BEHIND ENEMY LINES "The Global Cannibal"[Antagony Media]

"There are a few bands that I like so much it's hard to back up and get it straight to review them like a normal person and talk sense and tell you what they sound like and why they're so good. Behind Enemy Lines, in my opinion, is one of the best bands going today. Everything about this is dead on, spine-chilling and earth shattering. They fucking rock and knock you dead with intense political lyrics at the same time. Epic and monumental, this record fucking shreds to perfection. Their sound is heavy and powerful beyond description with a thick distorted power and a wall of towering amps delivering metallic rage. They've come unto a masterful place here with layered vocals, and rhythmic weaving hooks that don't quit. Totally metal without compromising the undying punkness at all. The lyrics are epic and amazing detailed attacks on George and his government and policies, globalization, religion, choice, food, war, and all the corrupt issues that plague the world. Fucking intense I tell you. This is peace punk like you've never heard before. Take the later incarnation of Aus-Rotten and crank it all - lyrics and music - up a few notches. This is beautiful. I love the way the vocals are all woven, layered and relentless to match the uncompromised attack of the wall of powered pummeling drums and guitar that weave hooks to get your skin standing on end. We're lucky to have bands this fucking amazing around to inspire us and give us fuel. Holy shit this is incredible. I like my metal, I lke my peace punk and politics and I love this group of people. Can't say enough good stuff about them and this record - it's like an anvil to knock you out or a wakeup call to light the spark." - by Chris Boarts-Larson - from Slug & Lettuce

"Holy Mother, what a power! What is it, the new SLAYER album? It sure sounds like it! No, it's a band called BEHIND ENEMY LINES, and they shred like hell!!! Their lyrics are very explicit, and they spit on the American government, religious matters and the war in Iraq. Let's focus on the music here, because if SLAYER should ever stop playing, their successors will be standing right at the sideline already, laughing their asses off. BEHIND ENEMY LINES is brutal!!! They play short powerful songs, and they sound like a steamtrain rolling in the best thrash metal tradition imaginable. The band consists of Matt Garabedian on drums and vocals, Bill Chamberlain on guitar and vocals, Matt Tuite on guitar and vocals, Dave Trenga on vocals and "metal maiden" Mary Bielich on bass and vocals. If you don't know Mary, then I'd suggest you have a good look at our previous issue, in which we introduced this musical "jack-of-all-trades" to you. The twelve songs have a running time of only thirty minutes, but hey "Reign In Blood" didn't last longer for God sake, so why complain now! As long as the songs are intense, and I don't have any doubts here, you still get value for money. You just can't handle any more brutality after hearing this, that's for sure too. Please spend some time looking at the excellent drawings of Jarrod Russell and Matt Garabedian. The posters, that fit really well with the lyrics, were chosen by singer Dave Trenga. And they definitely need some special attention, while listening to this superheavy outfit that moves along BEHIND ENEMY LINES!" - by Toine van Poorten - from Metal Maidens.com

"Within the first 15 seconds of listening to this CD for the first time, I could already tell I was in for a treat of the most brutal anarcho-punk of our time. While their first LP had many similarities to later Aus-Rotten, new members and experience have drastically transformed Behind Enemy Lines into an even more ferocious beast. They still have the wicked Scandi-crust influence Bill brought to the table, but a second guitar adds a much more powerful knockout punch. The lyrics are of course some of the most well-written attacks against the corrupt system and its evil spawn. This is not a case of preaching politics to the converted, but closer to an angry indictment, backed up with one hell of a punk rock knockout punch. This is definitively one of these rare releases that has universal value for the new comers to punk and the most grizzled veterans alike. This is undoubtedly one of the best punk releases of our time and excellent recording production and packaging are simply icing on the cake." - by Dan - from Profane Existence #45

"Needless to say, the world is still a fucked-up place and the people in Behind Enemy Lines have every intention on making the listener aware of the bleak state of the world, starting with the opening rant on the title track. Punishing hardcore punk riding thick, heavy riffs and dramatic arrangements and with an overriding rawness, although there are subtle shadings from time to time. Dave Trenga howls the words with an agonized cadence, sometimes working overtime to jam all the thoughts within the song's structure. A lot of the songs deal with the transgressions of the Bush (mis)administration and other evils around the globe: warfare, oppression, poverty and religion are all explored. Not always catchy but LIFE isn't catchy. As subtle as the discharge from one of the planes flown by our "heroes" in uniform." - by Al Quint - from Amp Magazine #19 - Spring 2004

"Members of Aus Rotten are back with this relevant album, a perfect blend of punk, hardcore and metal licks underneath anger-fueled and intelligent lyrics concerning the current terrible state of affairs in the U.S." - from Punk Planet #62 - July & August 2004

"I was really enthusiastic about Behind Enemy Lines' last LP, as it was really great, but I'm even more excited about this new one. I can't put it down, and I listen to it almost every day. This album is even more dark and more crushing than their last. Behind Enemy Lines shows their disgust and utter contempt for American culture, politics and religion in a way unparalleled in style to any bands I've heard. They really have their own unique style, and prove that they play dark political hardcore punk with fury and fire, uncompromising in every way, and play it well. Dave Trenga's vocals are pissed and acute, as they were in Aus-Rotten, but even more intense than in any previous recording. The backup vocals are played in just the right spots, and are intense at the least. Melodically, it's dark and dire with a grave sense of urgency, and the drums are thick as a slab of wet concrete. All around, the album is incredibly dense and punishing, emotional and powerful, and a commentary of the fucked up shit that's going on in our world. It was recorded as the ground war in Iraq commenced, and reflects that intensity, urgency, and disgust that many felt at the time. I think that this is their best album yet, and mandatory!" - by DJ - from HeartattaCk #42

"Manchmal bin ich schon ein verfluchter Ignorant. AUS-ROTTEN habe ich immer, ohne mich wirklich mit der Band beschäftigt zu haben, in die Crust-Schublade gesteckt, in der ich selten nach Brauchbarem suche. Angesichts "The Global Cannibal", der zweiten Platte von BEHIND ENEMY LINES eventuell ein Fehler. Hier sind nämlich mit Sänger Dave Trenga und Schlagzeuger Matt Garabedian zwei ehemalige AUS-ROTTEN-Mitglieder zugange und "The Global Cannibal" ist schon ein verdammt großartiger Schlag in die Fresse. So einen heftigen Wutausbruch in so einem dichten und wuchtigen Sound habe ich schon lange nicht mehr gehört. Ein Sänger, dem man seine Angepisstheit mit jeder rausgebrüllten Silbe abnimmt, das kraftvolle und abwechslungsreiche Schlagzeugspiel und die brutale, aber versierte Gitarrenarbeit verbunden mit den richtig guten Texten über Innen- und Außenpolitik der USA, Religion und dem Zustand der Menschheit an sich, die nicht nur aus allseits bekannten Schlagwörtern, sondern aus kleinen, sorgsam ausgearbeiteten Essays bestehen, sorgen für ein unheimlich intensives Hörerlebnis: BEHIND ENEMY LINES klingen genau so, wie die Plattencover der unzähligen filzigen Crust-Bands aussehen. Diese Band ist der musikalisch perfekte Bastard aus Crust, Hardcore und Metal und "The Global Cannibal" ist die Platte, mit der ich diese ganzen selbsternannten Conservative- und Christen-"Punks" den ganzen Tag beschallen möchte: Einfach um diesen Pissern weh zu tun und ihnen ihre beschissene Scheinheiligkeit um die Ohren zu hauen." (29:22) (09/10) -By Andre Bohnensack / OX-Fanzine (Germany)


BEHIND ENEMY LINES "Know Your Enemy" [Profane Existence]

"This is a re-release of the debut LP (originally released by Tribal War Records) from this band that features ex-members of Aus Rotten, React, and The Pist. Having been a fan of Aus-Rotten when I was younger, I've been wanting to check this band out for awhile, but I never got around to it for whatever reason. Due in no small part to the immediately identifiable approach of former Aus-Rotten vocalist Dave Trenga (whose trademark shouting is backed by the varying yells, grunts, and screams of the other three band members), there are some definite similarities carrying over into Behind Enemy Lines, but I'd say this stuff has a little bit more of a heavy edge to it, though by no means is it metallic. The tracks are generally based around basic chord progressions with varying degrees of speed, but there are a good amount of tempo changes throughout, so it's not like a fast song/slow song kind of thing. The heaviness is coming from the use of a thick set of tones, especially notable in midpaced bruisers like "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" that hit on a pretty major D-beat kind of sound. "Why Does She Stay?" is a little slower and has a darker tinge to its riffing, not to mention a hint more intensity to the vocal performance, and that really makes for a killer song through and through. "Devastated" is another of the harder hitting tracks with a moderately paced rhythmic surge to it, along with the slightly faster (though it does have a mildly chunky breakdown) "Murder at the G-8 Summit", both of which make for pretty damn powerful songs - relatively typical or not. "Voice of Dissent" cranks out some ragingly fast basslines and a subtly melodic undercurrent that has sort of a Scandinavian flare to it that I really like, not to mention shitloads of awesome vocal tradeoffs; while "Dogmatic Slumber" is more punk oriented. There are also a handful of faster and more straightforward cuts like "The Growing Wealth Gap" to boot. As far as the production goes I think it sounds pretty damn good, but the guitars could use some more clarity at times. Or maybe they just need to be louder? Right now the vocals are definitely a little far out front, which I assume is because the lyrics are so involved and important and they're trying to make sure you can understand what's being said, but the guitars almost get drowned out sometimes. The drums sound pretty good and have a solid crispness going on, and the bass is nice and thick, but something's missing. Maybe the guitars and bass simply need more differentiation from one another to give the core of the mix a little more individual character? I don't know, it definitely sounds pretty damn good, but I get slightly annoyed by some of the vocal work when it starts to overpower the music (namely a few of the backing vocals in tracks like "The Cure"). The layout looks alright but doesn't have much to it visually. Expect some typical black and white imagery of illustrations of skulls and politically oriented photos. The booklet is a huge six-panel foldout, of which 10 of the 12 total pages are lyrics since the content is incredibly long. It definitely takes some creative vocal patterns to cram all of this content into a three-minute song, and as with Aus-Rotten a lot of the lyrics read less like songs and more like essays that happen to subtly rhyme - which is pretty impressive. Of course the subject matter is very specifically geared towards the political climate of the moment, along with other inescapable social ills: "Within the sterile environment that carries out American retribution the threatened insist that vengeance is the only acceptable solution, Emotions fuel the media frenzy, relentlessly searching for satisfaction, The world's superpower, made to feel vulnerable, is now demanding action, No one can breathe easy until he's drawn his final breath and taken his place amongst his victims in the company of death…" You're simply not gonna get lyrics that are this intricate from many other bands out there that I can think of. Obviously I doubt that this band will be looked at as being as historically significant as Aus-Rotten (not that anyone would intend for such), but I feel like in the end Behind Enemy Lines might stand the test of time a little better simply because efforts have been taken to ensure that the complexities of the lyrics fit in with the music to a larger degree, and even though the general approach of the songwriting is pretty standard there's definitely an edge to it. It's definitely the content that separates this band from the pack, though. Absolutely." -from Aversion Online