Benea Reach: Monument Bineothan

Monument Bineothan is the debut from Norweigian metal band Benea Reach, featuring former Extol guitarist Christer Espevoll and Ilkka Viitasalo, vocalist of Selfmindead. One thing you'll notice right off the bat is that these guys are stylistically all over the map. Mixing elements of metalcore, thrash, melodic death metal, doom, and math/technical metal, Monumental Bineothan can be a frustrating listen at first, but it's one of those CD's that uncovers some hidden layers over time. It's not until the third track "Transmitter" that the band starts to really settle in and find their groove. After a fairly frenetic first few tracks, this tune throws in some heavy riffs and intricate rhythms that remind a little of Meshuggah, and mixed with some brutal vocal screams & growls really hits the mark. Technical guitar riffs and huge bass grooves permeate "Purge", while the doomy "River" is like a head on collision of apocalyptic death metal and Isis inspired post rock. You might hear a few moments of Mastodon type intensity on "Immaculate", but the real treat is the complex and boiling mass of prog & metal that is the epic 12-minute "Venerate". Loads of weaving Tool-like riffery abound on this one, as well as nimble drums and heaps of heavy bass, plus Viitasalo just screams his ass off, so much so that you wonder how he had anything left after the recording session.

There's a lot to like here on Monument Bineothan, but don't expect to be knocked on your ass instantly. These dudes from Norway are onto something, and it will be interesting keeping an eye on them over their next few releases and see where they go from here.

Track Listing
1. Ground Slayer
2. Inheritor
3. Transmitter
4. Purge
5. Pandemonium
6. River
7. Torch
8. Conflux
9. Emperor
10. Immaculate
11. Venerate
12. Drapery

Added: May 3rd 2007
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3286
Language: english

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