BENEDICTUM guitarist Pete Wells doesn’t look like a shred lord, true enough. Judging this particular book by its cover is an exercise in narrowminded ignorance, however, as Wells has been turning fretboards to sawdust since the band surfaced in 2006 woth Uncreation. Dominion is album #3 for the Arizona-based outfit, an ambitious old school follow-up to their Seasons Of Tragedy record from 2008 that showcases Wells’ playing front and center alongside vocalist Veronica Freeman. And it’s clear that, as Freeman is so fond of saying, the Benedictum sound wouldn’t exist without him.
“Dominion is easily my favorite of the three albums we’ve done,” says Wells. “There was a lot of pressure making this CD. New label, new producer, and new band members. These new band members came to the table with different influences, different ideas, and a desire to participate in the writing process. I write the majority of the parts to the songs, but Chris (Shum/bass) has a similar writing style as I do. The song ‘Dominion’ is mostly his riffs, and I added a riff or two and changed some of the phrasing to give it that Benedictum flair.”
“As far as how we write, Veronica will ask us for whatever we’ve been working on. She then goes through and weeds out riffs that don’t inspire or spark any ideas, then she’ll make us a rough recording of the riffs in the order she would like them placed. With the exception of ‘Bang’ on this album, Veronica will normally write around the music. We challenged ourselves to grow as a band musically while maintaining the Benedictum feel and I think we succeeded in that task. First and foremost we try to stay true to ourselves. We don’t set out to sound a certain way. Veronica and I are well rooted in ‘80s metal, it’s what we grew up on. As we matured as people and musicians our influences widened, and that’s what fuels the Benedictum sound.”
Wells is severely underrated as a guitarist with a style reminiscent of Jake E. Lee (OZZY OSBOURNE), Criss Oliva (SAVATAGE) and the equally underrated Pete Lesperance (HAREN SCAREM) as Dominion plays out.
“My favourite solo on the new CD is either ‘Shadowlands’, ‘Grind It’ or ‘Prodigal Son’,” says Wlls. “My inspiration for this album was to really get across who I am as a guitarist and songwriter. Although I liked my playing on the first two CDs, it wasn’t indicative of who I really am. Working with Ryan (Greene/producer) on this one, I think he was able to capture what it is that I do. He challenged me and I thank him for that.”
The Lesperance comparison may seem odd for those that are aware of Harem Scarem’s melodic rock sound, but the piece ‘Beautiful Pain’ features an unusually naked instrumental – all Wells and atmosphere – echoing Lesperance’s ‘Mandy’.
“Tony (Diaz/keyboards) had sent over some new ideas and it just so happened to come on a day when my wife, who is battling fibromyalgia, was having a horrible day. She had fallen and was crying and couldn’t get herself up. It really hurt me to see her like that. That passage came about from those feelings. It’s a beautiful song but at the same time very sad.”
When the band gets down to serious business as a group, they sound as if they were born and bred on the European / UK scene. Wells is understandably proud of those influences.
“In all honesty, we didn’t set out to sound European, but again, it’s in our roots. I grew up on Ozzy with Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee, IRON MAIDEN, SAXON, JUDAS PRIEST, BLACK SABBATH to name a few. And on a further note, almost all of my true guitar heroes are from European countries. As far as making noise here in the States, early reviews are coming back very favourable. We’re hoping to be able to do more at home this year as well.”
Check out BW&BK's interview with Veronica Freeman here.
