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Beheaded: Ominous bloodline

23/06/11 || The Duff

They may say the longer the wait the sweeter the Karma in some circles of the World, what the fuck do I know? Speaking for myself I’m certain I’d rather have the last six years of my life back than a simpler than pigshit collective realize how ignorant it is, Beheaded unlikely to feel much different if their hatemail is any indication, BUT OH WELLOLOLO. Here at GD headquarters we keep it as we see it though for our own sakes because it hurts too much at the sides to be objective and not many of us are brutal deathmetal heads, something that seems to have escaped these proud Maltans before labeling us homoe-sekschuals.

Having recently broken into such an exclusively underground sub-genre (despite slam becoming very trendy all of a sudden) and discovering that Beheaded are in fact a much admired band, I’ve felt the need to try and set things right, so what’s do I think of their music? Will Beheaded love GD again in the bromance fashion with lube we all encourage here but wish not to be misunderstood as we all hope they will? Well, this is brutal, well produced death metal, not an exaggeratedly extreme and inaccessible blastfest of churning noise – things could’ve been a lot worse for the AA they featured in.

“Ominous Bloodline” has been compared to the complexity of Suffocation, which is nuts – the New York death metal masters I’m sure take up to ten years in order to compose a track of such intricate riff mastery, Beheaded simply a band that writes in the vein of Deeds of Flesh a riff at a time then throws all at the wall to see what sticks. I wouldn’t call it tech; the musicianship is modest with flashes of the complex, the exception being drummer Chris Brincat who is competent as to the standard such a style of death metal would demand but nothing more.

Relative to other bands of the scene, what Beheaded play is very straightforward and digestible. A reason for this aside from the less than stellar playing skills is that the band arranges its songs unusually comfortably for brutal death metal; think Deeds of Flesh linear but with even more accessible structuring – nothing akin to the heavyweights that cram about as much material into a track as melodic death metal bands get onto an album.

What Beheaded really have going for them though is that they are catchy as fuck in a way where it makes them a very cool transition band – you feel like your head isn’t being ravaged incessantly by constant rhythm changes and overpowering drums, yet you’re still getting a dose of the uncompromising. It’s all measured heavy death metal that requires little cerebral devotion, probably like “Effigy of the Forgotten” on the level it counts (i.e. the ‘crush-factor’) but of course nowhere near as masterfully written, with thrash metal-basic song structures and a Deeds of Flesh “Crown of Souls” production.

Recommended most probably to Dying Fetus fans, haha, but those into seriously tech, thought-provoking brutal death I would advise to stay away.

Information
Released: 2005
Label: Unique Leader
Website: Beheaded MySpace
Band
Melchior Borg: vocals
Omar Grech: guitars
Chris Mintoff: guitars
David Cachia: bass
Chris Brincat: drums

Tracklist
01. Crowned with Repression
02.Esoteric Kin
03.Conceived to Dominate
04.Vaults of Ageless Pain
05.Depths of Sore
06.Ominous Bloodline
07.Ill Remains
08.Scourging Repudiation
09.Rooted in Profundity

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