"THE TYRANT" Official Guitar Playthrough

Hello everyone!

Check out the new pro shot Guitar Playthrough video of the song "THE TYRANT" off of DIVIDED EP.

You can download DIVIDED EP for FREE on THIS link.

Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook, FOLLOW us on Twitter, and SUBSCRIBE to our channel on YouTube.

P.S: The video was shot with a Canon 600D.

ENJOY!
Hadi

In Memory of David Gold, Cover of WOODS OF YPRES - FINALITY

Hello everyone,

Last year in December the world lost one of it's best people and most talented musicians, David Gold (front man of Woods of Ypres).

In remembrance of his passing, and as a tribute to his art and him as the great person that he was, I've put together this little humble cover of one of my favorite songs of all time; "FINALITY" which is on the last release from the band Woods of Ypres.

Do check out the cover in the video below:

I met David in Kuwait when he made a work trip down there for a few months. David had previously been in touch with Sajid "Sarj" Masood over the internet (a few years before the whole "work in Kuwait" thing came up). Back then David was in Korea and while looking for metal bands to check out in Korea on Metal Archives, he saw "Kuwait" right next to it and wondered "Kuwait? There are metal bands in Kuwait?"

At that point he found out about Sarj's band "Nocturna" and basically got in touch with him and talked some metal.

A few years down the road, coincidence or not, David got a job opportunity in Kuwait and prior to arriving he got in touch with Sarj once again to meet up and what not while he's there. We met up with David about a week after his arrival in Kuwait, once he got settled into his new apartment and all that transitionary stuff.

We all hung out quite a bit, listened to a whole lot of Rammstein, Katatonia, Opeth, Meshuggah, and all that while driving around town. We even talked about doing a remote band that's along the lines of Rammstein (the working title of the project was "SANDSTEIN"). I actually still have the recorded demos that we did.

David had to cut his stay in Kuwait short once his band Woods of Ypres were signed to Earache Records and they were getting ready to tour in support of Woods 4: The Green Album, in addition to start with writing and recording the album Woods 5: Grey Skies and Electric Light.

After David left, we all kept in touch with each other a whole lot...we talked about a Benevolent and Woods of Ypres tour out here in the Middle East or Europe.

He was a great person, a very deep musician, and though he is no longer amongst us he truly lives in his music.

Carpe Diem.

Hadi Sarieddine

Download my Line 6 Rhythm Tones

Hey guys!

As you all know I have been using Line 6 gear extensively for a long time now, so I figured why not share my main recording Rhythm tones with you all!

I went ahead and uploaded the two main Rhythm guitar tones to the Line 6 Custom Tone site, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE TONES.

The below tune was recorded using those tones, check it out:

Be sure to drop me a line on what you think of those tones and do share your tracks recording using the tones in the comments section or on Facebook.

Have fun!
Hadi

Footage of us Performing in Dubai

Hey guys!

Check this montage of our set in Dubai on June 29th.

I used my Line 6 POD HD500 straight into the PA, sounded epic!

Hadi

Benevolent LIVE IN DUBAI - VLOG PART 1

Hey guys,

Check it out! GOOD TIMES!

Best,
Hadi

Opening for Nervecell: June 29th Show Poster

SWAGGER

Hadi

Offering a New Service: Producing Bands

Hey guys!

I figured I'll put this out there publicly as I've been corresponding with a few people on producing their band's work. If you've got a band or you're a solo artist working on a song/record do hit me up as I'm going to be offering this service now.

The production stuff can involve things such as:

• Songwriting advise
• Instrument layering and textures
• Guitar/bass tone crafting
• Drums programming and drum tones
• And more!

Additionally, as an added option if you would like the work to be mixed/mastered I can arrange for that as well with my good buddy Sajid "Sarj" Masood from Sarj's Studio, who mixes all the Benevolent (Divided EP and the upcoming album) stuff and other projects that I've worked.

Shoot me an email at aytch87@gmail.com or on my Facebook and we can talk it out.

Cheers,

Hadi

Writing a Song in Memory of David Gold

Hey guys,

So I've been working on the tribute song for my good buddy, the late, David Gold (Woods of Ypres). I am pretty sure this post is going to be a bit of a dull read but I feel the need to write this since this page has become a point of ventilation for all sorts of stuff that come to mind in the musical spectrum, and though David was a friend and not a band mate or someone that I worked musically with, he was and remains to be an inspiration, and his music has been influencing my work on the Benevolent album.

When writing this song, the part that mostly gives me some aching is that David's not around to hear this piece or the rest of the Benevolent album. We often spoke about this and I kept updating him on our work even while he was on tour with Woods.

Every time I listen to the progress on the song so far, I just ask myself "What would David think of this piece?" and I suppose this has led to a Woods of Ypres feel to the song.

But, what is the image that the song should depict?

I believe that words cannot be said to pay tribute to a good friend, but music can get me closer to translating all this stuff.

I do hope that the song reverberates and shines as a melody that attempts to represent the feelings behind the loss of a great friend.

Rest in Peace, brother!

Hadi

First Day Tracking Vocals

Hey guys!

Today was the first day of vocal tracking, Fadi jumped right in with great energy and ripped through his parts.

What we're going to do is finish all the growl vocals (Fadi's bits) first, and then after that I'll step in to do my vocals and finish up my solos as well along the same time.

Here are some shots from today's session:

Stay tuned!
Hadi

Snapshot of ANDOLS HERRICK tracking drums for the BENEVOLENT album

Title says it all!

GET PSYCHED!

Hadi

BENEVOLENT: TWO YEARS OF ALBUM CREATION (PART ONE)

December 2010: 

Psyched as F*** from Divided EP's reviews, reviews, reviews, and feedback / resulting in early demoing for the upcoming material.

February 2011: 

The song "THE 2011" is born with the main intro riff. Listened to lots of djent bands here so that's been an influence.

March 2011: 

"The USB riff" becomes the new song of focus; also heavily influenced by the djent bands I was listening to then. Sadly this song wasn't completed but didn't make the cut. Check out a half demo of it here!

May 2011: 

At this point the song "The 2011" is in the finishing phases of the writing process and being scheduled for tracking and release in the summer of 2011, hence the name! At this point I had been working heavily on generating other ideas but lightly because I prefer to finish the song at hand before moving on to other ones. I guess that's what happened with "The USB Riff" I just hopped into other things and never got around to finishing it, and I haven't "felt" it since then!

July 2011: 

Tracking "The 2011" takes place at Sarj's studio. We spent quite a bit of time tracking this one since it's got a set of really challenging riffs with specific picking patterns. At this point the working date for the new record's release started popping into mind heavily and whilst working on finishing "The 2011" we began to define a blueprint for the record. This was done in close consultation with Sarj as well! He's kind of like the band's babysitter in a sense.

September 2011: 

Benevolent signs to Spellbind Records. Can I get a hell yea?

Most definitely one of those proud moments for us as a band and myself personally, being on the same record as metal icons Nervecell is a true honor!

At this point "The 2011" was finished but due to so much going on at that moment we were taken away from focusing on the finalizing of this song and decided to let it hang as the album's picture starts to come more clearly into play.

At this point I began working on a song which I finished rather quickly, this was "Nice Introer"; to me this song is kind of like a Dream Theater meets Scar Symmetry with a nice acoustic topping here and there! I would say it's one of the best intros from the songs on the album!

October 2011: 

I started to toy up with two songs back to back at this point, and with working titles of "Paid to Rest" and "Sacramento" you guys can take a wild guess what I was listening to heavily then (Lamb of God FTW). The songs were demoed at my studio and finalized, however, they didn't make the final cut because I felt that they stood out distinctively from the rest, had a much too different feel about them, and I found myself losing interest in fixing them while rather just wanting to move on to fresh and new songs. Those songs were on the main picks of songs to track for the record's final product up until March 2012 (see in PART TWO!)

November 2011: 

Benevolent debut gig in Dubai at Metal Asylum Festival 2011 marking the band's first show in the UAE. We had a blast performing alongside the bands such as Zygnema, Firezone, and the rest!

I remember waking up at 8 am after sleeping at 5 am post the gig, really wired up from the show's energy, grabbed my laptop and started writing what later became the song "OBOBOBZEN"

At the point I was also grappling with a song named "EPIC2", which never got finished but I got a feeling this one will be making an appearance on future Benevolent releases. I remember recording a few ideas with my homie Khalid Al Mansour while we were bored and lonely in Dubai, waiting for rehearsal time.

Early December 2011: 

Demo recording of "OBOBOBZEN" comes to life. This was a turning point for the album's creation; it was the begin of the shift in tuning for the entire (well, most of the) album. I tuned down to E D A D G B E for a maximum sinister feeling when playing guitar.

Unfortunately, "OBOBOBZEN" sounded far too rushed and rather immature as a song, so it was scrapped, however, I feel this one song's presence in the process is key in this album's essence because it paved the way for the upcoming tracks, which in my opinion have made this album!

STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO!

Discover YOUR Musicianship

One of the main things that definitely set things in motion for me as a musician is coming to an understanding of who I am as a musician; the solid yet dynamic definition that sets the stage to channel all the hard work into a unified path and opens up the gates for even further dedication.

The trick behind this deal is the simple reality that when you know and understand what you're all about (or plan to be all about) as a musician you develop this tunnel vision giving you that focal point and an edge in which this new found dedication becomes all you know, all you think about, and all you look forward to. It almost (or very much so) turns into an obsession where all the hard work involved with getting it done becomes a very light task and you find yourself able to activate your inner genius.

The results of your work and the gratification entailed with watching all the elements align from the work of your very hands is a beautiful and addictive feeling.

Tunnel vision is what it's all about; whether you are a musician, a painter, writer, etc; whatever it is, it's all about the go-getter attitude that automatically goes into positive-haywire mode once you find yourself at peace, knowledge, and full acknowledgement and understanding of what you're on about in that domain.

Talk soon folks,
Hadi

AMT Electronics P-1 and B-1 = WIN

Just got the AMT Electronics Legend Amps Series' P-1 and B-1. Check out the photos below:

The B-1 is based on Bogner while the P-1 is based on Peavey's 5150. 

Clips coming soon!

Hadi

[PRESS RELEASE] Benevolent Lead Guitarist Hadi Sarieddine now on AMT Electronic's Official Artist roster

Hadi Sarieddine, Lead guitarist of extreme experimental metal band Benevolent, has been added to AMT Electronics' lineup of official artists, marking him as the first Lebanese musician to be featured on the Russian comany's roster of artists.

Hadi Sarieddine had this to say about AMT's products, "I've recently picked up the E-1 from AMT Electronics' line of Legend Amps and was shocked by the quality from the get-go"

"The E-1's tone fits perfectly with the tone that I go for with Benevolent and I absolutely cannot wait to take this beast out live, and the best part is it can fit in my guitar gig bag's pocket" 

The Legend Amps series line from AMT Electronics features the emulation of legendary amplifiers in a full analog designed based on JFET technology, all in a stomp box design. The stomp boxes feature 2 output options, one that is a dry signal output and is designed to go directly into the effects return of your amplifier head; while the other output option features an emulated speaker cabinet intended to go directly into the PA or sound card.

Hadi Sarieddine added, "if you were to listen to a clip of how tuneful those little stomp boxes are without being told where all the preamp sounds are coming from, there's no way you'd guess it's coming out of something as small as a cell phone; I've never been so psyched about a tone like this before" 

Benevolent released their debut EP in November 2010, received rave reviews around the region; the band is currently in the recording process of their debut full length record which is due for release with Spellbind Records. You can listen to Benevolent's music on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Benevolent.band

Check out Hadi Sarieddine's profile on AMT Electronics on http://www.amtelectronics.com/artisty/hadi_sarieddine/, and make sure you check the rest of AMT Electronic's products on their website.

- ENDS -

Album Blueprints: How Many Cylinders Are You Firing On?

I remember having a conversation with Sajid ‘Sarj’ Masood, Benevolent’s co-producer, (and one of the main factors that brought our sound to the shape that it came out through); we basically were talking about the upcoming Benevolent album and this was way early on in the writing process, months and months ago, and the idea of having a “blueprint” for the album came about. This would basically be like a rough mission statement of what we would like to achieve from the album as far as what elements are coming into play, and I believe this has truly served the write process well and definitely put things into perspective.

This was a great thing for me to have personally because I’m always anxious and stressing about the very little details going into the album’s writing process and what elements the songs are entertaining; is it too much? Is it too little? Is it just about right?

When we sat down and figured out a rough blueprint for the upcoming record it changed the game plan positively because I felt like I was writing with more purpose, I was writing songs for them to be included on the record instead of writing songs off the fly with little perspective or vision as far as how they serve the big picture of the album’s sound.

I remember us doing something similar unconsciously during the Divided EP sessions where Sarj came up and said “Alright, you’ve got a couple songs that have this specific feel; now you need another song that sounds a bit on that other send of your style and push things in that direction.” The best part of it all is that I find myself getting super inspired by things that those around me are saying about the music I’m writing, so it makes me consider things from a very broad view; although, I think a musician is truly able to get as close as possible to listen to his/her music for what it really is, rather than be stuck in a bubble thinking it sounds a certain way, much kudos go out to that person!

Keep producing!
Hadi

It's happening!

Hey guys!

So we [Benevolent] are getting ready to start tracking the new album, the final collection of songs going into the production is a fine mix of hard-hitting, melancholy, and progressive songs with lots of chugging and shimmering melodies; I CAN’T WAIT!

Basically, what’s going to happen is we’re going to get on with tracking down the bass to scratch MIDI drums. I really can’t wait to get down to designing the bass tone and getting on with tracking things up, I think the guys are gonna rip through this album and it’s going to be a very fun experience.

I am pretty sure we’re going to be experimenting with some of the song structure when need be, in addition to adding up some more enticing layers than there already is. It’s a whole lot like cooking, you’ve gotta have the right ingredients in there, but even with the right ingredients there has to be a control as to not have that stuff on there with an overload.

We’re going to start with the song with the working title of PODISBACK, which actually is probably my favorite song on the record right now. It’s as heavy as Chuck Norris’s beard and has a very cool overall drive with lots of textures and an interesting dreamy selection of sounds.

So yea, we start with tracking the bass, and then get on with doing guitars; while simultaneously working on the preproduction work for the vocal bits. It’s exciting, we’re nervous and excited!

STAY TUNED!!!!

Hadi

[PRESS RELEASE] Benevolent: "We are wrapping up the writing process for our debut full length"

Benevolent’s co-founder (guitarist/co-vocalist) Hadi Sarieddine has confirmed that the band is nearing the end of the writing and preproduction process for the debut full length album, which is the follow up to the highly toutedDivided EP (2010) which saw the band take the Middle East metal scene by storm, leading the Lebanese-founded metal band into the signing with Spellbind Records alongside Middle East metal icons Nervecell.

Hadi describes the material as “dramatic, technical, uneasy, and progressive” stating that the album is a step up from the bands’ previous work and pushes the band’s limits and boundaries ahead.

“This album’s definitely a fine blend of lots of dramatic moments, the songs are heavier than before and I think it’s an honest attempt at pushing our artistic limits further”

In talk about the songs in the album, Hadi had this to say

“The songs are longer, the soundscapes and textural backgrounds are there and there’s a whole new tuning on the album…I think there’s only one or two songs that share the tunings used on Divided EP and I’ve taken that as a conscious decision, I wanted to explore writing riffs in different tunings…it felt like uncharted territory for me and that definitely got the creative juices flowing!”

The band will record the debut untitled full-length with Sajid ‘Sarj’ Masood who worked with the band on Divided EP and has been repeatedly cited as one of the main factors that allowed the band’s sound to be experienced in the manner that it did. Though the band has not set a date as to when the recording of the album will start, the album is expected to be out in stores through the spring of 2012.

Benevolent had previously announced the release of a single in 2011 prior to the end of the year, however, this had been changed and confirmed by Fadi (band’s co-founder and lead vocalist) that the song intended as a single will indeed be featured on the full length instead.

“We had a song planned for release as a single through Q4 of 2011 and though we haven’t released that song yet it will SURELY be featured on the debut full-length, it’s one of our favorite songs!”

On a final note, Hadi has been blogging on the progress with regards to the Benevolent album in addition to other things such as songwriting and production methodologies, do check out the blog at hadibenevolent.blogspot.com to keep up with all the updates!

Interview on Metal Music Production - Talking Divided EP's production

Hey guys!

Here's a really extensive interview talking about the production process of Divided EP with lots of info on gear and what not! It's pretty cool!

http://metalmusicproduction.com/?p=162

Cheers,
Hadi

Enjoyable Music & Inspirational Music: Are they the same?

I’ve been analyzing the patterns in which I listen to music and how different genres/styles make me feel during and after. My self-analysis of listening patterns has made me realize that I tend to categorize music into two main sections:

1. Enjoyable: Music that I listen to just for what it is, enjoy it, sing along, unwind to!

2. Inspirational: Music that acts as the catalyst to a complex chemical reaction eventually leading to anxiousness and self-inflicted violence if I don’t grab a Guitar, plug into Logic, load up Superior Drummer, and get to work!

So, what sets apart the two categories?

I guess that there are certain genres and styles that I listen to that don’t start a fire on the creative side of my brain, just for the sake of unwinding and to really capture the absolute listening experience that the song was intended to disperse (for example: acoustic rock, radio hits, etc). With such genres I find myself just at ease while listening, good music for driving, walking, post-work hours unwinding time; you know? Just music for the fun of it!

On the other end of the spectrum are genres and bands that, when I am listening to, give me a sensation of being injected with some sort of a substance that leaves me in a state where I just need to get a hold of a guitar right that second and start working on new song ideas. It’s an instantaneous sensation; actually, I don’t really go through an entire discography of a band to have to get the creative goggles on.

To be fair, there always is as cross-over period of time where the Enjoyable songs spark an inspiration and other times (lots of times) where the Inspirational songs are just being tuned to strictly for the fun of listening to them. I guess it also depends on what time of the year it is, am I working on new material at the time when I’m tuning in to the Inspirational songs? Am I opening doors for inspirational ideas to be absorbed?

The truth is, if you’re ever inspired about and toward something, you can never turn that inspiration on and even if you’re unaware that an absorption is taking place your senses may very well be soaking up a little of all the things that you are exposed to, be it music, art, movies, something you read, or whatever it may that triggers your senses.

Finally, here’s a list of bands that to me belong to each of the afore-mentioned categories. (Note that INSPIRATIONAL bands are REALLY ENJOYABLE too!)

ENJOYABLE	INSPIRATIONAL
Spock’s Beard Transatlantic Neal Morse Evanescence Adele Coldplay Woods of Ypres A Perfect Circle Muse Metallica Maroon 5 Katatonia* Kamelot Creed Alter Bridge* Linkin Park* Breaking Benjamin* Guns N Roses …LIST GOES ON…	Meshuggah Dream Theater Scar Symmetry Opeth Symphony X Lamb of God Stealing Axion Linkin Park* Killswitch Engage Katatonia* Metallica Fear Factory Deftones Alter Bridge* Breaking Benjamin* Porcupine Tree …LIST GOES ON…

*indicates bands that are on both sides 

Talk soon!

Hadi

My Method and Approach to Polyrhythms

Explaining Benevolent’s songs ‘Purgatory’ & ‘The Quantum Paradox’ 

So I wanted to write his one up for a while, the songs ‘Purgatory’ and ‘The Quantum Paradox’ off of Benevolent’s debut EP ‘Divided’ have a few of my favorite moments to play live, and those are the polyrhythmic bits where there’s an oscillation of two beats on top of each other (which is what a polyrhythmic beat is) and resolving together towards the end of the overall pattern. 

So let’s start with the basics, what does the term polyrhythm mean? 


A polyrhythm is when you have more than one rhythm on top of each other being played simultaneously. Though lots of instruments can contribute to a polyrhythm, the drums are what really set it apart and put it to the groove. Commonly in metal, you’d find drummers following the guitar pattern with the kick drum, that oscillating around straightforward cymbal work and with the snares sitting on regular 4/4 patterns. 

Let’s get into how those this was utilized in the songs PURGATORY and THE QUANTUM PARADOX; 

Purgatory 


The song Purgatory’s polyrhythm section takes place at 00:27, and is based on a very simple pattern in 10/16 (or 5/8) looping (or oscillating) over a 4/4 measure. The pattern is as follows: 

Notes explanation:

TWO 16th – ONE 16th REST – TWO 16th – ONE 16th REST – THREE 16th – ONE 16th REST

In simple, 2/2/3 (add a rest in between each note)

TIP:

How did I know it is a 10/16?

SIMPLE: We’re playing 16th notes over bpm 160. SO let’s count the number of notes based on that little breakdown I added up:

2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 10

As you can see, the pattern on takes up 10/16 of a 4/4 beat.

So, what creates that cool groovy poly sound?

It’s pretty simple, in a complicated way; basically if the drums were playing a 5/8 beat over the 5/8 pattern then the entire band would be doing the same exact rhythm and that is no longer considered a polyrhythm. The simple fact that the drummer is entertaining a 4/4 feel to the rhythm is exactly what is creating this cool groove, is the rotation of the pattern around the simple 4/4 feel that’s giving it that really interesting mathematical sound.

Note that the pattern is broken up and both drums and guitars are in a synchronized rhythm at the 3rd beat of the 8th bar.

The entire pattern:

The Quantum Paradox

The polyrhythm in the song The Quantum Paradox takes place at 01:26, this one’s based on a little more complicated pattern (And a longer one); pattern is:


Notes Explanation:

THREE 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + FIVE 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST + TWO 16TH NOTES + ONE 16TH REST

In simple, 3/2/2/5/2/2 (add a rest in between each note)

As you can see, this pattern is in 11/8 (or 22/16).

TIP:

How did I know it is a 22/16?

SIMPLE: We’re playing 16th notes over bpm 160. SO let’s count the number of notes based on that little breakdown I added up:

3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 22

The pattern of 22/16 is, just as in Purgatory, looping and revolving around a 4/4 beat with the cymbals and snares falling exactly where an average-Joe beat would be like!

As explained in the Purgatory example, the oscillation of the two rhythms over each other is resulting in a very interesting mathematical groove.

Note that the pattern is broken and a “resolving” riff is introduced at the 8th bar as to give an indication of the end of this section and the beginning of the next in a more audible sense. (This is good news for us live as well since it allows us to be able to feel when to switch to the next bit together without the need of an accountant on stage) 

The entire pattern:

So, yea

Finally, I hope that this was a helpful little lesson! Hit me up if you’ve got any questions or comments!

I’ll do another piece in the near future on where you can draw inspiration for interesting polyrhythm ideas without overdoing the same feel or repeating your good old ideas.

Hadi