Benea Reach was a Norwegian

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band based in Oslo. The band was nominated for a

Spellemannsprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

Award in the metal category, and at one time included noted guitarist Christer Espevoll of

band

Extol Extol are a Christian metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal. Over the course ...

History

Benea Reach was formed on 22 March 2003 by drummer Marco Storm and vocalist Ilkka Volume of

Selfmindead Selfmindead was a hardcore punk band from Sweden. History Selfmindead formed in the winter of 1994–1995 in Eskilstuna, Sweden as a four-piece. Marko Hautakoski on drums, Timo Sillankorva on guitar, vocalist Ilkka Viitasalo and bassist Tap ...

fame. They were joined by Morten (bass guitar),

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

(guitar), Erik (guitar), and Anders (

Digital Audio Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sa ...

). This original incarnation of the band only lasted for a year and disbanded. During this time a live demo EP had been recorded. In 2004 the pair gathered four new members, most notably Christer Espevoll, formerly of

. The band recorded a demo of the song "Pandemonium", which was distributed among different record labels. After receiving good responses the band signed a deal with

Tabu Recordings Tabu Recordings is an independent Norwegian record label founded in 2003 in Oslo. It is owned by Tuba Records, a major Scandinavian independent music distributor. The label focuses on releasing products from the Norwegian metal bands. Bands sig ...

and released their first full-length '' Monument Bineothan'' which got the band nominated in the 35th Annual

for the metal category against Enslaved,

Gorgoroth Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. It was formed in 1992 by guitarist Infernus, who is also the only original member remaining, and the band have since released nine studio albums. Gorgoroth are a Satanic band and have ...

, and

Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two ...

. In August 2007 the band announced on their website that they would soon be recording their follow-up to "Monument" with acclaimed Danish producer

Tue Madsen Tue Madsen (born 1969) is a Danish music producer and sound engineer, who is well known in metal genre for his work with bands like Meshuggah, Dark Tranquillity, Suicide Silence, Hatesphere, The Haunted, Mnemic, Ektomorf, Cataract, Exmortem ...

. On 26 December 2007 via the band's official Myspace, Benea Reach announced their forthcoming album '' Alleviat'', which was released in Scandinavia February 2008. Around October until November 2008, Benea Reach embarked on tour with The Chariot and The Satire. On 14 May 2009 the band confirmed via their official Myspace the departure of guitarist Håkon Sagen, earlier that year. In October 2009 the band toured India, with concerts at The Great Indian Rock Festival in Pune, Delhi and Bangalore from 23–26 October and at Thomso '09 Cultural Festival of IIT Roorkee on 31 October. On 11 January 2014, Benea Reach announced that they would be disbanding after their last scheduled shows in March.

Influences

Marco Storm, drummer and primary spokesperson for the band, has mentioned in multiple interviews bands such as

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1985. Originally, the band's name was Metallien. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Jens Kidman, guitarists Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström, drummer Tomas ...

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

, and Botch as primary influences for their sound. More specifically the Meshuggah EP ''

None None may refer to: *Zero, the mathematical concept of the quantity "none" *Empty set, the mathematical concept of the collection of things represented by "none" *''none'', an indefinite pronoun in the English language Music * ''None'' (Meshuggah E ...

''. Other influences include

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time sign ...

, My Bloody Valentine,

Cult of Luna Cult of Luna is a Swedish heavy metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. They are known for post-metal music similar to the contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. The band was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, i ...

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

, and

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

Members

Final line-up *Ilkka Volume - vocals (2003-2014) (

) *Marco Storm - drums (2003-2014) (Selfmindead, ex- Serena-Maneesh) *Martin "Heddal" Sivertsen - guitars (2003-2014) (

Mantric Mantric is a Norwegian progressive metal band from Oslo that formed in 2007. Background When the last remaining founding members of Extol, vocalist Peter Espevoll and drummer David Husvik, decided to end the band in 2007, the remaining mem ...

ive *Andreas Berglihn - guitars (2010-2014) *Mikael Wildén - bass guitar (2010-2014) *Thomas Wang - guitars, keyboards (2011-2014) Former *Håkon Sagen - guitar (2003-2009) (Shining, ex-

Marty Friedman Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until ...

ive * Christer Espevoll - guitar (2003-2011) (ex-

, ex-Absurd²) *Håkon Nakken - bass guitar (2003-2010) (Selfmindead) *Morten Holmquist - bass guitar (2003) (ex-Selfmindead) *Tor Erik Drangsland - guitars (2003) (ex-Selfmindead) *Alwin Nedrum - programming, guitars (2008-2011) *

Tor Magne Glidje Tor Magne Glidje (born September 27, 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist in Extol, Ganglion and Longing, a.k.a. Lengsel, where he is also the lead singer. He was also a part of Benea Reach. He is now playing in the band Mantric. Background Tor Magne ...

- guitars (2003) (

Lengsel Lengsel was a progressive black metal band that formed in 1994 in Norway. They released one album, called ''Solace'', on Endtime Productions in 2000, which was subsequently licensed to Solid State Records for an American release. The second alb ...

, ex-Extol,

, ex-Ganglion) *Anders Lidal - programming, keyboards (2003) (Mantric) Live musicians *Tommy Hjelm - guitars (2009) Timeline ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:150 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:03/22/2003 till:01/11/2014 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:2004 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2005 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards,_piano,_programming id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:Studio value:black legend:Studio_releases id:EP value:gray(0.55) legend:Others_releases LineData = layer:back at:01/01/2004 color:EP at:07/31/2006 color:Studio at:02/04/2008 color:Studio at:03/22/2013 color:Studio BarData = bar:Ilkka text:"Ilkka Volume" bar:Martin text:"Martin Sivertsen" bar:Tor text:"Tor Magne Glidje" bar:Christer text:"Christer Espevoll" bar:Thomas text:"Thomas Wang" bar:Erik text:"Erik Drangsland" bar:Sagen text:"Håkon Sagen" bar:Andreas text:"Andreas Berglihn" bar:Morten text:"Morten Holmquist" bar:Nakken text:"Håkon Nakken" bar:Mikael text:"Mikael Wildén" bar:Anders text:"Anders Lidal" bar:Alwin text:"Alwin Nedrum" bar:Marco text:"Marco Storm" PlotData= width:15 bar:Ilkka from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Martin from:start till:end color:Guitar bar:Erik from:start till:06/01/2003 color:Guitar bar:Tor from:start till:06/01/2003 color:Guitar bar:Anders from:start till:06/01/2003 color:Keys bar:Morten from:start till:06/01/2003 color:Bass bar:Sagen from:06/01/2003 till:01/01/2009 color:Guitar bar:Nakken from:06/01/2003 till:01/01/2010 color:Bass bar:Mikael from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Bass bar:Mikael from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Guitar width:11 bar:Mikael from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Keys width:7 bar:Mikael from:01/01/2011 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Andreas from:01/01/2010 till:end color:Guitar bar:Andreas from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Keys width:7 bar:Andreas from:01/01/2011 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Christer from:06/01/2003 till:01/01/2011 color:Guitar bar:Christer from:03/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Alwin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2011 color:Keys bar:Alwin from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 color:Guitar width:7 bar:Alwin from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2011 color:BVocals width:3 bar:Thomas from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Guitar bar:Thomas from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Keys width:7 bar:Thomas from:01/01/2011 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Marco from:start till:end color:Drums bar:Marco from:03/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:Bass width:7 bar:Marco from:06/01/2003 till:01/01/2008 color:Keys width:3 bar:Marco from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Guitar width:11 bar:Marco from:01/01/2011 till:end color:Keys width:7 bar:Marco from:01/01/2011 till:end color:BVocals width:3

Discography

Studio albums *'' Monument Bineothan'' (2006) *'' Alleviat'' (2008) *''

Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

'' (2013) Demo *''Pandemonium'' (2004)

References

{{Benea Reach Norwegian industrial metal musical groups Norwegian metalcore musical groups Norwegian mathcore musical groups Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Oslo