Beheaded

Beheaded is a brutal death metal band. They formed back in 1991, with the sole intention of being one blistering death/grind act, Beheaded has breathed fire ever since. Set in Fgura, Malta, an island, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the quintet stood firm, against all the odds, and confrontations such an environment generated. Beheaded toughened after each clash, and molded into a beast of tenacity and inhuman determination. Founded by Chris Brincat – drums and David Bugeja – guitars, more than a decade ago, the two set upon the difficult task to recruit a killer line up and start the first Deathgrind act in Malta. The former years were plagues with line up shifts, something which persisted till 1995. During this year the highly acclaimed Souldead demo was recorded. Beheaded also recorded the song "Vae Victus" for a local compilation CD. The Demo was being sent to countless underground magazines, radio stations, and tape traders all over the globe. It was being made to circulate through all means possible and available at the time. Beheaded started to get a great feedback from the underground scene and a solid contact with the scene outside Maltese shores started taking shape. By 1996, the band had signed its first Record Deal with Sweden’s X-Treme Records. The first official full length was recorded at Temple Studios in June 1996. Unforeseen hindrances determined that the CD saw its release in early 1998. Even so, the release was again praised in countless reviews including a 4K/5K review in Kerrang, and 7/10 review in Terrorizer. Summer 1998 also saw the band embark for the first time outside Maltese shores to play shows in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany. During this tour the band played opening shows for Vader, Dying Fetus, Defaced Creation and Deranged, as well as gigs with Fleshless. On return from the tour, Beheaded was conscious more than ever that it had potential to rip it up with the big names in the scene. New material started to outline a more brutal and heavy approach in the songs. Having terminated the deal with X-Treme, the band recorded a 5 track promo CD in 1999. The 5 tracks on the promo captured the attention of several record labels. However, the band opted to sign with Danish Label Mighty Music. The same five tracks were released as the Resurgence of Oblivion Mini CD. Such release left its indelible mark in the brutal underground scene and was again praised in countless publications. The new songs also went down extremely well during live performances. Enter 2001. During this year Beheaded wrote all songs for the upcoming Recounts of Disembodiment full length album in between January and May ’01. The recording took place once again at Temple Studios in June’01, with friend and sound engineer, David Vella behind the mixing desk. A tour called ‘The European Extermination Tour’ took place allover Europe in July ’01 which saw Beheaded headlining alongside label mates Anasarca. Beheaded also took part in the Obscene Extreme Festival (CZ) whilst on tour. The tour furnished the band with lots of new contacts. 2001 was the year when Chris got endorsed by Paiste Cymbals for his abilities behind the skins. Early 2002 saw the release of Recounts of Disembodiment, an album which went down exceptionally well with the followers of this extreme form of music. Positive reviews cropped up from every where in every country, and countless of interviews were done in numerous underground publications. Mighty Music also licensed the Resurgence of Oblivion MCD, and Recounts of Disembodiment CD to US label Forever Underground Records. The band’s name was spreading fast at this stage. April and May 2002 was the time when the first US tour took place. Such tour included over 20 shows and boasted appearances at the Ohio Deathfest and New Jersey Metal Meltdown, where the band shared the stage with the elite bands of the genre. Way back to Europe, Beheaded stopped in Germany to take part in the Fuck the Commerce V festival in Neiden. A show in front of about 5000 people instigating one massive pit - an appearance that underlined the words ‘SHEER CRUSHING BRUTALITY THAT WILL EAT YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!!’ (present on the backs of Beheaded shirts). On the return from the FTC festival, and in between late 2002 and mid 2003, Beheaded was confronted with a series of unexpected situations, including line up replacements. The band tore its way through it all and ripped to pieces everything that crossed its path. Loaded with an arsenal of riffs, new top notch material started being written. The band decided to terminate the record deal with Mighty Music, and look for better conditions with another label. With this in mind a new 2 track Promo CD was recorded. The two tracks on the promo outlined a solidified sound and a more focused technical/brutal approach. The promo disc captured the attention of Unique Leader Records, a highly reputable label within the international brutal underground scene. A record deal was negotiated and was signed in April 2004. Such an agreement has signified a total rebirth for the band. Beheaded took its place amid the sickest roster of bands in the international underground circuit. The Ominous Bloodline album was recorded in July and August ’04, at Temple Studios, Malta and Mastered at Imperial Mastering US. Ominous Bloodline featured tracks like "Esoteric Kin", "Conceived to Dominate", and "Rooted in Profundity". A mini European Tour was headlined in October 2004 with Technical Death Grind band Prejudice from Belgium. Beheaded also headlined the Ludwigshafen Deathfest during this mini Tour. The album was launched officially on March 8th, 2005. It marked a significant step forward for Beheaded on all fronts. On June 2007 Omar decided to leave the band for personal reasons and was immediately replaced by Nick Farrugia (also doing guitars for Tendency Charge) The band is now focusing in gigging more often and also touring since as from December 2007 Beheaded is now part of BCP (Blast Corpse Promotions) Touring agency from Germany. Beheaded is now also working on new material which will possibly be released beginning of 2009. Currently, the band lineup consists of: -Frank Calleja (vocals) -Omar Grech (guitarist) -Robert Agius (guitarist) -David Cachia (bassist) -Chris Brincat (drummer) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.