Behind the Sun

Artist Information

Biography

On September 28, 2010 Behind the Sun opened Ozzfest 2010 and thousands of unsuspecting metal heads at Park HaYarkon Tel Aviv got their heads blown off. Electric guitars burst out of tube amplification, a galloping drum and bass unit thundered across the fields and the soaring tales of triumph over adversity roared out across the crowd who would later hear Soulfly, Korn and Ozzy at the same venue. But as the sun set over the festival the time of Behind the Sun has arrived.

Behind the Sun play north desert heavy music, a storm over the wasteland cutting the landscape, revealing ancient spirits and modern madness.

Behind the Sun released their debut studio album to the world on June 11, 2009. A year and a half in the making, the album features 12 original songs produced by the band and Solstice Coil keyboardist/producer Shai Yallin. The album will be available for sale both domestically in local music shops and also to international listeners via Amazon.com, iTunes and Amie St. Behind the Sun will be touring all over Israel this summer and fall in support of the album and are making a series of promotional radio appearances as well as performing live on Israel's Music Television (channel 24) on August 17th in their �Glass studio� on the beach in Bat Yam, Israel. The album has recieved international acclaim, being named album of the month for August 2009 at the Brazilian Progressive Rock site http://www.progressiverockbr.com. and receiving positive reviews in the USA, Australia, Norway, Mexico and Belgium.

Behind the Sun was formed on the edges of Israel�s vast Negev desert. The music and lyrics on their debut album speak of their personal trials and tribulations living in this heavenly but harsh land. This self titled debut album contains: heavy, electric, tube driven riffing, an interlocking, charging and grooving rhythm section, blended with progressive styles and sensibilities and their own skeptical, cynical, but in the end positive philosophy as written word and amplified sound. The music and the musicians themselves are influenced and inspired by 70s progressive rock, 90s grunge and modern heavy music including such diverse touchstones as The Who, Opeth, The Grateful Dead, King Crimson, Mastodon, Tool, Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, John Coltrane and Faith No More. The lyrics deal with, among other things, the breakdown of society, loss, decay, personal relationships gone down the tubes, the sanctity of life, first hand experience of the horrors of war, corrupt leadership, and anthropomorphic one night stands deep in the desert.

The musicians: Gad Erez on vocals, Aaron Lieber on guitar, Dan Henry Levy on bass and Saar Gur on drums, were joined on this album by their producer Shai Yallin on keyboards and Assaf Kopelnikov on guitar. In addition, new BTS guitarist Yoram Allouche contributes a solo on the last track, "Strong Wind". They bring a wide variety of experiences to Behind the Sun: Aaron Lieber has toured on three continents with a variety of bands, and Yoram Allouche moonlights in one the country's premier cover bands - Prowlers (the Iron Maiden tribute band). Gad Erez and Dan Henry Levy each bring their front line experiences and mental scars of three years of tank corps service in one of the most dangerous places in the world. Drummer Saar Gur has spent nearly twenty years studying and assimilating the drumming styles of such greats as Neil Peart, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mike Portnoy, Nicko McBrain, Steve Smith and Mike Bordin.

After a busy few years including countless live shows in the band's home country of Israel, the Ozzfest 2010, appearances on channel 24 (music TV) and channel 1 (state TV), the self-produced EP "Pre-Dawn Light", and radio play for the single "Sour Days" included on domestic and international compilations including "Israel Unleashed" (JMG Music group), the band have finally finished the definitive statement of their unique musical style and vision. With the release of their debut self-titled album, Behind the Sun have a musical work to take to the world, and are now seeking an international booking agent and pursuing international festival dates.

For more information, international booking, interview requests or to receive promotional information or copies of the album please contact Gad Erez at +972-54-303-3693 or gaderez@gmail.com. More information, tour dates and samples from the album are available at http://www.myspace.com/behindthesunmusic.

Journalist Ronen Tzomer of Keshet Interactive (Israel's channel 2 TV) described the band thus: "Behind the Sun combines the jams of the 60's, the golden age of 70's prog rock and the grinding guitars of the 90's to sound just right".
Marcus Olsen of "Sometime World" in Austrailia wrote: "Their sound really took me back to the Alternative 90s. I heard spices of AIC and Pearl Jam mostly, but the more i listened i started hearing some amazing guitar work in the style of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt. Hell, Kyuss even come to mind in parts on the track "Running Water".


DJ Gilad Jaffe from Upper Galilee Radio (105.3 FM) said of the new Behind the Sun album, "Amazing album! I've been listening to it for two days straight and enjoying every minute of it". Now the rest of the world will hear the debut release of Behind the Sun.

Instrumentation

Gad Erez
aaron lieber - Guitar & Vocals.
Saar Gur - Drums.
Dan Henry Levy - Bass and Vocals
Yoram Allouche - Lead Guitar

Discography

Behind the Sun (2009) - full length CD
Israel Unleashed compilation (2007) (one song)
MISC compilation (one song) (2005)
Predawn light - EP (2004) - 5 songs

Official Website

http://behindthesun.bandcamp.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Last.fm

Audio

• Still
  Listen  
• Second December
  Listen  
• Wishful Thinking
  Listen  
• Running Water
  Listen  
• October '77
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Second December
• Wishful Thinking
• Nothing but a Stain
• Still
• Running Water
• Fifteenth Dawn
• The Professionals
• Sour Days
• Brother
• Strong Wind

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• ALBUM AND BAND OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2009 [+ Show ]
  

  http://www.progressiverockbr.com/monthaugustbehindthesun2009.html "There are few bands today, tha...http://www.progressiverockbr.com/monthaugustbehindthesun2009.html
  
  "There are few bands today, that blends Progressive Rock and Hard Rock in a perfect combination, with energetic and explosive musical performance, grings strong echoes of '70s. Behind The Sun features musicians playing exactly the right kind of Progressive Hard Rock tradition, with a lot of sentiment, only found in the early seventies. Their musical influences naturally show certain similarities and sensibility with famous bands such as "Kansas", "Grand Funk Railroad", "Free", "Cream", "Bad Company" and "Led Zeppelin". Their music is all original, and comes from the heart, the instrumental are very impressive and powerful, wonderful solos of the guitars, constantly dominate all arrangements, complemented by a solid and dynamic rhythm section, the vocals are not that strong, but sometimes melodic, keyboards are used in a soft doses, also bass contributes substantially with all the arrangements. From melodic to thunderous, the music from Behind The Sun captures a wide range of expressions through soaring melodies and a dynamic instrumentation, bringing amazing musical moments that you will never more forget. Personally, my favourite tracks on this album are "Second December", "Wishful Thinking", "Nothing but a Stain", "Still", "Fifteenth Dawn", "The Professionals", "Sour Days", "Brother" and "Strong Wind" this last track is the best song on the album. Brilliant, fantastic, an amazing album and band, highly recommendable...
  
  The line-up today on Behind The Sun are:
  Gad Erez - Vocals
  Aaron Lieber - Lead, Rhythm Guitars and Backing Vocals
  Saar Gur - Drums
  Dan Henry Levy - Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals
  Guest musicians:
  Yoram Allouche - Intro Space Guitar
  Shai Yallin - Keyboards
  Assaf Kopelnikov - Lead and Rhythm Guitars"

• #2 on the top 10 albums of 2009
  

  http://souldriftmusic.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/favourite-albums-of-2009/

• Review: Behind the Sun [+ Show ]
  

  http://souldriftmusic.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/review-behind-the-sun-behind-the-sun/ Behind the S...http://souldriftmusic.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/review-behind-the-sun-behind-the-sun/
  
  Behind the Sun is a five-piece rock band which formed on the edges of the west Negev desert in the south of Israel. Their self-titled debut album, which was a year and a half in the making, was released in June 2009 and features 12 original and epic songs. Their music and lyrics deal with (among other things) the breakdown of society, loss, decay, corrupt leadership, world terrorism, first hand experience of the horrors of war, personal relationships and the sanctity of life – pretty much what you would expect from a band living in such a harsh land.
  
  I can’t get enough of the album at the moment, I’ve listened to it non-stop in the past few days. They have such a unique sound and quality musicianship. There is definitely a heavy desert sound to the music but it is mixed with so many other elements. To me they sound like a mixture of Opeth, Metallica, 70s progressive rock and grunge. Their influences match up with this description; they cite bands such as Alice in Chains, The Who, King Crimson, Opeth, Tool, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Stone Temple Pilots as inspirations. The music is just fantastic all the way through the album, I particularly love the guitar sound (the fabulous instrumentals ‘October ‘77' and ‘Prelude’ showcase this). The vocals are really interesting too, they are reminiscent of James Hetfield in places, but still very unique.
  
  My favourite song on the album has to be ‘Fifteenth Dawn’ (I love the military-sounding intro). I also really love ‘Second December’ (what a great/rocking album opener!), ‘Running Water’, ‘Wishful Thinking’ and ‘Nothing But a Stain’. Really though, there is no bad song on the album. The only negative thing I was going to say is that the album can seem a little long on first listen. I thought it was too drawn out and that it would never hold my attention longer than the first few tracks. However, when you have listened to it fully a number of times and are familiar with the songs, the hour flies by.
  
  The band has so much potential and it seems likely they have a bright future ahead of them! I probably haven’t done them justice because I know very little about the technical side of music, but I strongly suggest you check out their MySpace page for yourselves and take a listen. They also have a free download of ‘Running Water’ available for a short period of time – go and get it!

• Behind the Sun - 5 out of 5 stars [+ Show ]
  

  translated from the hebrew at: http://www.yosmusic.com/article.asp?id=5668 Behind the Sun, behin...translated from the hebrew at:
  http://www.yosmusic.com/article.asp?id=5668
  
  Behind the Sun, behind the sun (Behind the Sun, August 2009) / Rock Music
  
  Rock "Made in Israel"? I turned over the jewel case and turned it over again. Everything is written in English. The design also gives no clue. Its too unbelievable to be said. What sounds like the "next big thing" around the world is "Made in Israel". Listen to the tone, the guitars.
  
  The band is called Behind the Sun, from the south of Israel and it seems that the south will produce the best of local rock music. On the first listen: polished production - not local sounding. The lyrics are not simple - they deal with trauma which comes with a real feeling of the truth.
  
  Who are Behind the Sun? Gad Erez - vocals (reminds me of Eddie Vedder), Aaron Lieber - Guitar, Dan Henry Levy on the bass and Saar Gur on the drums. The music, in broad terms is heavy rock with some progressive touches (parts of the excellent song "October '77" reminds me a bit of Jethro Tull), 90s grunge, vocals that try to shine a light on the hardships of people in this part of the world, doubts that are never answered, cynicism.
  Lieber and Erez wrote among other things on the breakdown of society, sinking and decaying, the failure of personal relationships, corrupt leadership, terrorism worldwide, terrible personal experience of the war against the sanctity of life.
  Rock cut from the soul: Fifteenth Dawn, which opens with the words "Good morning isolation, my old friend were one again." and asks "If war is the answer, who's asking the question?".
  Sour Days is one of the quieter, more acoustic pieces on the album. It deals with questions of a troubled soul. Gad Erez knows how to climb the scales to wail his troubles and find the real way to escape this "maze of sour days". A powerful song sang well with a strong arrangement between the guitar and the vocals.
  The poetry is also excellent on track 6 - running water - on the lack of expectations from life here. "There's nothing left to hold on to", sings the vocalist and there's the line "I'm burning pages to fill the ink again".
  And I can't get by without mentioning the excellent improvisations on the guitars in "Strong Wind" which stretches more than 8 minutes, the dramatic peak of the disc. Were talking about rock music unified and uncompromising, a singer filled with emotional baggage, notes that come from the gut and the heart to the vocal cords with strong rich tones in an amazing vocal range which reminds me of the best singers in the genre. The guitars are filled with emotion and a roughed-up and real nature.
  
  In simple words: Behind the Sun - an Israeli rock band ready for export with nothing to hold them back.

• Behind the Sun - Behind the Sun [2009] [Preview] [+ Show ]
  

  First of all.. it's an interesting story, an unusual path of discovery for me. You see in the middle...First of all.. it's an interesting story, an unusual path of discovery for me. You see in the middle of all this blogger copyright nonsense it's nice to see some bands are still willing to turn to blogger to advertise their craft. If you regularly visit my blog you may recognize a few comments by a poster named Aaron Lieber, who i'm told has been a regular visitor here for years now. One afternoon a few months back Aaron sent me a link to his bands myspace page and i really dug a few of their tracks. Their sound really took me back to the Alternative 90s. I heard spices of AIC and Pearl Jam mostly, but the more i listened i started hearing some amazing guitar work in the style of Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt. Hell, Kyuss even come to mind in parts on the track "Running Water".
  
  Don't get it twisted though, these Israelis have a sound that is still very much their own. The music and lyrics speak of their personal trials and tribulations living in their own heavenly but harsh land, says their myspace. It's heavy, electric, tube driven riffing, blended with progressive styles and sensibilities and their own skeptical, cynical, but in the end positive philosophy as written word and amplified sound.
  
  Granted i looked through every blog i could for a download link, ultimately i found nothing. Since Aaron had been a regular visitor, and generally a nice enough dude to discuss music with, i decided to buy his band's album through Amazon. I gotta say i'm very happy i did so. The album kicks ass, and the entire situation has been very rewarding.
  
  It's with Aaron Lieber's permission of course, i give to you the first half (6 songs) of the band's debut album. To be honest i actually enjoy the second half of the album, particularly the beatiful instrumental piece "October '77". Just another reason for you to purchase this scorcher! If you are into some of the bands i mentioned.. do Aaron and Behind the Sun the ultimate favour by picking this one up from Amazon, and even turning it onto a friend you know who might enjoy it.
  
  Consider me a fan, can't wait to see what these guys do next!

• Behind the Sun Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  THE SKINNY: Behind the Sun is a five-man progressive rock outfit in Israel. Their self-titled debut ...THE SKINNY: Behind the Sun is a five-man progressive rock outfit in Israel. Their self-titled debut was released in late May of this year, seeing some exposure on the local and international front. While the record on the whole doesn't appeal to me consistently, it showcases glimpses of innovation and compositional intelligence that I can only assume will evolve and mature when the band gets in the studio again.
  
  MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/behindthesunmusic
  PURCHASE: Amazon
  
  
  Behind the Sun's self-titled debut release is a progressive rock work with much in common with Riverside's older catalog. If you've ever checked out Dream Theater's middle discography, which pays homage to many different Hungarian modes and flavors, then you might see some resemblance there, too.
  
  Guitarists Aaron Lieber and Assaf Kopelnikov make this album interesting. For one, I've never seen a heavy rock band with a guitarist so often finger picking jazz chords on an electric guitar. Lieber outlines vocalist Gad Erez's melodies with pedal tones and rhythmic finger picking enough to make some jam bands jealous. If you've ever heard Riverside, you'd remember their guitars as ambient and simple, a hard contrast to what Behind the Sun's guitar instrumentation provides, despite the other broad similarities.
  
  Behind the Sun's debut doesn't appeal to me musically aside from these guitar moments which I think show the band's real potential. In what seems like a classic case of great musicians with a lackluster thirst and ability for songwriting, the record drops off as being slightly too drawn out and over zealous. I'll have to stress that my complaints are with the actual recorded album and not the band, however.
  
  The album's production does take away from the performance. A trebly snare, an awkward kick drum tone, and unconventional panning make certain movements of these very long pieces hard to enjoy, despite the group's musicianship. Less is more with independent music. If you can't pull it off, its probably best to not try it, because this is how people judge you. The album's last track is a great example, where a low filter cut gradually turns the mix to a very FM radio sound, before returning to full spectrum audio; a cool effect that simply sounds cheesy when not executed correctly. It's true, I try to stay away from criticizing production on independent music, but a consumer typically won't be as forgiving. The overall clarity of the recordings are just fine, but even the drum and bass sometimes feel rhythmically out of sync, which can be unpleasant.
  
  So, after initially being put off by the record, I decided to look at some live footage of the band to get a better idea of what the band was capable of. It boils down to this: Behind the Sun have debuted with an immensely ambitious first effort, clearly trying to compete with other progressive powerhouses in the industry, and they deserve nothing less than a congratulations for putting their best foot forward and creating something with depth and vision. For this reason, along with what I think is some unarguably very smart guitar playing, Behind the Sun's debut deserves some credit and admiration.
  
  Watch the Album Trailer
  
  "The Professionals" off of Behind the Sun

• Behind The Sun – Behind The Sun 8/10 [+ Show ]
  

  Band: Behind The Sun Album: Behind The Sun Year: 2009 Label: Unsigned Myspace Best Song: Seco...Band: Behind The Sun
  Album: Behind The Sun
  Year: 2009
  Label: Unsigned
  Myspace
  
  Best Song: Second December
  Score: 8/10
  .
  
  Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Ian Gillan was born in Israel? No? Well regardless, Behind The Sun are the answer. They are a 5-piece Rock band from Israel, and have influences from Pearl Jam, Blue Oyster Cult, and Judas Priest to name a few. A band from Israel is not a common thing, and neither is pathetic fallacy in such a medium as music. However, this album contains both, and the latter is rife!
  
  Whilst licking a 9 volt battery is not a good idea, it is sometimes tempting when referred by a friend, the same goes for reviewing this CD. Whilst it is not a genre I would choose to listen to, I like to think I am diverse and should give everything a chance. So, upon viewing their MySpace page I was tempted by the Sirens and said yes. I did not regret it.
  
  Emotions are normally incorporated into lyrics, experiences too. However, this is normally about girls. Behind The Sun have instead chosen to sing about things a bit closer to home, in particular their homes, and their lives. Such personal tribulations from other people’s lives make a nice refreshing change that everyone should take a break from life and listen to.
  
  I am going to give this album 8/10. Simply, because it is one of the best starts a band could have. Coming from a country where touring must be more difficult than normal, and getting your word out to the rest of the world isn’t easy. These guys have tried and succeeded in creating a masterpiece, now they just have the world to conquer, before it is their falafel.
  
  TRACKLIST:
  1. Second December
  2. Wishful Thinking
  3. Nothing But A Stain
  4. Prelude
  5. Still
  6. Running Water
  7. Fifteenth Dawn
  8. The Professionals
  9. Sour Days
  10. October ‘77
  11. Brother
  12. Strong Wind

Setlist

We usually play about 75 minute sets although for Independence Day we played a 2 hour show. In a longer show we throw in a cover or two of some early influences which in the past has seen us play songs by Alice in Chains, the Doors, Queens of the Stone Age, Blue Oyster Cult, Neil Young, Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam, A Perfect Circle, Audioslave, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles

Basic Requirements

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