Omar_Beheaded_Interview

Gloon from the Full Metal Mayhem team chews the fat with Omar Grech guitarist with Malta's first deathsters Beheaded. US tours, cover art work and island locations were on the agenda.

A bit of history from where your from to kick things off.
[Omar] First off, hello Reg and thanks for sparing some space for Beheaded in your Zine. We're Beheaded, a death-grind band, hailing from Malta. The band was started back in 1991 by founder members Chris Brincat (drums) and David Bugeja (guitars). The line up was quite unstable in the former years of existence. A demo was recorded in 1995 and was entitled 'Souldead'. This demo got the attention of the underground by gaining good reviews in numerous publications and was praised by tape traders alike. The band was hooked by Swedish label X-Treme records with whom the band released the first full length 'Perpetual Mockery'. A tour followed after that in 1998 where Beheaded had the chance to play 5 times with Vader and play shows with Dying Fetus, Deranged, Defaced Creation, Fleshless etc. After that, it was time to look for another deal. A 5 song promo was recorded in 1999 and sent to a number of labels only. This captured the attention of Mighty Music of Denmark to whom we signed. The promo was then released as a mini CD entitled 'Resurgence of Oblivion'. Another tour followed with Anasarca across Europe in 2001. Another album has already been recorded and will be released in Feb/Mar 2002. This will be entitled 'Recounts of Disembodiment'.

Where the hell is Malta? and whats the scene like over there?
[Omar] Malta is a very small island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea situated to the South of Italy. The scene here can be considered as healthy considering the limited size of the country. Bands vary in style; from Nu Metal, Doom, Death, Black etc. However, a drawback in the local scene is that you'll always meet the same faces each time you organise a gig in Malta for the simple reason that the island is so small. So it doesn't make sense to play on a frequent basis locally. This is one reason why we try to play outside Maltese shores.

What possessed a bunch of nice Maltese lads like yourselves to form the first Death Metal band in the country?
[Omar] Well, the love for this kind of extreme music, to put it on simple terms. We wanted to start creating music of our own and form a band with this scope in mind. Finding the suitable musicians was another thing, but the right people did turn out in the end and it all started rolling with momentum from then onwards.

You are currently preparing to invade US shores sometime this April. Having toured with such bands as Vader, Dying Fetus and Deranged in Europe, who would be on your wish list for the American tour?
[Omar] The tour is planned to be played with Leokorrhea and Putrilage. We'll be playing shows alongside Pessimist as well. However we'll be taking part in a number of Festivals as well including the Ohio Deathfest amongst others. We'll also be taking part in the Fuck the Commerce Festival in Germany once back in Europe and on our way back to Malta. As for wish bands, well, we'd like to play with the likes of Misery Index, Dying Fetus, Deeds of Flesh, Fleshgrind and a whole lot more� However since this is our first time in the States we have to get

acquainted with the scene there. We're very enthusiastic about it, so let's hope for the best.

Australia has quite a large Death/Black/Grind scene, ever heard any Australian artists? if not what have you heard from/about Australia?
[Omar] There's definitely many Maltese emigrants living in Australia!! Yes I heard a band called 'Miscreation' which I liked a lot, reminds me of Pyrexia - Sermons of Mockery era. But to be honest I don't know much about the underground scene in Australia. I know of Mortification (do they still exist?),and of a thrash metal band that used to be called Mortal Sin.

In reviews your music has been described as having an American Death Metal sound, compared to such gods as Suffocation. What bands have influenced Beheaded's sound and who do you send hails to?
[Omar] Everybody in the band is into lots of US bands, especially the death
grind underground. However we listen to lots of old school Death metal as
well. Bands I could mention include; Dying Fetus, Cryptopsy, Nile, Pyrexia,
Morbid Angel, and a whole list of bands that fall in the whereabouts as
regards style.

I have been impressed with your album artwork, there is a fine line
between atmosphere and cheese. Who creates the concept for these
covers and who is the artist behind the art?
[Omar] The artwork for 'Perpetual Mockery' and for 'Resurgence of
Oblivion' were done by different people, even though they might look similar
in style� The 'Perpetual Mockery' cover was in fact a superimposition of
images taken from different sources, whilst the one for 'Resurgence of Oblivion' was done by Nicolai Borg. Actually Mighty Music was going to use a different artwork for 'Resurgence�', but it happened that the artwork in question was altered a bit, and when the artist who made it saw the MCD advertised with his artwork in that manner, he did not like it. So it was changed to what it is today. Both artworks are a bit abstract and they relate to the twisted lyrics and to the music a lot. However in my opinion the best artwork ever to embrace our releases will be the one for our upcoming CD 'Recounts of Disembodiment'� watch out for it.

'Recounts of Disembodiment' should be out by February this year. What can we expect from the album and are there any surprises?
[Omar] Recounts of Disembodiment will be a continuation to the MCD. The material is focused on fast parts set apart by heavier slower and sometimes crushing mid paced parts. The material was recorded at Temple Studios again implying that sound wise it will also be quite similar to the MCD, but with more attention to detail this time round. There are a couple of melodic passages which have a hint of 'Perpetual Mockery' in them, but everything else is pure crushing brutal death/grind.

In closing, what does the future hold for beheaded and what can we expect in 2002?
[Omar] We're looking forward to tour the States and that's what we're focusing on at the moment. We'll be taking part in the Fuck the Commerce festival in Germany as well. We'll try to promote the CD in every way possible, and give it the push it deserves. We have already started writing new songs too. So we're keeping ourselves busy. Recounts of Disembodiment will be released nearly simultaneously both in Europe by Mighty Music and in the states through Forever Underground. This will take place in March 2002.
So watch out for it!!