MEGADETH's DIRK VERBEUREN Collaborates With MIDNIGHT's ATHENAR On New BENT SEA Song

MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeurenhas released a new song from his long-running BENT SEA project.

"Grind To A Halt", a collaboration with MIDNIGHT mastermind Athenar on vocals, is the first in a series of songs Dirk has dubbed "Instagrind".

The 45-year-old Belgian-born-and-now-Los-Angeles-based musician states: "Lots of new tracks are on the way, with some badass guests."

In a 2016 interview with All About The Rock, Dirk stated about BENT SEA: "BENT SEA is a spur-of-the-moment type thing without any business plan. The idea from the get-go was basically 'no pressure' and I intend to keep it that way."

Back in 2012, Dirk told PureGrainAudio about BENT SEA's formation: "It just sort of happened. I used to play guitar, but in recent years my focus was exclusively on drums. My wife had been encouraging me to write my own music, so I decided to give it a shot. The result turned out to be BENT SEA."

Regarding the project's name, Dirk said: "It's taken from a song by British experimental duo ENDVRA which I accidentally came across in my tape-trading days. Their music has absolutely nothing to do with grindcore, but somehow BENT SEA popped up in my mind. I like that it's atypical, and that it conjures apocalyptic images echoing the intensity of my music."

Verbeuren had been playing with SOILWORK for more than a decade before joining MEGADETH in 2016 as the replacement for Chris Adler (LAMB OF GOD),who called Dirk "probably [one of the] top three drummers in the world."

In interview with the KATT Rock 100.5 FM radio station, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine described Dirk as "one of the most pleasant, easy-to-get-along-with guys I've ever met in my life. I'll walk up to him and he'll smile and lean forward and pat me on the back. He goes [adopts thin accent], 'How's it going, buddy?' I could say, 'Oh, man…'… anything. 'Oh, okay, buddy.' [He] smiles and pats me, 'cause he's just a happy guy. I've never, ever, ever seen him not smile."