Benighted

A French death metal band, Benighted formed in 1998. Initially made up of members Julien Truchan (vocals), Olivier Gabriel (guitars), Liem Nguyen (guitars), Fred Fayolle (drums), and Chart (bass), the group was a combination of death metal, black metal, and grindcore. This would be the sound that the band would put onto disc, and release as their first album, 2000's Benighted. The response was good, and the band signed a deal with Adipocere Records in early 2001. During the 2001 recording sessions for the band's follow up, a change of direction — that being moving towards a more ‘technical' brand of death metal — was the catalyst for the first departure in the rhythm section of Benighted. Gone was Chart, and after the 2002 release of Psychose and its subsequent touring schedule, Remy Aubrespin took over on bass. In late 2002, Benighted was once again in the studio, and once again without a bassist. The result of the recordings, the 2004 release Insane Cephalic Production, is followed with more good news, as a replacement for Remy is found in Eric Lombard. The next two years are spent promoting the good Benighted name, and the band finds themselves hitting European stages with bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide, Fear Factory, Slipknot, and Soulfly. As if by clockwork, the year that album number four — 2006's Indentisick — is released, there is a sudden vacancy in the band. This time, it wasn't a bassist venturing off but a drummer. Gone was Fred Fayolle, and in his place would sit new trapsman Kevin Foley. A new deal is inked in 2007 with Osmose Productions, and in October of that year, Benighted released album number five, Icon.