Beheaded
Recounts Of Disembowelment

The Beheaded are a band originating from the island of Malta, but despite this, their offering fits well into the international Brutal Death scene, and these guys are gaining more and more recognition and approval, thanks also to the numerous tours they have done alongside more well-known groups with a broader listener base.

The album I am about to review is dated 2002, preceded by other works (including the good Mini CD titled “Resurgence Of Oblivion”), but it is the one through which the Mediterranean group truly established themselves. It can be said that the music genre played by the Beheaded is a blend of styles from the largest titans of the genre flavored with a good dose of personality that keeps them away from the label of "Clone," the most feared by all Underground groups truly wishing to emerge and stand out.
The influences noticeable from the first listen are those of the more uncompromising Death, like that played by Cryptopsy and Suffocation (especially for the voice, very similar to that of Frank Mullen), but also European groups, particularly Polish ones (it's impossible not to notice some affinities with Decapitated, Mutilation, and Trauma). In other words, the Beheaded draw their inspiration from the most technical and relentless American Death while not neglecting some nuances from the European school.

The nine tracks in which the album is structured (excluding a kind of Ghost Track) are played with extreme precision and execution skill, almost at the levels of the aforementioned Cryptopsy and Suffocation: the speeds supported by these guys are very high and do not allow for any slowdowns. The guitarists, as well as the drummer, therefore offer an immense demonstration of technique, unfortunately at the expense of the compositional aspect of the songs. Although it hovers on fairly high levels, I believe that a band with these technical potentials could take more care in structuring their compositions, putting themselves on the same level as the big names in the genre. The singer proves to be a decent growler, whose voice is supported and enhanced by the other members of the group: unfortunately, the work done by the bassist, as often happens in Brutal Death, is not appreciable because it is smothered by the other instruments.

On this note, I would like to say a few words about the production, one of the elements that perhaps penalizes this CD the most: the recording is too clean, so much so that it leaves a sense of emptiness and incompleteness that ends up damaging the mood of the work. Guitar and drums are well distinguishable even though excessively crystalline, but the voice and bass are one in the background and the other almost absent; and what is worse is that the cause of all this is not the limited budget, but a stylistic choice that is more than questionable. I believe that in a Brutal Death album there cannot be feeble guitars nor can the sound be weak, especially if faced with a work that undoubtedly favors speed at the expense of power. As mentioned above, the mood is massively subdued by these flaws; the lyrics focus on serious themes, leaving aside Splatter to focus attention on the fragility of man and life in general, and it is obvious that topics of this kind would require a much more visceral, oppressive production and less (so to speak) "airy" than that of the CD in question.

In general, “Recounts Of Disembowelment” will be appreciated by fans of the genre because it is played with great skill and consists of a series of good songs written with intelligence, even if too little articulated compared to what the band could do. I believe the Beheaded should dare more, seek new paths, and not just put their signature on a sound already undertaken by others by dedicating themselves to more elaborate songwriting, perhaps richer in spectacular passages and virtuosities, things which they are certainly up to, and thanks to which many other groups have become renowned. However, I am sure that they will be endowed with this through experience and greater maturity: listening to this CD is still highly recommended, with good quality and, above all, great expectations for future works.