @MindMechJohn

All photos provided courtesy of Bill Lankin.  "Haunt The Highway" music video filmed and edited by Bill Lankin.  View the video "Haunt The Highway" in the player below:

Preview other songs by MIND MECHANICS in the player below.  Their latest album "Latest In The News" can be purchased at this location.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled metal...

ESSENCE

Working On New Album Inside Abyss Studio

Danish thrash metal band ESSENCE is currently in the studio recording their as-yet-untitled new album.  The group is working inside the infamous Abyss Studio with the legendary Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren.  Hailed by many as the "Rick Rubin of Scandinavian Metal", Peter Tägtgren is well-known for his contributions to the extreme metal movement.  His production credits include an extensive list of black and death metal outfits including MARDUK, IMMORTAL, DIMMU BORGIR, AMON AMARTH and CHILDREN OF BODOM, to name only a few.

ESSENCE members commented, “It is a great honour for us to work with Peter. It was natural for us to pick Peter as producer for this album, as his approach to both music and sound fits perfectly with our new material. We can’t wait to hear the final result and to show all you guys out there how ESSENCE 2012 sounds. Even though we have just started the recording, it is clear to us that the result will be better than we ever could imagine!”

ESSENCE was originally formed back in 2006 by four 16-year-old aspiring musicians.  The band released their first EP "Art in Imperfection" by the fall of 2007 and the EP was very well-received by both fans and critics.  The group began to refine their craft and stage presence by playing national shows and begin to demonstrate a level of expertise far beyond their years.  Their determination was rewarded with opportunities to support some of Denmark’s most influential metal bands, including the Aalborg Metal Festival 2009 along side SATYRICON, DARK FUNERAL and THE HAUNTED.

In February of 2010, ESSENCE completed their debut debut album "Lost in Violence".  The band opted to avoid the use of software plug-ins and other advanced studio technology, recording their music with the brutal force of a live performance.  The debut release of "Lost In Violence" was quickly followed by a supporting music video for the track "Blood Culture".  View the "Blood Culture" video in the player below:

By March 2011, the band was touring Denmark as a co-headliner of MTV and 3rd Tsunami Agency’s NEW ERA TOUR. In May, LIVE NATION invited the band to support IN FLAMES for a sold out show in Aarhus, Denmark.  The group toured Europe with VADER and KRISIUN on Massive Music’s SUMMER CAMPAIGN 2011 and after the tour ended, delivered a massive show for 2500 eager attendees as the closer of ROSKILDE FESTIVAL’s warm-up days.

In August, the band performed in Portugal at VAGOS OPEN AIR where over 6000 Portuguese music lovers showed up to party with the band.  The 2011 concert year ended with ESSENCE playing a few headliner shows and appearing at the AALBORG METAL FESTIVAL 2011 where they filled-in for DECAPITATED, who cancelled their show in the very last hour.  By the end of 2011, ESSENCE had played nearly 90 shows (festival, support and tour) during their short career.

With Peter Tägtgren engineering and producing their 2nd album in his Abyss Studio located in Sweden, where many of the most legendary metal bands have created some of their best selling records, 2012 is looking very promising for ESSENCE.  The album is currently not signed to any label (as of January 2012) and the band is searching for a dedicated and visionary label for the release.

Preview and purchase tracks from their debut album "Lost In Violence" in the player below:

Learn more about ESSENCE at their official websites:  Official Site • Facebook • MySpace • Youtube