Benedictum, Roadkill, & Chiraw
9 juni @ Metropool Hengelo
www.benedictum.net
www.metropool.nl
Biography
Following in the footsteps of such legendary bands as Warrior, Rough Cutt and Psychotic Waltz, BENEDICTUM are San Diego, California's latest and mightiest ambassadors to the world of heavy metal.
Conjuring the power, mystique and grandeur of early Rainbow and classic Savatage yet forging a sound that's uniquely their own, BENEDICTUM's stylish, epic brand of metal delivers on all fronts: Awesome riffing, fierce rhythms, strong melodies, shredding leads, and delicate textures converge at the crossroads of tradition and 21st Century innovation - topped off by what is truly one of the most extraordinary voices in all of rock, courtesy of Veronica Freeman, whose pipes have to be heard to be believed.
While 'Uncreation' represents BENEDICTUM's first entry into the metal sweepstakes, the band's tandem driving force, vocalist Veronica Freeman and guitarist Pete Wells, has put in plenty of time slugging it out in the trenches perfecting their chemistry. "Pete and I have known each other for over 10 years. We were both in a band called Malady for several years and when that came to an end we stayed together and started looking for an all new crew", offers Veronica about the group's formative days. "We had always admired Blackie Sanchez' style and those fast feet of his so we teamed up with him and formed the nucleus of the band. We also wanted a keyboard player and I had met Chris Morgan from being in a couple of Dio tribute bands. He added such great texture to the whole thing. We had a few tunes of our own but really wanted to see what would happen as we wrote together."
It was another San Diego scene alum, guitarist Craig Goldy of Dio fame, who encouraged the group to produce a demo with the promise to pass it on to some of his industry contacts. "Craig and I are old friends who just don’t get the chance to see each other very often but remain very close", relates Veronica. "He had a chance to come see me in San Diego and I played him some of our recordings from rehearsal and he freaked out. Craig loved our sound but thought we needed better production and hooks so he recommended Jeff Pilson (ex-Dio, Dokken)." Equally impressed by the band's raw talent and untapped potential, Pilson took on the role of producer and recorded BENEDICTUM at his Los Angeles area studio, with ZuZu Recordings production partner, former Warlock bassist Tommy Henriksen, sharing mixing duties.
"Working with Jeff was truly an experience! ", enthuses Veronica about Pilson who also contributed bass - a spot now occupied by newcomer Jesse Wright (ex-Cage) - cello, and additional keyboards on 'Uncreation.' "We brought our whole body of work - all of Malady's stuff, the stuff we wrote as BENEDICTUM - the whole deal, and he picked it apart and re-arranged things. That was hard at first but well worth it. Jeff is extremely focused and he will definitely make you do your best, drawing out of you a new level of performance that you may not have thought possible. He is an amazing individual and we consider him a friend as well as producer."
Armed with an album quality 3-song demo, it did not take long for BENEDICTUM to garner the attention of several interested labels, including the powers-that-be at Locomotive Records (Astral Doors, Prong, Tierra Santa) who signed the band only weeks later. Reconvening at Pilsound over the summer, the quintet tracked another half dozen songs to complete their debut CD. Ranging from the band's anthemic signature tune 'Benedictum', to the melodic stylings of 'Wicca', the blunt force metal of '#4', and the majestic, unrelenting 'Misogyny', summed up by Veronica's spirited and emphatic proclamation, "I'm the bitch that you can't ignore!", 'Uncreation' proves to be an album chock full of head pounding yet always dynamic metal. Elsewhere BENEDICTUM pay homage to the godfathers, Black Sabbath, with a stunning version of the uber-classic 'Heaven and Hell' and another Dio-era barnstormer, 'The Mob Rules' (set for inclusion on the limited edition digi-pak version only) - the latter featuring bass legend Jimmy Bain (ex-Rainbow, Dio). Not to forget the aforementioned Craig Goldy who makes a special guest appearance on the album's epic 8-minute-plus closer, 'Valkyrie Rising', whose torrent OTT ending would make the mighty Queen proud.
As vocal dynamo Veronica Freeman sees it, 'Uncreation' is only the beginning of things to come: "We have worked our asses off to get to this point and we are ready to go full tilt and take BENEDICTUM to the next level." - Don't bet against them……….
09-06-2006 Metropool Hengelo NL
[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door Mutilator op 16-05-2006 18:26]
Enorm gaaf! 
Benedictum.. wat een enorm gaaf geluid komt er uit dat 'wijf' 
