Tons of huge bands, tons of great people – but why sit here and tell you about it when you can find out first-hand from all the BITPOMers in attendance. Head over to www.bitpom.com for photos, videos, and fan reactions to all the events!

New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Crimson Management and The Syndicate are proud to announce the first-ever Metal Summit on April 25. The Metal Summit is an interactive and educational conference where fans and the metal music industry can engage, share ideas and help further the scene. The Metal Summit will give labels, managers, agents, endorsers, publishers, media promoters, bands and more the chance to interact with the people who buy albums, tickets and merchandise. This is also an opportunity for fans to ask key members in the industry how they got started and gain advice on starting their own careers. After all, everyone in the music industry started out as a fan.

The Metal Summit is brought to you by The Syndicate’s “The Believers In the Power of Metal” (BITPOM) network. BITPOM is the world’s first interactive forum for fans, bands and the metal music industry to interact. Through the BITPOM Network, fans can have their say. It’s free to join and anyone who is a “Believer in the Power of Metal” can sign up, create their own profile and participate in all discussions. Admission to the Metal Summit is free with sign-up to the BITPOM network. (more…)

Us here in the office, along with just about every Northeastern metal head, has come to make NEW ENGLAND METAL AND HARDCORE FESTIVAL a yearly mecca. 2008 marks the fest’s 10th anniversary and they are pulling out all the stops.

The festival will expand back to a three day event this year, with Friday consuming the entire Gigantour lineup (Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire). Saturday brings Dimmu Borgir and Shadows Fall, and Sunday will present Meshuggah and Ministry’s final Massachusetts performance before retiring.

Countless other big metal bands are playing, including Overkill, A Life Once Lost, The Dillinger Escape Plan and more. Huge can not begin to describe this show. Check the full lineup and press release after the jump. (more…)