Day 67
Benea Reach - Alleviat
Band Origin: Oslo, Norway
Band Origin: Oslo, Norway
Genre: Extreme Metal / Mathcore / Atmospheric
Label: Indie Europe / Zoom
Running Time: 50 minutes
Release Date: February 4, 2008 (Scandinavia) - January 6, 2009 (US)
Best Part: Hearing Awakening makes me think of Nazi Zombies.
Favorite Tracks: Lionize, Reason, Awakening, Dominion, and Legacy
Grade: 5
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Alleviat in 20ish words or less:
This extreme metal act from Norway returns with the spirited successor to their Spellemannsprisen award nominated debut release, and get nominated - again.
The Band:
Benea Reach is a seven piece band out of Norway that fuses math metal polyrhythms, hardcore attitude, gloomy atmospheric melodies and progressive overtones into a crisp, cohesive unit. The band was formed in 2003, and with their debut release in 2006, were nominated in the metal category for a Spellemannsprisen award (the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy) alongside Keep of Kalessin, Gorgoroth, and Enslaved. Since then the band has gained attention from across the globe, and has toured far and wide. Benea Reach is currently working on their third full-length album, tracking instruments in the studio at this very moment in time and looking for a record label to match their international ambitions.
Benea Reach is a seven piece band out of Norway that fuses math metal polyrhythms, hardcore attitude, gloomy atmospheric melodies and progressive overtones into a crisp, cohesive unit. The band was formed in 2003, and with their debut release in 2006, were nominated in the metal category for a Spellemannsprisen award (the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy) alongside Keep of Kalessin, Gorgoroth, and Enslaved. Since then the band has gained attention from across the globe, and has toured far and wide. Benea Reach is currently working on their third full-length album, tracking instruments in the studio at this very moment in time and looking for a record label to match their international ambitions.
Jay's Take on Alleviat:
To say that Benea Reach had a lot to live up to with their sophormore release Alleviat would be an understatement. With Monument Bineothan's nomination in the Spellemannsprisen, Benea Reach quickly became known in their home country, throughout Europe and slowly the rest of the world. Alleviat is both the successor and the next extension that Benea Reach used to move up the ranks of the Metal ladder. The record is crisp and very clean, the audio quality of the recording is excellent and that plays a huge role in promotion of the bands sound. Alleviat takes the same approach as their debut, taking their hardcore attitude, dark melodies and technical playstyle, and jazzing it up to another level by including well placed interludes with soft melodies, and superbly executed vocals, both low and high, clean and screamed by frontman Illka Vitasalo. The album varies between dark, emotional melodies, heavy grooves and even atmospheric elegance. The spoken word and clean vocals of guest vocalist Maria Solheim on the track Reason also adds a special touch, that bridges the bands transitions between bright and dark, soft and heavy. And if you didn't have reason enough to listen to this, the track Awakening also happens to be on the soundtrack for the movie Død Snø (Dead Snow) - one of the best zombie slasher films of recent memory, plus they're Nazi Zombies - double win.
Sample of the Day:
Sample of the Day:
Reason is slightly more subdued, granted but it's still awesome, and I already explained why Awakening is the shit.
- J
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