The event will take place on Thursday, April 14, Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16 at the Palladium in Worcester, Mass.

The number 13 has been recognized as unlucky in cultures and religions around the world for centuries, but for the most successful festival in the heavy music genre, festival number 13 stands as a testament to its longevity and relevance.

In addition to its normal Friday and Saturday shows, the festival will add Thursday to the bill.  The Thursday lineup will be a day of up-n-comers, giving fans and industry alike the chance to discover “the next big thing.”  The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival has been credited as the launching pad for the careers of numerous acts, such as Killswsitch Engage and As I Lay Dying.  Thursday’s show is guaranteed to be stacked with talent of equivalent proportions, making it a can’t-miss event.

“We had bands like Hatebreed, Lamb of God, and Meshuggah at the festival long before they became well-known,” said promoter Scott Lee.  “It’s great to be able to book a great new band alongside a big name and give them a shot to play in front of a large crowd.  Nails, The Greenery, and Cruel Hand are a few of the ‘must-sees’ this year.”

Headliners for Friday will be Biohazard and Bury Your Dead, featuring the return of former vocalist Mat Bruso, playing songs from their first three albums, “You Had Me at Hello,” “Cover Your Tracks,” and “Beauty and the Breakdown.”  Hatebreed, Between the Buried and Me, and Job For A Cowboy will headline Saturday.

Bands scheduled for Thursday are:  Attack Attack, Vanna, My Children My Bride, Our Last Night, Stray from the Path, Arsonist Get All the Girls, Bullet for Pretty Boy, Lions Lions, Armor For the Broken, This or the Apocalypse, I, the Breather, Across the Sun, Too Late the Hero, Attila, Legia, Plee For Purging, Dr. Acula, The Crimson Armada, Legacy, Counterparts, and Legion.

Bands scheduled for Friday are:  Biohazard, Bury Your Dead, Cruel Hand, Your Demise, Thy Will Be Done, This Is Hell, The Carrier, Suffocate, Murder Death Kill, Terror, Stick To Your Guns, Trapped Under Ice, First Blood, Lionheart, Shai Hulud, Close Your Eyes, Legend, Monsters, The Great Commission, The Greenery, Hundreth, King Conquer, and Betrayal.

Bands scheduled for Saturday are:  Hatebreed, Between the Buried and Me, Job For A Cowboy, The Ocean, Carnifax, Oceano, Born of Osiris, Dying Fetus, Skeleton Witch, Lazarus A.D., Beneath The Massacre, Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, 3 Inches of Blood, Within the Ruins, Contortionist, Volumes, Moltov Solution, Nails, Hung, Sons of Aurelius, A Life Once Lost, Confrontation, Last Chance To Reason, Revocation, Structures, Withered, and Wretched.

Doors open at 1 p.m. on Thursday and the festival will run from 1 to 10:45 p.m.  Doors open at noon on Friday and Saturday, with the shows running from noon to 12:45 a.m.  It is an all-ages event.

Tickets for Thursday cost $25.  Friday and Saturday individual day tickets cost $35.  A 3-day ticket costs $89 with a discounted rate of $69 if purchased before February 15.  All tickets go on sale Friday, February 4 at 10 a.m. at FYE Stores, online at tickets.com, or (800) 477-6849.

Sponsors this year include Monster Energy Drink, All In Merchandise, Ibanez, Tama, D’Addario, Atticus Black, Metal Blade Records, Artery Recordings, and Hails & Horns Magazine.  Mazur PR coordinates media inquiries and Metal Injection supplies fans with videos and interviews at metalinjection.net for a preview of all the bands.  Jeremy Saffer from jeremysaffer.com and Aaron Peppelis from returntothepit.com provide all the official festival photos.

Performers are subject to change.

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