Good Days of Mosh

I came from the New England Hardcore Scene as a youth (yes, it deserves to be capitalized). Western Mass, and Central Connecticut seemed to have a club that would open for a few years, show some of the best bands around, and then close. One club in particular was the Hanover in Meriden, CT. I saw some great bands there before they rose to fame or disappeared to obscurity. Bands like Blood Has Been Shed, Ground Zero, and Hatebreed.

A favorite was the popular Zao. During that late 90’s, they were always rumored to being playing a show that in fact, they didn’t. This most likely the result of an aggressive promoter embellishing a show just to get people to see a two-bit act. One time, a group of us went to Fat Cats in Springfield, Ma to see Zao. As it turns out, they weren’t there. Surprise, surprise. This was actually a legitimate promo, because unfortunately, the band had some health issues or something that caused the show to be canceled. These were the days before Myspace, so communication was limited.

Anyway, we were treated to some good bands. Zao’s replacement was All That Remains. They were awesome! I had heard of them, but never had the chance to see them. They are now a successful band in their own rights. The show wasn’t violent, in fact, there may have only been 70 people in attendance that night. We all knew each other, so it was fun.

The scene that I grew up in spawned some tremendous bands. Killswitch Engage, Shadow’s Fall, Hatebreed, Blood Has Been Shed, and Unearth were all from the area (unearth being from Worcester).

Those were great times. I have a ton of stories. Many of my friends are now in their own bands. My moving around caused me to miss out on being a part of those bands though. More to come later.

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