Beheaded
Encyclopedia
Beheaded is a Death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 band from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. They were formed in 1991, by singer Marcel Scalpello, guitarist David Bugeja, and drummer Chris Brincat. They have performed in Malta, Europe, and the US, and have released several albums.

Formation and Demo (1991–1995)

The band was founded in 1991 by drummer Chris Brincat, vocalist Marcel Scalpello and guitarist David Bugeja, becoming the first Death Metal band in Malta after Biblical Infamy (which also had David Cachia on Bass in its ranks). With the country being considered one of the most Catholic in the world, the band has claimed that it has encountered a lot of confrontation and negativity, also mentioning this in some interviews as being a major setback of the country. A demo tape called ‘Souldead’ was released in 1995, making it the first Death Metal studio recording released by a Maltese band, putting the country on the extreme music map. Souldead was made to circulate strongly in the fanzine and tape trading circuits of the era.

Record deal, debut album, and first tour (1996 - 1999)

1996 saw the band signing its first Record Deal with Sweden’s X-Treme Records. The first official full length, entitled 'Perpetual Mockery', 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 Magazine
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...

. 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. New material started to outline a more brutal and heavy approach in the songs.

Resurgence of Oblivion (1999–2001)

A 5-track promo disc was recorded in 1999, which 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 MCD. In 2001, Beheaded composed all the songs for the upcoming ‘Recounts of Disembodiment’ full-length between January and May 2001. The recording took place once again at Temple Studios in June 2001 with sound engineer David Vella behind the mixing desk. ‘The European Extermination Tour’ took place all over Europe in July 2001 which saw Beheaded headline alongside label mates Anasarca, stopping by at the Obscene Extreme
Obscene Extreme
Obscene Extreme is an extreme metal and grindcore open-air music festival taking place in Trutnov, Czech Republic each summer since 1999. To date, 490 bands have performed at Obscene Extreme.- Obscene Extreme 1999 :...

 Festival in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. 2001 was the year when Chris got endorsed by Paiste
Paiste
Paiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...

 for his abilities behind the skins.

Mighty Music and Recounts of Disembodiment (2002–2003)

Early 2002 saw the release of ‘Recounts of Disembodiment’ on Denmark’s Mighty Music, 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 publications, including a 9/10 review on Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...

. Mighty Music also licensed the Resurgence of Oblivion MCD, and Recounts of Disembodiment CD to US label Forever Underground Records. 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 4. Back in Europe, Beheaded took part in the Fuck the Commerce V festival in Germany.

Unique Leader and Ominous Bloodline (2004–2008)

2004 saw the band hit the European roads again on the ‘Beheaded Europe with Prejudice Tour’ along Belgian Death Metal band Prejudice. Beheaded inked a new record deal with US label Unique Leader Records
Unique Leader Records
Unique Leader Records is a record label ,operating out of Los Osos, California. The label specializes in death metal bands, mostly of the brutal or technical vein. The label has also gained reputation as a fairly solid CD distributor...

 in April 2004. The ‘Ominous Bloodline’ album was recorded in July / August 2004, at Temple Studios, Malta and Mastered at Imperial Mastering in the USA. The album was officially launched on March 8, 2005. It marked a significant step forward for Beheaded on all fronts, landing them spots in some of the major Death Metal festivals in Europe, including the NRW Deathfest and the Death Feast Open Air, both in Germany and Brutal Assault
Brutal assault
Brutal Assault is an extreme metal open-air music festival taking place in the 18th century army Fortress Josefov in Jaroměř, Czech Republic. It takes place each August traditionally on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the beginning of the month. The festival was started in 1995 featuring mostly...

 in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 in 2008.

New Lineup and album (2009 - present)

After various line-up changes, by the end of 2009 guitarist Omar Grech returned on guitars after a break from the band. In the same period of time, a new frontman, Frank Calleja, vocalist with Maltese band Slit, joine the band as the fourth permanent vocalist. In December 2009, the band performed live after a period of a year and a half. This was the first time that the band performed live as a quartet.

In 2010, Robert Agius, formerly known as Lord Trebor with Archaean Harmony, joined in as the second guitarist on this new line-up and performed live with the band in March 2010, in preparation for their performance at the Neurotic Deathfest that same year.

The band entered Temple Studios in Mistra Bay, Malta, on the 29th of October, 2010 to record the 4th, as yet unnamed, full-length album, to be released under Unique Leader Records
Unique Leader Records
Unique Leader Records is a record label ,operating out of Los Osos, California. The label specializes in death metal bands, mostly of the brutal or technical vein. The label has also gained reputation as a fairly solid CD distributor...

.

Current members

  • Chris Brincat - drums
  • David Cachia - bass
  • Frank Calleja - vocals
  • Omar Grech - guitar
  • Robert Agius - guitar

Former members

  • Tysone Fenech - guitar
  • Marcel Scalpello - vocals
  • David Bugeja - guitar
  • Lawrence Joyce - vocals
  • Melchior Borg - vocals
  • Chris Mintoff - guitar
  • Nicky Farrugia - guitar
  • Malcolm Alden - vocals
  • James Horton - guitars
  • Clint Aquilina - vocals

Full length albums

  • Perpetual Mockery - 1998
  • Recounts of Disembodiment - 2002
  • Ominous Bloodline - 2005

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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