Benevolent is an extreme/

experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventi ...

band formed in 2007 by Lebanese brothers Hadi and Fadi Sarieddine. Formerly based in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

, the band is now based in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

History

Formation and lineup changes (2007–2009)

Benevolent was founded by brothers Hadi Sarieddine and Fadi Sarieddine in May 2007 under the name Eminence. The band had initially started as a cover band. In 2008, the band released its first single titled "Solace". In mid-2009, the band was joined by Adel Al-Qattan on guitars, and Bader Nana on drums. The band soon began writing original material. Soon after the release of "Augmented" in early 2010, Adel Al-Qattan and Bader Nana had departed from the band.

Recording ''Divided'' EP (December 2009–August 2010)

Benevolent entered the studio to begin work on record material for what has become the band's debut EP, titled ''

Divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...

''. "The Tyrant" was previously released as "Augmented" in late January, 2010. The second single of the EP was the song "Haunting Shores". which showcased a new and more focused direction in the band's sound. Involving elements of poly rhythmic beats, low tuned guitars, and a general move toward what is referred to as

djent Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as ''The Guardian'' and ''Guitar World'' describe djent as a Music genre, genre, some notable musicians includi ...

. The songs "Clairvoyant Transmission", "Purgatory", and "The Quantum Paradox" were all finalized toward the end of the recording process across the summer of 2010.

''Divided'' EP

On November 5, 2010, the band released its debut EP titled ''

''. The EP featured five songs including "Haunting Shores" and "The Tyrant". ''

'' was released exclusively for free download on the band's Bandcamp page. On January 10, 2011, Benevolent announced through their Facebook page that the line up of the band has been completed with the addition of Mohammed Gad on

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

. The band also confirmed their appearance in shows promoting ''

'' in February 2011 in the Middle East. It was officially announced on the band's Official Facebook page that the band will return to the studio on May 27, 2011 to commence work on a single which will be released through the summer of 2011. On July 10, 2011, Benevolent debuted their first official music video which features a guitar play-through of the song Clairvoyant Transmission. Hadi Sarieddine worked with the designer of the artwork from ''

'' as a director and producer for the video.

''The Covenant'' and working with Andols Herrick

'The Covenant' is Benevolent's first full-length album, the record was released digitally on March 18, 2014 independently by the band. Andols Herrick (formerly of Chimaira) was announced as the guest drummer on the album.

Discography

Divided EP (2010)

Track list

#"Clairvoyant Transmission" #"Purgatory" #"The Tyrant" #"Haunting Shores" #"The Quantum Paradox" *Co-produced, mixed, and engineered by Sajid "Sarj" Masoud at Sarj's Studio, Kuwait. *Drums written by Hadi Sarieddine and Bader Nana, digitized by Sajid "Sarj" Masoud *Guitars recorded by Hadi Sarieddine (Adel al-Qattan appears on "The Tyrant" and "The Quantum Paradox") *Bass recorded by Hadi Sarieddine *Vocals recorded by Fadi Sarieddine (growls, and cleans on "The Tyrant") and Hadi Sarieddine (cleans) *Keyboards and pianos digitized and engineered by Hadi Sarieddine

The Covenant (2014)

Track list

#"Void" #"Asphyxia" #"The Seeker" #"Radiate" #"Illusion" #"Heathen" #"The Collector" #"Dissipate" #"Metamorphosis" #"Ascension" #"Rebirth" *Produced, mixed, and arranged by Hadi Sarieddine at Haven Studio *Guitars recorded by Hadi Sarieddine and Mohammed Gad *Bass recorded by Mohammed Gad *Drums recorded by Andols Herrick at Studio D Productions *Keyboards and pianos digitized and arranged by Hadi Sarieddine *Mastered by Acle Kahney at 4D Sounds *Album artwork by Edidong Udo

Band members

Current members

* Hadi Sarieddine -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

clean vocals Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

*Fadi Sarieddine -

growling Growling is a low, guttural Animal communication, vocalization produced by animals as an aggression, aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific ...

*Mohammed Gad -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Session members

*Prasad Jayaruwan - drums

Past members

*Adel al-Qattan - guitars *Bader Nana - drums *Khalid al-Mansour - drums *Hisham Khalil - guitars

References

External links

- Bandcamp page

- Facebook page
EP review on Lebmetal.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benevolent (band) Kuwaiti musical groups Avant-garde metal musical groups Death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2007