The following is a description of the bands i saw today at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, otherwise known as the highlight of my year. You probably don't care, so skip it.

• Blistered Earth - Thrashmetal is alive and well. The first band of the day started the fest off with a master of puppets cover. inauspicious to say the least. some decent thrash stuff followed, and the day began.
• Torn Assunder - ok. the singer was wearing a football jersey, so he loses metal points for that. they didn't seem to be as good as they were when i saw them last year.
• Acephalus - straight death. rather good for early in the day.
• Year Of Our Lord - these local dudes are one of my favorite bands. i was able to get up front and offer what screeching and fist waving support i could. They played good stuff although the fest only gave them 20 minutes. the vocalists mic wasn't turned up high enough.
• Pessimist - i had heard alot about these guys and even talked to one of the members on aim. they really blew me away. mostly straight death, but really good vocals and tight songs.
• Catastrophic - their claim to fame is that they have the guitar player from obituary. they weren't very compelling.
• Monstrosity - they got to the show late, the techs were actually telling them to come to the stage and their bus hadn't arrived. so they walked in the door and on the stage and played a shortened set of monstrosity straight death stuff. their singer has this goofy haricut, it is like a wide short mohawk or a severely undersized mullet or something insane. oh, they closed with a cover of angel of death. the place exploded.
• Lamb of God - i actually left the pit for these guys because i needed a break. they sounded really tight, with some slightly innovative songs. their lead singer was an animal. my friend who stayed in the pit really liked them.
• The Haunted - i'm not really into these swedish dudes' albums, but they were good live, with fast songs and a very supportive crowd.
• Dimmu Borgir - well, i guess they are the best i can hope for in terms of seeing live norwegian black metal in massachusetts. oh well. they had a good show. lights and smoke were a bit excessive, but at least you could hear the keyboards. oh they closed with their huge song that i know but don't know the name of at the moment. that rocked.
• Cannibal Corpse - ok i thought these guys were a joke. they are really one dimensional, they have almost comically grotesque song names. yet, everyone loves them and hails them as the best death metal band in the world. they were great live though, with some good between-song banter, and the *crazy* spinal contortions of the lead singer as he wheeled his head through circle after circle of skull and hair. so, they finished with hammer smashed face, as always, and the night was complete.

if you thought that was bad, get ready for *tommorow's* diary. it is a two day event.

i slept to late to go to duncanm's chapel this morning. i am so ashamed and sorry. i haven't talked to him yet.