Uncreation

Benedictum

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 14, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Locomotive Spain
• ASIN: B000CCBPM8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #205,388 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Kerrang UK, Feb 06

...an awesome new band with a formidable figurehead. Don't miss this. KKKK

Lords of Metal, Feb 06

I really can't come up with one reason why any true metal fan shouldn't buy this brilliant metal album.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding new melodic metal band with kick-butt female lead singer, March 19, 2006

By	Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Where has Benedictum been all my life?

As the bulk of modern rock wallows in nameless, faceless, tuneless tripe, along comes Benedictum from San Diego, California to shake the cobwebs out of my ears and give my world a rosey glow.

Simply put, Benedictum kicks major butt.

Where do I begin to sing the praises of Benedictum? I could start with drop-dead gorgeous lead singer Veronica Freeman -- a front woman with the looks of an angel and the voice of a devil...Ronnie James Dio to be exact. No kidding. On "Heaven and Hell," the Dio-era Sabbath masterpiece, Veronica is a dead ringer for Dio. And the riff is as heavy as anything Tony Iommi ever set to tape. In short, Benedictum's "Heaven and Hell" is one of the best cover versions I've ever heard.

Okay, how about Benedictum's overall sound? What's it like? It's like...Hmmm. I can tell you what it's *not* like. It's not like most modern-era metal bands that use the guitar like it's an effect, banging away tunelessly in a wall-of-sound sort of way. (Why can't anyone write a decent riff these days? Ritchie Blackmore where are you?) Nope. Benedictum's guitar tone is powerful and heavy, yet never becomes background noise. Guitarist Pete Wells writes real, honest-to-goodness riffs.

There are two covers on the limited edition CD: the aforementioned "Heaven and Hell" and another Dio classic "Mob Rules" from the Sabbath album of the same name. Both are note perfect. Even the vocals. Which, coming from a gorgeous babe like Veronica (and not the diminutive, disctintly *male* personae of RJ Dio), is all the more extraordinary.

Veronica writes from the heart and sings from the depths of hell, dragging emotions kicking and screaming from the netherworld to shove them into the light of day. Pete Wells has a great guitar tone and an ear for a clever chord progression. He's a metal guitarist, make no mistake about it -- but with a rock guitarist's (think Nugent, Blackmore, Montrose, or Dio) ear for a catchy riff. Together, they are the heart and soul of Benedictum.

Recently, I interviewed Veronica via telephone for 90 minutes. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat. She's an intelligent, spiritual, savvy musician with the drive and talent to make it big with her band.

And Benedictum's songs reflect that. These guys play like they're hungry for success. Theirs is an original, no-holds-barred metal that never falters, hits no false notes, and takes no prisoners -- with the epic track "Valkyrie Rising" as the CD's crowning glory. If any band deserves to make it these days, it's Benedictum.

Stand out tracks run the gamut of the disc. My personal favorites are "Heaven and Hell," "Valkyrie Rising," "#4," "Wicca," "Uncreation"...Okay. Darn near everything on the CD.

Oh, I almost forgot. Uncreation was produced by legendary Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson, with assistance from Dio guitarist Craig Goldy. The sound is pristine. The level of musicianship from all concerned is first-rate.

Uncreation is going to knock you for a loop. You'll never see the punch coming, and you'll wonder for days afterward what hit you.

This is metal done the right way.

Waste no time. Buy this disc...and then demand that your town's concert venue bring Benedictum to you. If this band tours the U.S. they're going to be sell-out huge.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trad metal with a twist, February 1, 2007

By	Paul Lawrence "'EJL'" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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Benedictum peddle some hefty riffing played by some heavy dudes - seriously, check out their web site and check the band pics - would you spill their pint?

On a more serious note Benedictum play a fairly traditional style of metal. There are two Dio era Sabbath covers here (Heaven and Hell + The Mob Rules) and the other tunes regularly visit both the low register riffery style of Mr Iommi and the supernatural concerns of Ronnie D's lyrics. All of which makes the female vocals of Veronica Freeman a particuarly interesting sound. She was apparently once even in a Dio tribute band.

The rest of the band comprise Pete Wells (G), Chris Morgan (keys), Jesse Wright (B) and Blackie Sanchez (D). Though in fairness it should be pointed out that Jeff Pilson played bass on the album and also helped out a heap it would seem, beyond also being the producter (Tommy Henrikson co-mixed it). All of the players seem able to slot into their allotted roles well enough, no complaints there though the production sounds somehow a touch flat.

Musically the album pretty much consists of metal rock tunes with little let up. A number of effects have been used such as the word uncreation being played backwards at the start of the song of the same name (you see what they did there?). Also echo effects on Veronicas vox on tunes like Them. but it's not overdone to the point of distraction. While the metal assault doesn't let up there is some light and shade in that the band know how to be slow heavy in sections as well as fast heavy, such as when they put it into overdrive to propel the track Benedictum to it's full metal racket conclusion.

Probably the catchiest tunes here are the title track and #4 - the idea behind the title of which I can't fathom. But it rocks at a galloping speed on a great vocal melody. Which explains why it was farmed out as a freebie promo track at the time of this albums release. Though the rest of the album is pretty consistent and somehow that means that few of the tracks stand out.

Whether you buy into this is to a certain extent on your ability to stomach female vocals with this sort of material. Veronica can really belt out a tune. HR/HM afficionado Geoff Barton described her as having lungs akin to huge bellows used in industrial revolution era factories. And that probably is a fair assessment, on tracks like #4 shes unbelievable. Whether she can do this live - well I dunno - but she certainly kicks some major backside on the evidence here.

A quality 4 star release, a little samey + dull sounding but with plenty of promise for the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool, July 27, 2006

By	infocyde (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews

I just logged into Amazon to buy the Uncreaton CD. Hard Radio has been playing the song Wicca once a day for the past couple of days and it rocks hard. Probably about the best Metal tune I've heard in a long time. I can't vouch for the rest of the songs on the album, but if they are have as good as Wicca any song on the album would make it worth adding to your collection. Benedicturn rocks and Metal lives.