Bend for Eleven is a rock band from Thessaloniki, Greece. Greece is a hotbed for exciting new artists; you can check my review for fellow Grecians- Project Renegade here. Like Project Renegade, Bend for Eleven has a lot to say, yet is relatively unknown in the United States. With Rebel Day, that could change quickly.

Listening to Rebel Day for the first time, I find this album incredibly easy to listen to. It has that quality that says, “This band is good at their craft, understands rhythm and tempo, and lets the various members shine from song to song.” Without reading a single lyric, I loved this record.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

This song is an excellent choice for the album opener. It’s a rocker, it’s singable and it sends a message that the band is here on a mission. The song opens with a catchy guitar riff that feels both post-punk and grunge at the same time. The lyrics come shortly therein and are accompanied by a guitar break and some excellent work on the bass. The groove is deep and supports the vocals. The lyrics seem to be the band saying, we stepped away, reassessed and are now ready to conquer the world.

“Let the leaving build my strength now
Let the coming feed my soul”

“I can do it on my own now.”

The album opener is important. All great albums have them. Rebel Day is no different and Yeah Yeah Yeah is up to the task.

Rebel Day

Rebel day hits very differently with a quick snappy drum beat courtesy of Nikos Siaxabanis that leads to another catchy guitar riff. In many ways, Rebel Day is a throw back to heavier pop rock days. The enigmatic lyrics are aggressive and seem to point to the cost of rebelling, or casting off your old self. Rebel Day feels familiar and fresh at the same time.

All of My Memories

All of My Memories starts with a climbing guitar groove. The vocals soar on this one, like the aforementioned guitar groove. Lead singer Antonis Tsars does an excellent job with emotion and inflection. Again, the theme of succeeding in light of that past recurs- defeating the enemy.

My Inner Sight

My Inner Sight is the longest song on the album. It is a nod to prog rock in the best of ways, recalling elements of Tool. It’s a slow builder that adds elements as it progresses. Simple guitar notes and sparse drums lead to heavier drums and added guitar weight. The tempo picks up leading to the vocals. Like the beginning instrumentation of this song, the feelings are lying right below the surface. The speaker can’t outrun his demons which are deep inside and surface repeatedly. The marriage of music and lyrics is perfect here. Truly an excellent version of prog rock. And, the video, well I will just leave that here. Wow