Behind Enemy Lines is an American
crust punk
Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
band, based in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. They play in a
crossover thrash
Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre emerged in the mid-1980s, when hardcore punk bands, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Cryptic Slaughter, Corrosion of Conformity and Dir ...
style of
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
crust punk
and
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
.
The band features vocalist Dave Trenga and drummer Matt Garabedian, both of
Aus-Rotten,
Mary Bielich (Penance, Mythic, Mud City Manglers, Novembers Doom, Derketa, Wormhole) and Matt Tuite (Wickerman, Penance, Blackfinger, Devil Bell Hippies, Mud City Manglers) and formerly guitarist Bill Chamberlain
of
The Pist and
Caustic Christ.
Biography
History
In late 2000,
after the dissolution of
Aus-Rotten, two former members of that band, Dave Trenga and Matt Garabedian, formed Behind Enemy Lines along with Bill Chamberlain (also of
The Pist and
Caustic Christ) on guitar, and Matt Sachs, formerly of Devastation on bass. Mary Bielich and Matt Tuite (both former members of Pittsburgh doom metal band
Penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.
The word ''penance'' derive ...
) joined later, playing bass and guitar respectively.
In 2007, Chamberlain was replaced by Ken Houser.
Lyrical themes
Lyrics covered a range of political topics, including:
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
,
environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
,
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
,
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
,
anti-religion and
anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...
. The band is noted for its harsh
criticism of George W. Bush, especially on issues concerning the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
,
Abu Ghraib, subversion of human rights under the
Patriot Act and the
government response to Hurricane Katrina.
Dave Trenga wrote essays detailing his political opinion on both his Myspace blog and Behind Enemy Line's website. He demonstrated a strong distaste for Christianity, stating "I have never seen such a hateful and intolerant movement infiltrate every aspect of our lives as the current Christian movement in America has" and concluded, "I only hope I see this movement fall in my lifetime."
Discography
* ''Know Your Enemy''
(2002) Tribal War Records
** Re-released 2005 on
Profane Existence Records
* ''The Global Cannibal'' (2003)
US LP & CD on Antagony Media, European LP on Alerta Antifascista Records
* ''One Nation Under the Iron Fist of God'' (2006) Profane Existence Records
Members
Current members
* Dave Trenga – lead vocals (2000-2009, 2015–present)
* Matt Garabedian – drums (2000-2009, 2015–present)
* "Metal" Mary Bielich – bass (2002-2008, 2015–present)
* Matt Tuite – guitar (2000-2009, 2015–present)
Former Members
* Matt Sachs – bass (2000-2002, 2008-2009)
* Bill Chamberlain – guitar (2000–2007)
* Ken Houser – guitar (2007)
Timeline
References
External links
Behind Enemy Lines' Official MySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behind Enemy Lines
Musical groups from Pittsburgh
American crust and d-beat groups
Hardcore punk groups from Pennsylvania
Musical quartets from Pennsylvania
Musical groups established in 2000
Musical groups disestablished in 2009