Discoveries: Benea Reach and Nazi Zombies

Two posts in two days, egads, I'm on fire!

This past week our household decided to finally give Bell the boot and switched over to a more reliable provider, as well as ISP. As a result I ended up spending a considerable amount of time on Netflix over the course of the week which I'd neglected for a short while.

Whilst perusing for a movie to watch late one night I went on a zombie craze but was turned into a sad panda when Død Snø (or Dead Snow) which I had seen when it came out a couple years ago wasn't available on Netflix. Not only is it a movie about Nazi Zombies but its one of the best zombie movies in recent memory, and it also has one of the most awesome tracks playing during it's scenes - one of the things that also popped into my head when I decided to go on a mad quest to watch this movie at 3AM.

So naturally once I finally found it, I had to both rewatch this bloody gorefest, but also had to stay for the credits to find the name of this this awesome track, and find the band associated with it.

I could have just as easily google'd it, but who wants to pass up a zombie horror comedy? Not this guy.

An hour and a half and many bloody deaths later, I was rewarded when the credits started rolling and I found the answer to my question.

Benea Reach is an extreme metalcore band from Oslo Norway (also where Dead Snow was filmed) who have been around since 2003. Originally a six member outfit, they've also been known to record and tour with up to seven members.

The track from Dead Snow which introduced me to these guys is entitled Awakening and is also the first track off of their sophomore album Alleviat released back in 2008.

Benea Reach fuses elements of math metal polyrhythms, breakdowns signature to the hardcore scene and some good old progressive overtones. Their records also include well placed interludes with soft melodies, and superbly executed vocals, both low and high, clean and screamed, whether by frontman Illka Volume or guest vocalists, notably Maria Solheim.

Alleviat is a record I would have definitely liked to discover years ago when it first came out. It seems to always be the case when discovering great talent from across the pond, but it's always in interesting ways - like watching a slew of zombies getting hacked to pieces, that I manage to discover my new favorite groups of the moment.

While relatively quiet recently, Benea Reach did release two new demo tracks earlier this month which are available on their Sign Me to Roadrunner page and detailed that they're working on a third full length album. They also released footage from their stint last year on the Great Indian Rock Festival.

Their new website is still listed as under construction but you can always check them out on their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/beneareach, follow their progress on Twitter by following @BeneaReach and check out some live footage on their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/beneareach.

As always, here's a taste of Benea Reach with their track Awakening, which I encourage you all to check out if you're unfamiliar with the group. And if you're unfamiliar with Dead Snow, well - I can't think of any better reason than to say it's a gorefest with Nazi Zombies and this song is in the movie, so watch it. Now.


- J

On the Radar: August Burns Red

I could have chosen about 20 different bands to focus on for my first worthwhile post in about 3 months, but random song releases tend to poke and prod me in just the right ways.

The poking and prodding this time 'round being brought forth by Internal Cannon off of August Burns Red's forthcoming fourth full length album.

August Burns Red - Leveler

Label: Sold State Records
Genre: Metalcore
Release Date: June 21, 2011

Previous Releases:  Thrill Seeker (2005), Messengers (2007), Constellations (2009)

Back in about 2008, I had fallen pretty heavily out of the loop in the metal scene, having gone into a purely alternative, indie and old school grunge theme for about half a year.

Luckily for me I have friends who cared enough to give me an injection of metal to my ear drums that has basically left me on a pure metal high since, once again.

August Burns Red were one of the first bands I got introduced to when I was getting reacquainted with the scene. And as many of my friends were (and are still) quite fond of breakdowns, I was guaranteed a treat when faced with tracks such as Back Burner and Composure off of their then second album Messengers.

Hailing from Pennsylvania this quintet has done nothing but push their own limits since 2005, releasing a full length record every two years, touring nearly non-stop between recording and picking up an army of fans in the meantime.

Their last full length record, Constellations showed off both the evolution and overall progression of the group, from Jake Luhrs commanding leading vocals, to the sweet melodies, bone crushing breakdowns and shredding of JB Brubaker, Brent Rambler and Dustin Davidson, and the near flawless drumming of Matt Greiner to round out the quintet.

ABR released a first track off of Leveler on May 10 entitled Empire to the delight of many a fan. On first hearing the song I was definitely intrigued and it gave me a throwback to the release of Constellations, making me throw it into the stereo to piss off my neighbors promptly once again. My initial reaction was clearly a resounding: F@%# YEAH!

At the same time, Empire gave me the impression of a tried and tested production which has become staple to ABR's style over the years. So my fear was also that Leveler may feel a bit too similar to Constellations. But I definitely enjoy it when I'm wrong.

August Burns Red released a second track off of Leveler today, entitled Internal Cannon (which if you haven't heard yet you should go check out right now and stop reading this garbage - for real). The shifts in style, the interludes and that solo - oh sweet fancy moses, that solo - all things that show me these guys have a whole new bag of tricks to unleash on their fans.

While some people may complain about the lack of wall to wall breakdowns, Internal Cannon is another indication to me that August Burns Red are constantly evolving, making fluctuations to their sound and style, and best of all, pulling it off to a tee.

So to all the kids who may become heartbroken that August Burns Red have clearly matured once again as artists, all I have to say is: grow up kids.

And of course, if you're unfamiliar with August Burns Red, you can check them out on their website at: http://www.augustburnsred.com/. Or you can track their updates on their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/augustburnsred, or on Twitter by following @abrband.

Leveler comes out on June 21st, so if you're a longtime fan, mark your calendars, and if you're a soon to be fan, get stoked. As always a parting gift, here's August Burns Red's most recent release, Internal Cannon:


- J