Bentley

Anton Schumacher

Tyler K

Jim Spiegel

Jordan Dalen

**Bentley** is an American metal band formed in 1998 by singer Bentley Cole. They are best known for their 2004 album *Straying From the Path of Reason*, which spawned two minor hits. They have a distinct style, which infuses post-hardcore and nu-metal, with elements of metalcore seen in later releases. The band broke up in 2009, but announced their return in 2018.

## History

In June 1998, Cole Bentley had just been kicked out of the band he played in as a drummer. He decided to form his own band, this time performing as singer. He posted flyers all across his home city of Carlsbad, and eventually hired Brett McCleod, Tyler Kretchmar, and Jim Spiegel on lead guitar, bass and drums respectively. The band added a fifth member when they were introduced to Anton Schumacher, who had left his native Germany with ambitions to make it as a musician in America. At the time, Schumacher was broke, so the band took pity on him and invited him on as a rhythm guitarist, which he graciously accepted.

In 1999, the band sent a demo to Warner Records, who signed them shortly thereafter. Around this time, upon the suggestion of a friend, Bentley began using the stage name Bentley Cole, created by swapping his first and last names. In 2001, the band released their debut album, *Don't Run, Quietly Drop the Act*. The album was only a minor success, but was critically praised. After touring across the Pacific Coast, the band began recording their sophmore effort in 2003.

In 2004, the band released their second album, *Straying From the Path of Reason*. This album became a sleeper hit, selling over 250,000 copies within a month despite receiving even less promotion as *Don't Run, Quietly Drop the Act*. Three singles were released from the album; *Hurt Me*, *Charade* and *Static*. These three songs would peak at 16, 12, and 34, respectively. The band later embarked on a tour across the US, concluding in 2006 when they began work on their next project.

The band's third album, *Watch Where You're Falling*, was released in 2007. Although slightly less successful than it's predecessor, it still fared well with fans and critics, with the single *Silence Wears Away* reaching 23 on the rock charts. Upon the conclusion of the band's 2009 North American tour, the band was dropped from their record label. Instead of finding another label, the band decided they would call it quits. They did, however, have enough leftover material from their previous three records to scrape together a fourth album, *Death on Downstage Center*, released independently in 2010.

Since the band's breakup, it's members each went their separate ways. McCleod, Kretchmar, and Spiegel formed the band Kingdom's Fall with singer Jason Lewis. Schumacher began creating electronic music under the name Grey Schematica. Cole was not seen in the public eye throughout much of the band's breakup period, as he was struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism, issues he had kept secret while the band was together. In 2016, Cole announced that he had sobered up for good, and was steadily working on rebuilding his life.

On March 14, 2018, an article was posted on Loudwire announcing that Bentley would be reforming, and was planning to release their fifth album later that year. Two days later, the band released an official statement confirming this article to be true. It was also announced in this post that Jordan Dalen, the band's longtime touring keyboardist, would be joining as a permanent member of the band. Four months after their reunion was announced, the band's fifth album, *The Wolf Who Cried War*, was released to positive reviews. As well as being their first album since their initial breakup, it was also the first to be released through their new label, Dayglow. Since then, the band has gone on on tour and is rumored to release a sixth album in 2024.

## Trivia

In 2005, the band re-recorded their song *Static* to be featured in The Sims 2 as a song on the in-game radio. The "Simlish" version of the song can be heard here.

## Members

Bentley Cole (Cole Bentley) - unclean vocals (1998-2009; 2018-)

Brett McCleod - lead guitar, clean vocals (1998-2009; 2018-)

Anton Schumacher - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1998-2009; 2018-)

Tyler K (Tyler Kretchmar) - bass (1998-2009; 2018-)

Jim Spiegel - drums (1998-2009; 2018-)

Jordan Dalen - keyboards (2018- [touring member from 2002-2009])

## Discography

*Don't Run, Quietly Drop the Act* (2001)

*Straying From the Path of Reason* (2004)

*Watch Where You're Falling* (2007)

*Death on Downstage Center* (2010)

*The Wolf Who Cried War* (2018)