Benedictum is an American heavy metal band formed in 2005 in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

that now resides in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Veronica Freeman, guitarist Pete Wells, bassist Aric Avina, and drummer Rikard Stjernquist. Since their formation the band released four studio albums, debuting with '' Uncreation'' in 2006, followed by '' Seasons of Tragedy'' in 2008, both through Spain-based label Locomotive Music, before signing with Italian label

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the ...

for their third album, ''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

'', issued in 2011. Their fourth and most recent album, ''Obey'', was released on Frontiers Records in 2013.

History

Band formation

Benedictum was formed originally as Bound by vocalist Veronica Freeman and guitarist Pete Wells in

in 2005. The two founding members had been in the band known as Malady for over ten years. Freeman and Wells recruited drummer Blackie Sanchez and keyboardist Chris Morgan, whom Freeman had played with in the Dio tribute band Evilution. Freeman's acquaintance with Dio's guitarist

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Ro ...

, brought the band to meet the former Dio and

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as "Alone Again (Dokken song), Alone Again", " ...

bass player

Jeff Pilson Jeffrey Steven Pilson (born January 19, 1959) is an American musician best known for being the bass player in the glam metal band Dokken and currently classic rock band Foreigner. He has also had an extended stint with Dio in the 1990s. He is ...

, who produced their first three-track demo and contributed playing bass guitar. In late 2005, they signed a record deal with the Spanish label

Locomotive Records Locomotive Music or Locomotive Records is an independent record label based in Spain. The label's music catalogue was acquired by One Media iP on 25 February 2019. Selected artists * Adagio * Alogia * Anubis Gate * Astral Doors * Barón Rojo ...

History

After signing with Locomotive Records, Benedictum entered in the studio to record their debut album with production by Jeff Pilson and mixing by Pilson and former

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicat ...

member Tommy Henriksen. The band recorded eleven songs including the covers of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

′s songs " Heaven and Hell" and "The Mob Rules", songs the group members had played for years in tribute bands. Both the former

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

and Dio member

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo a ...

and Craig Goldy played as guests on the album. '' Uncreation'' was initially due to be released on October 17, 2005, but was delayed to January 20, 2006, according with statement of vocalist Veronica Freeman: Garnering strong reviews for '' Uncreation'', including a "bands to watch in 2006" pick by the British magazine ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

'', the band toured Europe for the first time in the summer of that same year, kicking things off at Italy's massive Gods of Metal festival near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. Benedictum also landed a slot on the Winter 2006 Doro European tour. Their 2008 sophomore release, '' Seasons of Tragedy'', saw the group continue their close working relationship with mentor/producer Jeff Pilson who brought in former

bandmate George Lynch to contribute guest guitar solos on "Bare Bones" and a cover of the Accept track "Balls to the Wall". Long-time friend, guitarist Craig Goldy, also made an appearance on the album. The band supported the album in Europe with several festival shows and completed a fall tour with

NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

veterans

Girlschool Girlschool are a British Rock music, rock band that formed in the new wave of British heavy metal scene in 1978. Frequently associated with contemporaries Motörhead, they are the longest-running all-female rock band, still active after more ...

. With regard to ''Seasons of Tragedy'',

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

reviewer Stewart Mason stated that "Singer Veronica Freeman has a powerful, hectoring voice, similar at times to

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

's potent bellow from the

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio album ...

days, and keyboardist Chris Morgan prefers to add subtle coloration and powerful drone parts rather than lame

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

-style twiddling." Prior to commencing work on their third album, ''

'', the band underwent significant lineup changes with only core members Veronica Freeman and Pete Wells remaining. Benedictum would also leave their original record company, Locomotive Music, and sign a new deal with

. Due to Jeff Pilson's commitments with Foreigner, main producing duties for the new album were handled by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

winning engineer/producer,

Ryan Greene Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many ar ...

, whose credits include

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...

and

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every r ...

. Pilson and Craig Goldy would make guest appearances on the album as did legendary bassist

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also play ...

on the song "Bang". Continuing the tradition of covering at least one cover track on each album, the band cut "Overture" / "The Temples of Syrinx" / "Grand Finale" off of '' 2112'' by

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

, which is featured as a bonus track. New members Rikard Stjernquist (ex-

Jag Panzer Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. History Jag Panzer came together in late 1981, being inspired by the onslaught of the new wave of British heavy metal. The original line-up consisted of Harry Conkl ...

) on drums and Aric Avina on bass were recruited in 2012 to record their latest album ''Obey'', released in November 2013.

Members

Current members

* Veronica Freeman – vocals *Pete Wells – guitar *Aric Avina – bass *Rikard Stjernquist – drums

Former members

*Blackie Sanchez – drums *Jesse Wright – bass *Chris Morgan – keyboards *Paul Courtois – drums *Chris Shrum – bass *Tony Diaz – keyboards *Mikey Pannone – drums

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Uncreation'' (2006) *'' Seasons of Tragedy'' (2008) *''

'' (2011) * ''Obey'' (2013)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups from San Diego Musical groups established in 2005 Frontiers Records artists Locomotive Music artists American power metal musical groups