spitted aorta : Finally you’ve released the “Recounts Of Disembodiment” in 2002 on Forever Underground Records. Are you pleased with that recording and each stuff were released from different labels so far, what were the reasons for that?

beheaded : First of all hello Oguz & Kerem, and thanks for reserving some space for Beheaded, much appreciated. Yes finally the ‘Recounts of Disembodiment’ has been released on our Label Mighty Music in Europe and on Forever Undreground in the US.

I’ll recapitualte the band’s releases so far: Souldead demo tape 1995 (self-financed), Perpetual Mockery CD 1998 (x-Treme Records), Resurgence of Oblivion MCD 2000 (Mighty Music-Forever Underground), and Recounts of Disembodiment CD 2002 (Mýghty Music-Forever Underground). Yes we’re pretty satisfied with each release we’ve done so far. Each one has been an important step in the bands evolution. The debut ‘Perpetual Mockery’ was released on X-Treme Records of Sweden, in 1998 – and after that we decided to seek another label which was more accountable towards its bands and releases. We found that Mighty Music met those expectations, and we signed to them, after that they had heard our stuff. We’re still signed to Mighty Music, but the Resurgence of Oblivion MCD and Recounts of Disembodiment CD have been released by Forever Underground in the US in agreement with Mighty Music.

spitted aorta : How is death/grind scene in Malta? We don’t know much about it except RETCH, STENCH OF NECROPSY and of course BEHEADED. Do you perform live there?

beheaded : Well to tell you the truth Retch is not a Maltese band. Stench of Necropsy is a one man band (hello David Kinsella!!), but he has emigrated to Ireland.But there are other death metal bands like Arachnid, Achiral, and Lithomancy.

We try to play like an average of 6 shows per year here. This is because Malta is a small island with a limited scene and so it’s allways the same croud which attends at the gigs. Another draw back here is the lack of clubs where a decent gig can be set up, but we always manage to come up with something. However we prefer to be on tour and play on an everyday basis.

spitted aorta : You will be on tour in Usa with Leukorrhea and Putrilage. How those affect your work and family life? Briefly, how does music take place in your life?

beheaded : That’s right, we’ll embark to the US in April and tour the US with Leukorrhea and Putrilage. We can’t wait till we’ll be playing for the first time in the US. This band is our life, so we’re really entusiastic about it all. We’ll give our best wherever we play, that’s guaranteed. As regards our jobs, well, we applied for vacation leave to be able to go on tour…. Somehow we always manage.

spitted aorta : I think BEHEADED’s sound is getting more into American I mean the early BEHEADED sounds more athmospheric and melodic and also include some original thing. Do you agree with me , tell us your opnions.

beheaded : I think that we moved onto something which is more fulfilling to play. In the Perpetual Mockery days we were inspired by lots of European bands and this was definitely felt in that release. Perpetual Mockery was originally recorded in 1996, and since those days we have definitely improved on all grounds. That style might have been original but it surely lacked the punch when played live. We decided to steer towards a more brutal approach after the tour we did in 1998 where we supported Vader on 5 shows and played shows alongside Dying Fetus, Deranged and Defaced Creation. We really felt that we could write more brutal stuff when compared to what we were doing back then. We even focused on the sound and decided to down tune the instruments as well. Anyway, we’re happy with the way things have progressed.

spitted aorta : How do you maintain the financial needs of the band, tours, studio etc...Is it hard to be a death/grind band there  , in Malta? What do the members do rest of the time besides music?

beheaded : We try to invest in the band. What Beheaded earns is invested right back into it, and in that way we’re making things of less burden on the pockets on us as individiual members. The studio expenses are alleviated by the Label, which is a good thing, but as far as tours go, we have to manage that on our own. However on this upcoming US tour there’s gonna be the help of Bill from Forever Underground. As for full time jobs; I (Omar Grech)- Guitars am a Health Inspector, David Bugeja –Guitars services electronic equipment at Hospital, Chris Brincat-drums  is a nurse, David Cachia – bass is a toy factory employee, and Lawrence Joyce – vocals is presently employed in a Supermarket.

spitted aorta : Are you into differnt kinds of music styles, if so , to what extent they influence your writings and do any band member play in any other bands other than BEHEADED?

beheaded : Yes we listen to other styles apart from Brutal Death metal. We listen to some NU metal (seen our drummer with a Slipknot shirt on the MCD photo?). That surely has been the aim of critics from the whole underground! But to be honest these don’t influence the way which we produce music. We’ll always be a death metal band, because we have it implanted in our DNA. None of us is playing with some other band or has side projects apart from Beheaded.

spitted aorta : Do you take into consideration the reviews and criticisms about the band? Are those have major or minor – or not any at all – effect on your music?

beheaded : We won’t change the way we play simply because someone comments on something in a particular review. Experience has shown that reviews tend to be quite diverse from one critic to another, and so if something would sound like heaven to one, could sound like hell to another. We’ll remain true to what we do and leave the critics to express what they feel about the music. However I don’t like certain people who review death-grind stuff and don’t have any background of  this scene whatsoever… those reviews I tend to ignore completely.

spitted aorta : I thought that The Us bands are directing the death/grind scene in their own way, majority of the new bands try to follow this trend instead of writing something more original or more different. What are your opinins about that?

beheaded : I think that every player of this extreme form of music should play what he feels inside, and not play what would be termed as ‘original’ by someone else. Sometimes trying to be original would mean playing something that would not sound correct somehow. As regards the direction of the death/grind scene in the US, well, it has always been characterised by certain techniques and sounds. The trend towards more crushing passages in the style has been felt more in the last releases coming out from the US underground.

spitted aorta : Related with the previous question, do you believe death/grind can be improved or do any revolution can be implemented in a musical aspect?

beheaded : Styles tend to follow certain paths over the years. This can be noted from the death grind of the early 90’s to the present day. The sounds overall have become more solid and deep, the guitars have been downtuned, certain drum techniques have been introduced which were not used back then, (hyper for e.g.). Also some bands (including ourselves) are using seven stringed guitars with the aim to produce an even heavier sound. I mean all in all, the changes death/grind has gone through the years have all outlined a heavier and more brutal approach towards the style.

spitted aorta : Thanks for the interview. Tell us the future plans of the band and your last words.

beheaded : Thanks again Oguz & Kerem for the interview. As regards future plans: we’ll be touring the US in April/May so all you US fans of this extreme music watch out for us. The New CD ‘Recounts of Disembodiment’ has just been released, obtain it!!

All news, merchandise etc, can be found on our Web site www.beheaded.net

Brutal greetings from Beheaded!!!