Chromatic Black Mix all fundamental colors together and you get black - colorful black - chromatic BLaCK.

Diversity, creativity, and an open-minded character make life and music more chromatic - more condensed. See the colors, which mix to black - hear the individuality, which mixes to the music of chromatic BLaCK.

Five musicians, as different as possible, mixed to a loud ensemble. But not just the ingredients are important it depends on the mix to create nothing new but all different. Experienced best at the sweaty, excessive, and often out-of-control live shows.

John Norum Europe released its debut album in 1983. Although expectations weren't very high, it sold massively in Sweden and Japan. The reviews were very favorable, and many critics cited John's guitar work as one of the strongest aspects of the band. A few years of hard work followed. In 1986 the band was rewarded beyond any expectation with the worldwide breakthrough of “The Final Countdown” and the album of the same name.

Shortly after the breakthrough John left the band. He toured the world with various line-ups, worked with former Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes and toured with Don Dokken of Dokken fame. He also contributed to prestigious tributes, such as the LA Blues Authority series.

Marco Mendoza Marco Mendoza is an American musician who spent his formative years living with his grandmother in Tijuana , Mexico. He started playing the guitar at an early age, adopting the bass when he was invited to join a band that needed a player.

He played in John Sykes' band Blue Murder, from 1991 until 1993. Mendoza is the current bassist for the reformed version of Thin Lizzy. From 2000 to 2003 he toured with Ted Nugent. He also toured with ex-Dokken guitarist George Lynch in his band Lynch Mob.

Mendoza’s latest album on Mascot Records, “Casa Mendoza,” is great melodic rock/hard rock with a sunny Latin flavor to it. The musicianship is top notch. Songs like “Suzy Q, You,” “Circle of Life,” “Betty Joe,” or “Get Ready” all are ready to infect the masses with their commercial sound.

Paper Aeroplanes Paper Aeroplanes is a girl and boy from West Wales who have been making music together for about 4 years now since they met at a rehearsal room in the tiny Welsh village of Llanfyrnach.

Richard Llewellyn grew up on the Welsh coast, listening to late-night Irish Radio stations from across the sea and playing in various locally famous bands. He became a sought after session musician and toured Europe and the US with various well known bands on bass and acoustic guitars. All this time however, he was writing songs in hotel rooms and honing his craft.

Sarah has been writing songs since she was 13 and roping in any school friend she could find to sing along. She started her first real band shortly after with the help of best friend and neighbor Nia George and two rebellious boys from music class.

Mortiis During the two-year process of slaving over Mortiis’ upcoming full-length, “The Great Deceiver,” the members of the band – Mortiis (vocals), Levi Gawron (guitar), Ogee (guitar), and Chris Kling (drums) – also had some alternative ideas brewing in the back of their minds. Some of them stemmed from songs on “the Great Deceiver,” while some of the songs were completely separate monsters, more inspired by the music of other artists than the music they were laying down tracks for.

“Perfectly Defect” is a result of the process of creating “The Great Deceiver.”

“The inspiration was very diverse,” Mortiis says. “The album was made across a period of time, so musically the album is really all over the place. Several bands and artists we were listening to inspired us, but I knew the record wasn´t going to be this super heavy industrial metal thing like ‘The Great Deceiver’ turned out to be.”

Chromatic Black

John Norum

Marco Mendoza

Paper Aeroplanes

Mortiis

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Vendors Abound at 14th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival

With a lineup of more than 75 bands over the course of three days, fans at the 14th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival will never be at a loss for musical entertainment. But they will also want to plan their schedules carefully to allot time to peruse the booths of the festival’s numerous vendors.

This year’s festival will boast a variety of vendors offering everything from CDs, clothing, guitar gear, body jewelry and more!

"The vendors this year are incredible,” said fest vendor queen Leah Urbano. “Make sure you bring extra cash because there will definitely be things you are going to want!"

The main vendor area is located in the balcony in the second stage area.

This year’s vendors include: Arrest Records (www.arrestrecordsnh.com), Godlyke Distributing (www.godlyke.com), Delusive Clothing (www.delusiveclothing.com), Get Punched Apparel (www.Getpunchedstore.com), Metal Machine Entertainment (www.metalmachine.net), Deathwish (www.deathwishinc.com), All In Merch (www.allinmerch.com), FDR, Sinister Girls (http://thesinistergirls.com/), Victory Records (www.victoryrecords.com), Hurt Reynolds Clothing (www.hurtreynoldsclothing.com), Naragansett, Plug Your Holes (http://www.plugyourholes.com/), Hails and Horns (www.hailsandhorns.com), Shook Clothing (www.shookclothing.com), Hatewear (www.hatewearinc.com), Iron Fist (www.shop.ironfistclothing.com), and Shirts For A Cure (www.shirtsforacure.org).

“The only way the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival could get better is if Jean Claude Van Dam showed up!” said Sam Dean from Plug Your Holes. “We can't wait. We love the fest and it’s all ways a good time.”

All In Merchanchise Returns For 5th Year As New England Metal and Hardcore Festival Sponsor

All In Merchandise has returned for its fifth year as sponsor of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.

Established in 2005, All In Merchandise opened with just six stores and operated from the basements and living rooms of its founding partners. Today the company is a top merchandiser for some of the hottest bands in the metal and hardcore scenes. All In Merch prioritizes up-close involvement with the scene, making the company a perfect fit for a partnership with the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.

“The fest has grown into one of the most well-rounded events in metal and hardcore,” said All In founder/partner Jesse Brust. “This year is going to be the best year yet, and we are proud to support and have our name attached to the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest.”

The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival’s free mobile app, full of all the latest news on the fest, has been updated and is available at the iTunes store.

New England Metal and Hardcore Festival Announces Second Installment of the Mission Quest to Metal Fest Tour

The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival is proud to announce the second installment of their branded tour, "Mission Quest to Metal Fest." The tour features The Mongoloids, Expire, and Wrong Answer. The tour was created to give bands the opportunity to tour to and make an appearance at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. Check out the bands at one of the dates listed below.

The New England Metal and 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. This year’s lineup includes Killswitch Engage, The Black Dahlia Murder, All That Remains, Dragonforce, Every Time I Die, Oceano, Overkill, and many more. The fest takes place from April 20-22. Tickets are available through www.massconcerts.com and special VIP packages are available through www.soundrink.com.

Calprog Promoter Jim Harrel Talks About Spock’s Beard Show that Yielded ‘The X Tour Live’

For CalProg concert promoter Jim “PapaJ” Harrel, arranging the Spock’s Beard show that would yield “The X Tour Live” CD and DVD, available now via Music Theories Recordings, was a special experience that brought his whole organization full-circle.

Harrel came on board with Spock’s Beard nearly a decade ago while the band was recording “Snow,” its final release with co-founder Neal Morse, recording all the video for the “Making of Snow” DVD. Through the years he maintained a close relationship with the band. So, after Morse had branched out onto his own and was looking to play a show in area, he called upon Harrel for help.

“I was able to find a venue, a sound company, and put out a ‘call for crew’ through internet channels and people I had met while working on some post-production acoustic shows following ‘Snow’’s release,” Harrel said. “A crew of about 15 people came together to do that show and we all had a blast. A few weeks after the show the core of the crew got together for a dinner/de-brief and we all agreed that it was a lot of fun, and that we’d like to do more shows. And CalProg was born. Today, nearly 10 years later, we are essentially the exact same team doing all CalProg productions. Having the Beard back for this significant tour was like a homecoming of sorts for us.”

Concert Promoter Scott Lee 'Lives the Dream' with Music Business Empire

At 40 years old, Scott Lee is clearly not satisfied to settle into everyday hum-drum life. Instead, the Massachusetts native is building an empire of music-business upstarts that includes everything from launching bands’ careers to creating exciting opportunities for fans to meet those bands.

After more than two decades in the music business, Lee, co-founder of the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, is keeping his entrepreneurial spirit alive with the launch of Sound Rink, a company dedicated to connecting fans with the bands they love.

Sound Rink was created by Lee with partners Jason Mageau and Cody Delong as a means for fans to go beyond the music and get up-close and personal with the artists they love by offering special packages that offer meet & greets, photo opportunities, autograph signing, and question & answer sessions. Packages are sold directly through Sound Rink’s website at www.soundrink.com.

“Over the years, I have seen how much it means to fans to be able to meet their favorite bands,” Lee said. “Rather than making fans stand outside of a backstage door for hours hoping for a chance meeting, we decided to come up with a way for fans to not only meet them, but to actually have time to chat and take pictures.”