Filling in on Bass with ANURYZM at DRF 2013

Hello everyone!

Crazy news! I'll be filling in on bass for my broskis in ANURYZM for their show at the Dubai Rock Festival which is headlined by one of my main influences of all time, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. How f***ing nuts is that?

Also on the bill are Swedish icons DARK TRANQUILITY, MYRATH, NIGHTMARE, and more!

You guys have no idea how psyched I am about playing this show! It's a true honor to not only be sharing the stage with my idols, but to be performing with one of my favorite bands ANURYZM.

Check out the poster and drool!

Damn straight!
Hadi

"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

[PRESS RELEASE] BENEVOLENT & IGNITE AMPS ANNOUNCE SIGNATURE CUSTOM PEDAL & ENDORSEMENT DEAL

January 15, 2013: UAE-based extreme experimental metal band BENEVOLENT and Italian amp makers IGNITE AMPS have announced their collaboration through a signature custom drive pedal geared towards the band's sound. The pedal, dubbed as the TYRANT SCREAMER (TSB-1) features a Tube Screamer-type circuitry with extra features that works towards Benevolent's guitar tone identity.

Carlo Costabile, Ignite Amps Co-Founder & Managing Partner, said "We're really proud of our Tyrant Screamer. It has all the characteristics of the classic overdrive, an extended gain excursion and our exclusive "sweep" control which gives the user total control on how the pedal interacts with his guitar and playing style. This feature is especially useful for bands using very low tuning, because it helps to cut through the mix in both live and studio situations."

"We're also psyched to work for a band from Dubai as we never did before, but we know their scene is killer! This is especially the case since the band in question is Benevolent, a bunch of fun-loving guys that also happen to know their business real well when they step on stage. We're looking forward to work with Benevolent again, the collaboration has been awesome and we're already discussing new ideas for upcoming gear."

Benevolent is now an officially endorsed artist by the Italian company and this partnership will feature more innovative products of this kind in the future. Hadi Sarieddine, founder/guitarist/co-vocalist of Benevolent, states "it's extremely exciting for us that we're doing this, I've used Ignite Amps' products digitally for a while now and it's just overwhelmingly awesome to be receiving a signature custom pedal from such a professional company. I feel that this partnership is going to yield in many great things.”

"The Ignite Amps team has been great, they have been a true pleasure to work with since the get-go and they've put in all the necessary to make this happen. We're all really psyched about this right now!"

The Italian company was brought to life in 2006 by Federico Berti and Carlo Costabile, two musicians who wanted to build the gear that they needed. The company's products caught the interest of professional musicians from around the globe. Ignite Amps provides both physical products and computer-based plugins. The company's primary goal is to provide musicians with instruments that perfectly fit their needs and is geared more towards custom products.

In discussing the experience behind the build process and working with Ignite Amps, Mohammed Gad (Benevolent's guitarist) stated "At first we communicated with Ignite Amps regarding what we were looking for, they then designed the pedal and built a computer plugin version of it for us to try. We used the plugin version for testing and adjustments. The actual physical pedal was built based upon that and the final product sounds EXACTLY the same as the plugin. The physical build quality is unbelievable, we cannot be happier! The pedal packs tons of gain and has a very wide range of dynamics that give us the exact set of tools to shape our guitar tones."

He added, "It means a lot to us to be working with a reputable and international company that makes products that we are out there searching for, especially when the team behind the company shares the passion that we have for the band and the music, this is amazing!"

Federico Berti, Ignite Amps’ Co-Founder & Managing Partner, stated "Working with open-minded musicians, like the Benevolent guys, is always a breeze. They know exactly what they want and they're used to digital home recording, which is very important for us. We followed our usual workflow: designing the analog circuit and then implementing a simulation of it in VST/AU format, capable of running in real time on any modern computer. We sent the software to them and then further revised the circuit according to their feedback and requests. We love to use this approach, as it reduces the prototyping costs and musicians can hear how their custom gear will sound before we even start the actual build. I guess I can safely say that we're the only amp brand in the world offering this kind of service."

The pedal will be available for purchase directly from Ignite Amps. The VST/AU plugin version of the pedal will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD from Ignite Amps official website (www.igniteamps.com) through the course of February. To stay up to date on the release of the plugin, give Ignite Amps a LIKE on Facebook on http://www.facebook.com/IgniteAmps

Benevolent is currently working on their much anticipated follow up to their debut release, the upcoming album features ANDOLS HERRICK (formerly of Chimaira) who has recorded drums on the entire record.

To stay in touch with Benevolent's news and updates, check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/benevolent.band and their YouTube channel on http//www.youtube.com/user/benevolentband

YOU CAN ALSO GRAB A FREE DOWNLOAD OF BENEVOLENT'S DEBUT ALBUM "DIVIDED EP" AT http://benevolent.bandcamp.com

- ENDS -

Benevolent Purgatory Polymetrics Video Guitar Lesson

Hello everyone!

First of all, I'd like to wish you a belated Happy New Year. And with this new year we come to you with a cool lesson video covering one of the complex riffs on the album DIVIDED EP, it comes from the song PURGATORY.

This is a riff in 5/8 running over a 4/4 beat, lots of fun playing the riff because it falls under a cool drum beat and the polymeters in there create a pretty interesting groove.

Check out the video on the link below and leave your thoughts in the comments section:

Don't forget to LIKE Benevolent on FACEBOOK, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel to keep up with the videos that we're posting.

Hope you enjoy the video.

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

New BENEVOLENT VLOG

Hey guys!

How's everyone doing?

We got a new VLOG up! This one covers our experience from Gulf Bike Week and Mental Issues.

I'll be posting up a full post of our experience at the Mental Issues show this past weekend.

We are working on tons and TONS of things! Really can't wait to share it with you all!

In the mean time, I will leave you with the VLOG.

Speak soon all!
Hadi

The Gulf Bike Fest Experience

Hello everyone!

It's been an absolutely great month for us, on October 18th 2012 we performed live at the Live & Local stage at Gulf Bike Week festival which was HEADLINED BY MEGADETH!

As soon as we were confirmed for the gig the preparation and planning began!

Prasad and Gad's tickets to come down to Dubai were in place, hotels booked, rehearsal space arranged, and we were ready to get to it!

During the weeks leading up to the show, and seeing as we're in different countries, each member of the band prepared for our setlist from the comfort of their own home playing along to the studio recordings of Divided EP (WHICH YOU CAN STILL DOWNLOAD FOR FREE BY CLICK HERE). Also, we decided to play a cover song this time around; the choice was Nemesis by Arch Enemy. So, we all basically just hammered it out in our own space until we got together as a band to rehearse and get it working together.

We had a great time, the guys flew in a couple of hours before the rehearsal was scheduled so we got to have a quick meal and did some fast catching up right before rehearsal time came about. Right after finishing up the rehearsal we packed our gear and went straight to the Gulf Bike Festival venue for setup and soundcheck. It was great that we got to do that at night, we didn't feel like we were racing against the clock to make it in time before people start walking in!

Sound was great! We could hear each other clearly on stage, and the house mix to the crowd was pretty killer too!

Show day came and we were all feeling great! (I am usually the one getting super nervous before a show, but for this one I felt a lot calmer than usual). Unfortunately, a lot of times you get caught up worrying about the sound being right and over-thinking every note that you're about to hit on the guitar; however, this time around I had a serious conversation with myself and convinced me to just enjoy that time on stage, and enjoy the entire day. We were playing the Gulf Bike Festival, at Dubai Festival City, and Megadeth was the headlining act; that's a bunch of awesome things happening and nothing ever beats that feeling of being on stage and sharing your music with a live audience and feeling their reaction to your music as it happens. It worked out! I enjoyed it and had an absolute BLAST! (I guess I can be pretty convincing)

We had a great time at the show, we met some awesome people and made some new friends! I wanna thank Ryan Noronha for being the awesome person that he is and of course none other than Barney Ribeiro for being absolutely epic, booking the show and making this all happen! You guys are awesome!

[IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK BENEVOLENT FOR A CONCERT / TOUR CONTACT OUR BOOKING AGENT BARNEY RIBEIRO AT AAR@SPELLBINDRECORDS.COM]

After the show, we grabbed a few beers, celebrated, and then had a great time seeing our good friends Absolace and then the headliners MEGADETH kill it! (Unfortunately, we missed Sandwash's set because we were packing our gear and what not!)

We've got a few more exciting things coming up so STAY TUNED!

HINT: News about our epic work with IGNITE AMPS and some more juicy stuff is coming!

Thank you for reading!
Hadi

Benevolent Performing on Same Day as Megadeth in Dubai! ZOMGWTFBBQ!

Hello everyone!!!!

This post carries with it some REALLY special news! We have been confirmed for GULF BIKE WEEK 2012 and will be performing LIVE at the Live & Local Stage on October 18th, which is the same day that MEGADETH are performing!

Check out our profile on the official Gulf Bike Week website HERE

This is pretty effing crazy! We are really psyched and we absolutely CAN'T WAIT for it to go down.

This is me stopping by real quick to share the news with you all. I'll be back in a few days with more posts relating to this.

Don't forget to check out our two VLOG videos from our previous show out here in Dubai:

HELL FREAKING YES!

Speak soon!
Hadi

NEW BENEVOLENT LOGO / EMBLEM

Hey guys!

So we got some REALLY exciting things coming from the Benevolent camp in Dubai, we'll be revealing things one at a time as they come to life. The first cool thing to share with you guys is our new band Logo and Emblem.

HAVE A LOOK

The Emblem (circular thingy) has more to it than just being the sexy design that it is. The circles and rectangles that are spread around the main circle basically represent letters in Morse Code. The letters spell out the word "Benevolent", how cool is that?

Check out the breakdown of the letters below:

B: _ . . .
E: .
N: _ .
E: .
V: . . . _
O: _ _ _ 
L: . _ . .
E: .
N: _ . 
T: _

We are toying around with this whole Morse Code thing on a couple of more things which we'll be sharing with the coming of our upcoming album (featuring ANDOLS HERRICK on the drums).

Stay tuned for some more updates on our cool new toys coming in from IGNITE AMPS in Italy and more REALLY awesome things.

ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO GIVE US A LIKE ON FACEBOOK

We are psyched as hell!

Hadi

Line 6 POD Farm / POD X3 Live Rhythm Tone DOWNLOAD

Hey guys!

So if you've checked out the video entry I did for the Kevin Talley Guitar Contest, I was quite happy with the rhythm tone I crafted for that specific song / shindig. So I thought I'd share the settings that I used on POD Farm and upload the tone for you to download off of the official Line 6 Custom Tone website.

DOWNLOAD THE TONE HERE

THE SIGNAL CHAIN

The overall signal chain of the patch is a basic Noise Gate - Drive Pedal - Amp - Compressor - Chorus.

THE NOISE GATE

The settings on the Noise Gate are a bit loose, that's mostly because I like to keep the tone sounding like it's "breathing" rather than being choked out and sliced.

THE DRIVE PEDAL

For the Drive Pedal, I used the Boost + EQ model, which I find that I always resort to for all rhythm tones, and even to drive clean channels too sometimes. It just allows further frequency control with the Bass, Treble, Mids, and Mid Frequency knobs in addition to have a crunchy / liquified character about it. I've also pushed the Gain over the mid point to give things a bit more umph (I like to experiment a lot between increasing / decreasing gain levels between the drive pedals and the amp's gain and compare results).

THE AMP

Next in line is the Cali Diamond Plate amp, which is a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier model. This is hands down one of my favorite models on POD Farm. I've pushed the Mids, Treble, and Presence while rolling off the Bass to below the center. The settings may seem a bit extreme, but I like to craft tones with my ears rather than my eyes.

THE COMPRESSOR

Next I've placed a Compressor unit in the signal chain, this works the attack and spank so the picking really comes out.

THE CHORUS PEDAL

And finally, my favorite part of the signal chain: the Analog Chorus pedal. I really really really dig placing chorus pedals at the end of the signal chain of rhythm patch and roll out the mix so it's almost not noticeable that there's a chorus pedal in there, but the sound just gets richer, precise, and liquified. Something about the sound of a very subtle chorus effect in the chain really gives me the chills!

And there we have it! You can download the tone by click on the below link.

DOWNLOAD THE TONE HERE

Cheers!
Hadi

Line 6 POD HD500 Warm Clean Tone

Hey guys!

So I spent the night toying with my Line 6 POD HD500 in pursuit of a warm clean tone (something along the lines of what Opeth were beautifully tormenting our senses with on their album Damnation).

I plugged the POD right into my MacBook Pro via USB, opened up the POD HD500 Edit software (which is a ridiculously simple and comfortable way to craft your tones, it's just fascinating). I tried a few amps looking for the texture I was looking for and the Hiwatt amp model immediately felt like home.

I got a nice clean and round tone with just about everything at flat settings on the Hiwatt amp model, with the default cab/mic settings as well. From there on I basically started toying around with different compressors before the amp to give the roundedness a warm attack and definition. That worked out well! I ended up adding another compressor after the amp in the signal chain to in-turn give stronger definition to the "processed" tone coming out of the amp.

To emphasize depth and give the tone a certain liquidity, I added a chorus pedal (this was placed as the compressor following the amp in the signal chain). When I add those chorus pedals to tones that don't require that extra wobbly tone, I just set the mix down to a very minimum level where the listener may not necessarily hear that the chorus effect is in there BUT it's adding to the tone's richness and liquifying it.

Last but not least, the cherry on the cake: the Ping Pong Delay pedal. I dropped the Mix to about 30% and gave the Feedback a notch up. AND VOILA!

Give it a listen and make sure you DOWNLOAD THE TONE if you own a POD HD500.

Best!
Hadi

Currently Heavily Listening To

Hey gang!

Things have been quite busy as of late with finishing up the Benevolent album, we're really taking our time in brushing it all out and getting the final vocal and guitar solo tracks on there; it's sounding pretty intense!

In the midst of all of that I thought I'd share what I've been listening to heavily, don't be shy to share what YOU have been playing a lot of in the comments section below:

1. Meshuggah - Koloss
2. Lamb of God - Sacrament
3. Arch Enemy - Doomsday Machine
4. Chimaira - Resurrection
5. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
6. Katatonia - Night is the New Day (I actually haven't checked out the new record yet!)
7. Transatlantic - Whirlwind
8. Metallica - Death Magnetic
9. Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress
10. Slash - Slash (I haven't checked out the new album yet as well, for shame!)
11. Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

Looking at it now, it's an intensely diverse list! I enjoy any and all good music so that's as far as my appreciation for any band's work goes and even a lot of it ends up inspiring me to do new things and explore new sonic possibilities!

What have you been listening to? What new bands have you been checking out?

Talk soon!

Hadi

My New Filmscore Track (Arabesque one)

Hey guys!

So this one's a bit different from the norm. Being another one of the filmscore tracks I've recently worked on, this one has a cool flavoring of Arabesque instruments and melodies being played on top of a stabbing bass flow and a rich percussive rhythm.

Enjoy!
Hadi

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

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

Benevolent to Open for Nervecell in Dubai

Hey guys!

That's right! Gonna be hitting the stage with Benevolent LIVE on June 29th opening for Nervecell as they stop in Dubai during their Psychogenocide Middle East Tour!

Check below for the event information, come down and slug it out with us.

Official Event Page on Facebook
Event's Official Website

We are all super psyched to be a part of this gig and we can't wait to see you all out there from the stage.

See you there!
Hadi

Sorry Have Been Busy Relocating

Hey guys!

I am extremely sorry for the delay in blogging, I've been busy relocating to the UAE and I am now officially living in Dubai. Feels great! It's a very vibrant city with lots going on, lots of concerts and the metal scene is pretty great out here! I can't wait to explore the country further as I stay here and will definitely keep you guys posted on album progress and my production/songwriting rants!

Be well!

Hadi