Benighted is a French

deathgrind Deathgrind (sometimes written as death-grind or death/grind) is a shorthand term that is used to describe bands who play a fusion of death metal and grindcore. ''Zero Tolerance'' described deathgrind as "grindcore and brutal death metal collidin ...

band formed in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

in 1998. The group comprises vocalist Julien Truchan, guitarists Emmanuel Dalle and Fabien "Fack" Desgardins, bassist Pierre Arnoux and drummer Kevin Paradis, Benighted have released nine studio albums.

History

Benighted was formed in

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

, France, in May 1998 by vocalist Julien Truchan, guitarists Liem N'Guyen and Olivier Gabriel, drummer Fred Fayolle and bassist Christophe "Chart" Charretier. Their self-titled debut album was released independently in 2000, and combined elements of

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

and

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

. The following positive response earned the band a record deal with Adipocère Records in early 2001. During the 2001 recording sessions, Benighted moved towards a more technical form of death metal and released their second album, '' Psychose'', in 2002. For the subsequent touring, Remy Aubrespin took over on bass.Chris True
Benighted

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

The band entered studio in late 2004, without a bassist. After the 2004 release of ''Insane Cephalic Production'', bassist Eric Lombard joined as a new member. With ''Insane Cephalic Production'' the band also started working with producer Kristian "Kohle" Kohlmannslehner in his Kohlekeller Studio in Germany. Kohlmannslehner has produced all Benighted albums since then. Benighted subsequently toured throughout Europe with

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considere ...

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from ...

and

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...

among others. Benighted released their fourth album '' Identisick'' in 2006 and Fayolle was replaced by Kevin "Kikou" Foley on drums. The band signed a new deal with

Osmose Productions Osmose Productions () is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company. They specialize mainly in death and black metal bands. Many of the groups who began ...

in 2007 and released ''

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

'' in October that year. In late 2009, Benighted signed to

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

and released '' Asylum Cave'' in 2011. Truchan contributed guest vocals to 2011 album ''

Global Flatline ''Global Flatline'' is the seventh album by death metal band Aborted. It was released on January 20, 2012, in Europe, through Century Media Records. The album was recorded at Hansen Studios in Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen, and is the first ...

'' by

Aborted Aborted is a Belgian death metal band formed in 1995 in Waregem. The group currently consists of vocalist, founder, and only constant member Sven de Caluwé, along with guitarists Ian Jekelis and Dan Konráðsson. Although the band originally ...

. A music video for the song "Let The Blood Spill Between My Broken Teeth" was released in February 2012. Following a brief recording session, Benighted released their eighth full-length studio album '' Necrobreed'' on 24 February 2017 via

records. This record is also the first record to feature veteran death metal drummer Romain Goulon. ''Necrobreed'' maintains traditional fast-paced sound of Benighted, that is a mixture of death metal and grindcore heaviness. The foundation of the songwriting is based on grind. The EP ''Dogs Always Bite Harder than Their Master'' comes on the heels of the 2017 LP ''Necrobreed'' and consists of three new songs, a cover song and six older songs recorded live, which makes this EP almost 35 minutes long. ''Obscene Repressed'', the band's ninth studio album released on 10 April 2020. The album contains guest performances by

Jamey Jasta James Vincent Shanahan (born August 7, 1977), known professionally as Jamey Jasta, is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer of metalcore band Hatebreed and sludge metal band Kingdom of Sorrow. Jasta also fronts metalcore band Ic ...

from

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album ''Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universa ...

, Sebastian Grihm from Cytotoxin, and Karsten Jäger from

Disbelief Disbelief (sometimes decapitalized to "disbelief") is a German heavy metal band from Hesse. Their music is rooted in death metal, but has melancholic tendencies. History The band was formed in 1990, but did not become one solid line-up for s ...

. Benighted released their tenth studio album, ''Ekbom'', on 12 April 2024. The track ''Nothing Left to Fear'' features a guest vocal performance by Archspire's Oliver Rae Aleron.

Members

Current

* Julien Truchan – vocals (1998–present) * Pierre Arnoux – bass, backing vocals (2014–present) * Emmanuel Dalle – guitar (2014–present)

Former

* Christophe "Chart" Charretier – bass (1998–2002) * Fred Fayolle – drums (1998–2006; died 2019) * Liem N'Guyen – guitar (1998–2012), bass (2002) * Olivier Gabriel – guitar (1998–2017) * Rémy Aubrespin – bass (2002–2003) * Bertrand "Bert" Arnaud – bass (2003–2004) * Eric "Candy" Lombard – bass (2004–2014) * Kevin Foley – drums (2006–2016) * Adrian Guérin – guitar (2012–2014) * Alexis Lieu – bass (2014) * Romain Goulon – drums (2016–2017) * Fabien "Fack" Desgardins – guitar (2017–2022) * Kevin Paradis – drums (2017–2024)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums *''Benighted'' (2000) *''Psychose'' (2002) *''Insane Cephalic Production'' (2004) *''Identisick'' (2006) *''

'' (2007) *'' Asylum Cave'' (2011) *'' Carnivore Sublime'' (2014) *'' Necrobreed'' (2017) *''Obscene Repressed'' (2020) *''Ekbom'' (2024) Extended plays * ''Dogs Always Bite Harder than Their Master'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{Authority control French death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 French musical quintets Deathgrind musical groups 1998 establishments in France Season of Mist artists