Benign
Kyle from Washington based Benign recently got in touch, letting us know about their album, Redshift, which is due out on the 20th of April this year (my birthday too….don’t you know!). Having formed in 2001, the band say they’ve outlasted the shelf life of most bands by constantly outdoing themselves, basing their music in the metal spectrum but also allowing intriguing time signatures, catchy hooks and driving rhythms to form with their stuff. I figured that I should check out what was on offer as based on this, it’s sounding pretty good!
The Serpent doesn’t leave any doubt in my mind that this is some serious stuff, launching you straight into a pummelling mix of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and vocals raw enough to strip the paint off of your living room walls. Heavy sure, but there’s also a clear sense of rhythms running through things, allowing the blistering melee of raw aggression to soften before pummelling you in the face repeatedly. This is a theme which continues in Coprophagy, another track which is firmly rooted in metal yet somehow holds an equal amount of melodic rhythm along with the aggression. The backing track here is quite simply fantastic, hammering onwards at an obscene pace and giving you visions of the pits which are going to form when this is performed live – this is going to leave venues as nothing but the dusty foundations.
Unbeliever picks up where the last track left off, launching you once again into a pit of destruction and making you thank them for the privilege. The double bass which echoes around in the background here adds a real sense of movement to things, keeping the track alive and making you want to turn it up ever louder and louder. If you’re looking for a band which is going to give you a live show which you’ll never forget, then I think this could be the one for you! Armistice seems to initially mark a change in the album, opening soft as it begins but soon launching back into the hammering pace of before. This time, the soft opening serves to further accentuate the raw power which you’re greeted by shortly thereafter, creating a sound which is sure to get you moving. Powerful yet somehow funky, this is another track which is suited for the live scene and is bound to have crowds going mad. This is something which 7:06 also seems perfectly suited for, opening as the last track ends and throwing enough double bass to deafen your neighbours out at you. Loud is going to be the only way to play this sort of thing, it’s got the power and aggression which when cranked up, is going to leave you feeling a damned site better about everything going on around you. This is possibly my personal favourite track from the album, but to understand why you really need to listen to it through headphones so you can hear everything that’s going on – there’s a hell of a lot going on in the background which bolsters the track out.
If you came into this album looking for some extreme all out metal, then Salt Of The Earth is going to be the track you want to go for first, moving firmly towards the more extreme side of metal and dragging you along for the ride so that you too can enjoy what they’re doing. Combining the heavy assed vocals of before with more standard singing this time, there’s a sense of the likes of Threat Signal being created in the sound, almost like the sound which the likes of KSE were going for but never managed to achieve (as they were too damned soft!). Paratrooper comes next and once again launches us into a syncopated melee of lead lines, hammering backing guitar lines, rumbling bass and those awesome rolling drums. It’s a hard track to pick apart, but rest assured that this is another massive high point on the album, and one which is going to throw surprise after surprise out at you – it’s not simply by any means but hell, it works!
All too soon we’re approaching the end of the album with Ghost Of The Grange, another rolling mash up of guitar lines, roving bass rhythms and vocals straight out of hell. If you’re looking for a heavy track full of screaming vocals, roving guitar lines and rolling drums then this is the track for you – it’s going to get put in your stereo and not leave until the band release their follow up – it’s that simple!
In all, Benign have created an album here which is full of surprises. It would be easy to go into this album thinking it’s just another metal album, but it’s more than that. You need to listen to it, and I mean really listen to it so that you can appreciate just how many elements there are within each of the tracks, how many elements have been melded together and crafted to create the eventual sound. Sure, there’s bound to be people who turn around and say it’s too heavy, but they’ve not listened to it – it’s that simple. From my perspective – more please – lots more!
To find out more about Benign and to get news about the album release, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.
The Serpent doesn’t leave any doubt in my mind that this is some serious stuff, launching you straight into a pummelling mix of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and vocals raw enough to strip the paint off of your living room walls. Heavy sure, but there’s also a clear sense of rhythms running through things, allowing the blistering melee of raw aggression to soften before pummelling you in the face repeatedly. This is a theme which continues in Coprophagy, another track which is firmly rooted in metal yet somehow holds an equal amount of melodic rhythm along with the aggression. The backing track here is quite simply fantastic, hammering onwards at an obscene pace and giving you visions of the pits which are going to form when this is performed live – this is going to leave venues as nothing but the dusty foundations.
Unbeliever picks up where the last track left off, launching you once again into a pit of destruction and making you thank them for the privilege. The double bass which echoes around in the background here adds a real sense of movement to things, keeping the track alive and making you want to turn it up ever louder and louder. If you’re looking for a band which is going to give you a live show which you’ll never forget, then I think this could be the one for you! Armistice seems to initially mark a change in the album, opening soft as it begins but soon launching back into the hammering pace of before. This time, the soft opening serves to further accentuate the raw power which you’re greeted by shortly thereafter, creating a sound which is sure to get you moving. Powerful yet somehow funky, this is another track which is suited for the live scene and is bound to have crowds going mad. This is something which 7:06 also seems perfectly suited for, opening as the last track ends and throwing enough double bass to deafen your neighbours out at you. Loud is going to be the only way to play this sort of thing, it’s got the power and aggression which when cranked up, is going to leave you feeling a damned site better about everything going on around you. This is possibly my personal favourite track from the album, but to understand why you really need to listen to it through headphones so you can hear everything that’s going on – there’s a hell of a lot going on in the background which bolsters the track out.
If you came into this album looking for some extreme all out metal, then Salt Of The Earth is going to be the track you want to go for first, moving firmly towards the more extreme side of metal and dragging you along for the ride so that you too can enjoy what they’re doing. Combining the heavy assed vocals of before with more standard singing this time, there’s a sense of the likes of Threat Signal being created in the sound, almost like the sound which the likes of KSE were going for but never managed to achieve (as they were too damned soft!). Paratrooper comes next and once again launches us into a syncopated melee of lead lines, hammering backing guitar lines, rumbling bass and those awesome rolling drums. It’s a hard track to pick apart, but rest assured that this is another massive high point on the album, and one which is going to throw surprise after surprise out at you – it’s not simply by any means but hell, it works!
All too soon we’re approaching the end of the album with Ghost Of The Grange, another rolling mash up of guitar lines, roving bass rhythms and vocals straight out of hell. If you’re looking for a heavy track full of screaming vocals, roving guitar lines and rolling drums then this is the track for you – it’s going to get put in your stereo and not leave until the band release their follow up – it’s that simple!
In all, Benign have created an album here which is full of surprises. It would be easy to go into this album thinking it’s just another metal album, but it’s more than that. You need to listen to it, and I mean really listen to it so that you can appreciate just how many elements there are within each of the tracks, how many elements have been melded together and crafted to create the eventual sound. Sure, there’s bound to be people who turn around and say it’s too heavy, but they’ve not listened to it – it’s that simple. From my perspective – more please – lots more!
To find out more about Benign and to get news about the album release, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.