February 2026 Feature Release - The Guardians Edition

So another month comes round and the wheel of fortune points to me to nominate The Guardians feature for February. I have selected the 2006 debut album "Uncreation" from San Diego metallers Benedictum. I was blown away by the powerful vocals of singer Veronica Freeman when I heard this at the time of its release, she is kinda like a female Dio. They never really broke through, but they are still a decent heavy metal act in possession of one of metal's best female singers.

https://metal.academy/releases/14532

Fantastic feature release, Sonny, thanks for this! Here's my review summary:

Benedictum is one of several bands reviving the classic 70s/80s heavy metal sound in the 2000s, plus some touches of power metal. What makes them more unique is the angelic AND devilish singing of frontwoman Veronica Freeman. And it sounds about right that she is like a female Dio (RIP). The album even includes two covers of Black Sabbath songs from the Dio era, and they're some of the best Black Sabbath covers I've heard in all my years of metal, especially "Heaven and Hell". As for all the other tracks here, the Sabbath-infused instrumentation really stands out and is balanced out with a slight modern touch, along with Veronica channeling her inner Dio. Uncreation is not an album or band a metalhead should go their whole life without. It's a masterpiece to tear down the conventional walls!

5/5