----------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX                            INTERVIEWS                    GUESTBOOK
----------------------------------------------------------------

The history of this interview is quite strange. Two years ago, Gauthier of Dead Cirkhus records who was contributing to my zine wanted to interview the band, so we packaged a bunch of questions and sent it to BEHEADED! The questions seems to have been lost or whatever since I didn't get a reply...  One year later, I met a musician of the band on Soulsuck, and we agreed to do the interview one more time... I changed few questions... but I still didn't receive the answers... hu? What is this shit?
I finally met one more time a guy from Beheaded on Soulsuck (maybe it doesn't suck so much after all...) who told me the completed interview was lost in a PC crash! Fucking shit! So we agreed to do it one more time, I changed a bit the questions, and here are the answers! The band recently signed to UNIQUE LEADER and they'll be touring Europe in the following months...

1. Hello! Introduce BEHEADED to our readers. How many beers did you drink before answering these questions?

Beheaded is death grind quintet hailing from the island of Malta. And as for beers, I haven’t drunk any, since I don’t drink alcohol.

2. Has the name BEHEADED as special meaning? Or maybe it was chosen because it sounded cool… Did it get any special meaning for you with the time?

The name Beheaded was picked up 12 to 13 years ago and you have to consider that we were still very young back then. We wanted to come up with a cool name for a brutal death metal band and that’s what we managed to come up with. Nowadays the grammatical meaning does not hold any significance whatsoever and to us it’s just the name of a brutal death grind band from Malta.

3. Your MCD totally drove me crazy! I like the feeling that is overflowing from the songs. Your new album seems to be a bit more classical but also really darker with still that kind of brutality that definitely defines your sound. Has that evolution been decided or did it come naturally?

After ‘Perpetual Mockery’ was released in 1998, we had already started to experiment with down tuning, so the sound got more deep and solid. Also during the time we toured in 1998 to promote ‘Perpetual Mockery’ we felt that the songs lacked a bit of punch when played live. This made us change the direction we took with ‘Perpetual Mockery’ and started writing more brutal and technical material, with a heavier sound. This had become obvious by the time we released the ‘Resurgence of Oblivion’ first as a promo and then as an official release. ‘Recounts of Disembodiment’ followed the trail of its predecessor but with an improved sound production. However on the upcoming album ‘Ominous Bloodline’ we will push the limits to meet new extremes on all fronts, both sound wise and music wise.

4. You were signed on MIGHTY Music, a label that has signed some great bands these last years like FLESHTIZED, ANASARCA, etc… Did the label do a good job for your promotion, for concerts… contrary to some other labels who signed too much bands to manage them all?

During our collaboration with Mighty Music we delivered the "Resurgence of Oblivion" MCD, and "Recounts of Disembodiment" CD.  Both releases received very good critics, and were very well received in the Brutal Underground scene. We also tried to push both releases with touring, and we toured with Anasarca (hello Mike & crew)  in 2001 when we organised the European Extermination tour, and in 2002 when we toured the US with Putrilage and Leukorrhea. We also took part in the Fuck the Commerce on our way back in Europe after the US tour. All this was purely organised by us without any input from the label. We have always strived on all fronts to push the band onto the next level, but we felt Mighty was not backing us in achieving this. That’s the main reason why the collaboration was discontinued.  

5. You’re now signed on UNIQUE LEADER ! How did you do to get a deal with them? Did you send some promo copies to them particularly or were you just spreading your fury through the underground when they offered you a deal?  For how many albums did you sign? How do you feel about it?

We did not spread the promo CD a lot, because our main aim was to end up in the plans of Unique Leader. But yes, there were other labels which showed interest. Some labels also showed interest in signing us because they knew we were without a label for a short period, without actually hearing the Promo! Anyway luckily we ended up where we wanted, so we’re happy things went the way they went.

6. How would you describe BEHEADED on stage? Sometimes, brutal bands cannot move much on stage because of the complexity of the songs. Which way do you feel as yours: effective songs and killers on stage or more into technical performances and a bit static during the concerts? When are you coming to play in France?

Our shows are pretty straightforward. We usually hang our logo at the back of the stage. Sometimes, we use an intro to add to the anticipation. Our vocalist, isn’t the type of frontman that talks a lot in between songs, so we just carry on with the set and let the music speak for itself.  We always try to deliver a pounding performance on stage and that also means that we move quite a lot on stage.  We have never played in France so far. There are plans for a full european tour next year, so we’ll probably land in your country in 2005 ! Watch out for that.

7. The first thing, after you music, that shot me out is the fact that you’re the first band I know from Malta. We don’t know so much about your scene. Could you introduce it to us with telling if there some bands that impress you (if there are some) and if you have good relations with some of them. Do you often play gigs in your country? Isn’t that difficult (as sometimes it is in France) to find a place to play?

The metal scene is quite healthy here especially considering the size of the island. We always get a crowd of 300 people on average at local gigs, which is very good. Also, there are cool bands cropping up and a very good web zine called Pestilent (www.pestilent.net).  Bands which are worth noting: Forsaken which plays Doom Metal, Loathe and Slit, both of which play Metal Core at it’s best, and Abysmal Torment which plays Gore/Grind.
We don’t play on a regular basis here on local grounds. This is because Malta is a small island and so each time a gig is organised we’ll meet the same faces over and over again. So we try to gig every 2 months on average here. A good venue where we play locally is called ‘Signals’ which is situated at the national swimming pool complex.  It’s got all the facilities necessary to set up a good gig, and its owners are friends of ours as well.

8. What do you know about the French scene? If there were a good opportunity, would you sign on a French label? Are you into splits (CD or vinyl) or things like that?

French Bands I dig are Inhumate, Loudblast, Disabled, Fate...etc. are there any labels apart from Listenable or Bones Brigade that will sign a brutal death metal band? as far as i know Adipocere signs mostly gay gothic bands and doom death bands with female vocals and Osmose which is a good label signs  Black metal bands mostly. Splits are a cool thing to do, we won't say no if someone would offer to do one in the right conditions.

9. Do you still have a daily job? Do some of you have a family and, if yes, how does that work during the tours, does your family come with you or things like that?

We all have our daily jobs / studies.  None of us is married, and during touring we don’t take it as a vacation, so we don’t take girlfriends with us. We’re on tour with one thing in mind and that is to deliver a pounding performance on every date.  However we do keep in touch with our families back home, usually by telephone or email.

10. If you couldn't play Brutal death metal, what would you use to express all the stress and negative energy we have to deal with? Maybe you've got some other projects, that are even not musical (artworks...).

I do Martial Arts and i am also big time in tattooing so if I would not have been involved in death metal,  I’d have been 100% into the aforementioned activities.

11. These times, death metal seems to be in great health. Do you think we’re living a trend period or that the extreme scene is more organized than a few years ago? What is your opinion about other kinds of extreme styles as black metal or pure grindcore (even if you have some grind parts, you don’t play grindcore)?

I agree with you that death metal is experiencing a great moment.  I don’t think that this is simply a trend that just happened accidentally. My opinion is that very good material is being released and the musicianship being expressed is of outstanding quality. Bands like Spawn of Possession and Decrepit Birth are only two examples of bands who have delivered outstanding releases this last term.  And like them there is a whole list of other bands who have released amazing CD’s, and this can only of be of benefit to death metal in general.  
I don’t dig black metal much to be honest. Grind Core is also in a good moment (I really dig the last Lock Up) , but I think that death metal is in a better position.

12. Do you prefer the classical underground (badly printed zines, flyers , dubbed tapes) or the Internet Underground (Spams, great websites…). Do you think these two parts touches the same public, and do you think it’s both as efficient to promote the bands ?

I think that the internet has worked out miracles. It has become a medium through which information can circulate fast and at a low cost. This can obviously be considered a plus to the metal underground scene. Web zines are a great way to give some exposure to releases, tour dates, etc. Obviously the printed zines as we originally knew them are still nice to own and read. Web zines might have lost that traditional printed Zine appeal.   But still, the internet is faster, cheaper and the info is easier to obtain.  

13. With such lyrics, you may like horror movies, isn’t it ? Don’t you think that sometimes horror is more frightening when it’s only suggested? Do you prefer suggested, gratuitous, classical or funny horror stuffs (for the movies as for the music)?

Our  main lyrical topics are dark and fictional situations that outline the fragility of the human being especially from a psychological point of view. Many times the lyrics project scenarios that are quite unthinkable, insane and deranged but they also create an environment that fits the music a lot. Our lyrics are not inspired by horror movies. They are the product of deep thinking sessions expressed through a characteristic style of writing.

14. What bands are you actually into? Do you buy a lot of zines + Cds or do you concentrate yourself on BEHEADED ? Do you think listening to too much bands (including average musics) can alterate your creativity and waste a part of positive energy that could have been expressed in BEHEADED?

I am quite open minded when it comes to music but  still when i have some time to listen to music it would be definitely be some extreme music...what bands i am into? well..let’s see, i have been a lot into Decrepit Birth, Suffocation and Malevolent Creation lately, Since i am an old timer of the scene i have always some good brutal oldies spinning in my player like Demigod, Necrony, Asphyx, old Amorphis and the like.

15. What are your 5 fave Death metal CDs of 2004 until now? Did you listen to the new SUFFOCATION album and what’s your opinion about it? What about DEEDS OF FLESH’s evolution?

Suffocation’s Souls to deny is just amazing, I really digged the whole thing and they have been a great influence to us as well. Deeds of Flesh happen to be one of my favorite bands and they are getting bigger which is definitely a good thing.

My fave 5 death metal CD’s would be:
1. Suffocation – Souls to deny
2. Necrophagist – Epitaph
3.Pungent Stench – Ampuety
4. Grave – Fiendish Regression.
5. Liturgy – Dawn of ash.

16. Have you got some parallel projects beside BEHEADED ?

No I’m not involved in any other project or band apart from Beheaded. I did play bass with some other bands/projects in the past, but I decided to quit all that and concentrate on Beheaded.

17. Through the years, has beer remained your best friend or did it turn into your worst enemy? Does BEHEADED prefer the mighty alcohols of death, or are you rather interested in smoking hash?

As stated elsewhere in this interview, I don’t drink alcohol – so beer hasn’t been either a friend nor an enemy to me. As for the others, they do drink alcohol occasionally, but it’s not really a big thing to us. As for smoking hash, it doesn’t rate too high in our aspirations either.

18. What are your future plans? Future touring projects, next releases etc… This comes to an end. Something to add to conclude this interview?

At the moment we’re in the process of recording our 4th official release which will be our first release on our new label Unique Leader Records. It is going to be entitled Ominous Bloodline. We’re planning a mini European tour later on in 2004. And in Early 2005 we’ll be doing the Gutting Europe. Keep visiting our web site www.beheaded.net to check about live dates etc. We have some merchandise for sale also.
Thanks a lot for sparing some space for us. Let’s keep a healthy scene! Brutal greetings from Beheaded.

  Website: www.beheaded.net

>