Jihad

1988 - 1996 The inception of Jihad began in 1988 by James Mendez, which is around the time Benestrophe was known locally in San Antonio, Texas, for their unique sound and eccentric performances. Through various experiences and exposure to Benestrophe (live performances and band rehearsals), the inspiration behind Jihad was conceived. Their style of music is comparable to Benestrophe in some ways, in that the compositions are comprised of a traditional verse-chorus structure. In addition, their music introduces various elements containing both electronic and sampled instruments with an overlay of dark / heavy vocals. During this same time period (1988 - 1993), James also collaborated in several side projects such as Fury & Fear with Robert Bustamante of Fektion Fekler, Primary Target (Releasing 'Chant Among Us' between 1989-1990, and recording 'The Churchyard Studio Sessions' in the studio of Benestrophe / Mentallo & The Fixer) and Trial by Fire (Releasing 'The Execution of Witches (Part 1)') with vocalist Jaime Chavez. Sometime after the disbandment of Benestrophe, Richard (ex-vocalist of Benestrophe) and James recorded a few songs, which one of them (Hands That Hide) ended up on the notorious RAS DVA Quadruple Compilation titled 'There Is No Time' released in July 1995. In addition, they also release three exclusive songs on the RAS DVA Fanbase Compilation titled Dora Blue in 1996. 1996 - 2009 Soon after, the Mendez duo were extended an offer to release a full-length album on RAS DVA. This was their debut album titled 'A Prayer in the Night' which was released in May 1997. In the same year, James also remixes False Prophets (Full Frontal Lobotomy Mix) and Mother of Harlots (Multi-National Brain Washer Re-mix) on the Mentallo & The Fixer CD single 'False Prophets'. Shortly after Jihad's first and only release, James decides to invest more time in his career for nearly ten years. Beginning in 2006 - 2008, James befriends other musicians in the dark electronic music scene (primarily in Germany) via social media. This leads to Jihad's first live performance in Trnava, Slovakia, with dear friends from Nordschlacht (aka Pyrroline) in May 2009. It is at this point, where the band consists of only James. Continuing on, he is introduced to Electro Aggression Records, establishing a fellowship among a network of musicians in the dark electronic music scene, spanning throughout various parts of the world (Europe, North and South America). Through this connection, James contributes a number of remixes for bands such as Object, Terminal State, Pyrroline, MC1R, kFactor, The Opposer Divine and several others. 2013 - 2019 Fast forward to 2013, a friendship with Martin Sane (Fïx8:Sëd8) develops where they recognize some common friends in the music scene they've unknowingly developed respectively over the years. Another two years pass and Jihad performs their second live performance at Dark EBM Souls in Bratislava, Slovakia, in February 2015. Later that year, Jihad releases a new live album in November 2015 titled 'Live in Bratislava 28.02.15 | Dark EBM Souls'. The outcome of Jihad's performance at this festival initiates their journey focusing on more live shows between 2015 - 2019 that extend throughout Europe, North and South America. 2020 - Present As of 2020, it's been approximately twenty-three years since their debut album. Jihad has released a new album titled 'Retrospekt' in April 2020 and you can expect more live performances and a new album upcoming soon.