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We had a blast last week at New England Metal & Hardcore Fest last weekend, and one of the most exciting parts was opening up Amplified submissions on-site for bands to come by and tell us about their music! It was the first time we did anything like this, but there were some seriously great metal acts lurking in the sweaty depths of the Palladium, and not just onstage, either! Here are three standout submissions we recieved last weekend:

Forest Wars

Forest Wars came our way as soon as doors opened – The Ohio “progressive hardcore/grind” act was so excited when they found out we’d be taking submissions that they were tasking attendees at the fest to come by and sign them up! The only track available to listen to so far is a demo version of the track “Detatched” from their upcoming Light Leaks EP, and you’ll want to hear the rest. It’s surprisingly long for any band that puts “grind” anywhere near their main influences, and covers a surprising amount of ground, starting blasty and gradually slowing down to a crushing halt. There’s no release date on the EP available, but the band says it’s in mixing/mastering stages now, so you won’t have to wait long. You can also buy this demo via Bandcamp for the low low price of $500.

Give Up The Goods

Though their name invokes some mustache-twirling indie rock act, Long Island’s Give Up The Goods opens their The Internet Hates You EP with a sputtering clean guitar and slap bass passage before unleashing a technical, groovy death metal assault. Between closing out the EP with a track called “GTFO,” and their ridiculous graffiti logo, it’s nice to come across a band like this that doesn’t take itself particularly seriously, while still being freakishly heavy. I’m also pretty easily bored and annoyed by things that skew a little towards the dreaded, verboten deathcore spectrum, but Give Up The Goods keeps their breakdowns brainy as well as meaty.

Zafakon

Another great surprise here, a member of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Zafakon showed up to Metalfest and handed me this CD in person! That art looked promising, and the band certainly didn’t disappoint – Zafakon is pretty old school, skewing towards thrash, but with some extreme elements sprinkled in. The production on the record is a little on the rough side, but the songs definitely shine through here. It’s straight-ahead, and it rips. Check out the badass video for “Fall” below, and pick up War As A Drug here.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkCQHr_mSMM[/youtube]