Behind Enemy Lines is an American

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

band, based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. They play in a

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...

style of anarchist crust punk and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

. The band features vocalist Dave Trenga and drummer Matt Garabedian, both of

Aus-Rotten Aus-Rotten was an American crust punk band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Active from 1991 to 2001, its members practiced and promoted a philosophy of anarchist politics. The band included lead vocalist Dave Trenga, vocalist/guitarist Eric G ...

, 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 Caustic Christ was an American crusty hardcore punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. They were on Havoc Records. The band is composed of vocalist GenEric Christ, guitarist Bill Christ, bassist Mistaken Ukla Von Upenstien, and d ...

Biography

History

In late 2000, after the dissolution of

, two former members of that band, Dave Trenga and Matt Garabedian, formed Behind Enemy Lines along with Bill Chamberlain (also of The Pist and

) on guitar, and Matt Sachs, formerly of Devastation on bass. Mary Bielich and Matt Tuite (both former members of Pittsburgh doom metal band Penance) 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 worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

, anti-religion and anti-capitalism. The band is noted for its harsh criticism of George W. Bush, especially on issues concerning the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

, Abu Ghraib, subversion of human rights under the

Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...

and the

government response to Hurricane Katrina Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Ka ...

. 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 The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(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 Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2009