Recounts of Disembodiment

If it's any indicator as to just how dreadfully forgettable Beheaded's sophomore Recounts of Disembodiment is in the grand scheme of brutality, I had actually completely forgotten that it existed, and was beginning to put down my thoughts for its successor Ominous Bloodline when I had the nagging suspicion that I was missing something. From its formulaic songwriting framework to its use of one of Toshihiro Egawa's least impressive cover images, there's just nothing about this album that screams 'listen to me' over any number of other brutal death atrocities of the new millennium, and it suffers from a lot of the same symptoms that plagued its predecessor, the Resurgence of Oblivion EP. Not a total bust, and by no means a terrible record, but this one leaves the psychic impression of the 'also-ran' stamped upon its surface in so many places that any benefits one otherwise might have derived from the experience are smothered. In short, there's just nothing curious or compelling about Recounts of Disembodiment that I can't find elsewhere.

The writing here is occasionally as harried and fast-paced as the prior EP, but here they've settled into a lot of 4x chug/tremolo riff setups that feel soddenly generic and uninteresting when there are such a vaster array of dynamics available to such skilled musicians as Beheaded obviously are. If the note progressions were at least ear catching or 'evil' sounding, that might be one thing, but most of the structure to this album reminds me of textbook Deicide blueprints being filtered through a Suffocation lens. The palm muted slam grooves are a dime a dozen, without ever configuring into something truly violent, and the interspersion of these against the faster material is all too predictable and staged to sound like yet another of countless worship bands. Granted, there are a few tunes among the ten here that raise the stakes due a few superior grooves or old school death metal spurts which sound immediately more menacing than any of the by-the-numbers; "Consecrated Absurdities", "Compelling Derangement" and "Fed Upon Odium" all have a few moments of shine amidst the surrounding dullness, but even these don't engage the imagination for very long. The squeals of the guitars are generally a nuisance, and as with Resurgence..., I found the blunt and percussive vocals to remain on the monotonous side, though arguably more diverse in pattern than they had been on the EP.

A few of the leads are interesting, and lyrics remain a strong point for the Maltese, but in truth when I take this particular album and compare it to something by Deeds of Flesh, Cryptopsy, or the earlier works of Australians Psycroptic, I feel like it's often too set into a particular, hollow framework without much by way of inspiring ideas. The production's alright, with a nice sense of crunch to the guitars that gives the strident grooves a feel not unlike Morbid Angel's breakdowns on Domination, or Suffocation's Pierced from Within. The bass has a bit of a bombastic pop to it that helps it register against the guitars, and all of the instruments and vocals are reasonably balanced here. It was Beheaded's best mix to its day, but that can only get you so far, because I can say without question that among the hundreds of riffs throughout the album, there isn't one that truly drags me under. It's the audio equivalent of watching a mundane slasher horror flick which is composed of predictable stabbing after stabbing, and in my opinion the nadir of what work they've yet released. Worthwhile only if you're one to get excited by anything brutal, mildly technical and with the appropriately sick cover art and logo.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I’ve stated it so many times in the past, but I’ll persist to underline the fact that I am not the biggest fan of death metal, or any sub-genre of it. For instance, brutal death metal. I rarely listen to death metal because it requires a specific testosterone-filled mood to be able to sit through. However, there are occasions when a band comes along and blows that requirement out of the water. For example, Bolt Thrower. I can listen to the British outfit no matter what mood I’m in. Upon deciding I felt in the mood to broaden my horizons, Metal Archives very own forum provided me with the information to seek material by a band called Beheaded. Now, I’m not entirely sure how or what to judge brutal death metal on because I don’t consider it to be my field of expertise. My experience of metal remains firmly rooted in black metal and it seems to be set to stay that way for some time. However, as I said, there are times when one comes across a band that cannot help but take notice of and Beheaded are one of those bands. According to word of mouth, Beheaded are one of the best brutal death metal acts around and based on the material I’ve heard, namely ‘Recounts Of Disembodiment’, I would have to agree. According to a friend of mine, who is Maltese, Malta is an extremely religious country. He said he wouldn’t be surprised to see a band of this nature ‘run out of town’, or even the country. According to the Archives, Malta has very few metal bands. In comparison to countries like the United States, or the major European nations, Malta isn’t competing in any sense for the crown of glory in the brutal death metal scene. It is no secret that Malta produces very few bands so when one does come along, like Beheaded, one has to sit up and take notice because A) To me, bands from obscure countries are more valuable to the genre than those that come from countries with stronger foundations in metal. They hold more influence on people in their country than bands outside it because this band are talented and local, which makes their music much more accessible than other bands outside the nation and B) Producing talent like this in such an obscure country must not be easy. I’d imagine that metal isn’t the easiest genre to get involved with in a country like Malta. Finding an audience for music of this nature must be difficult so it would require a high level of dedication to the cause.

As the genre suggests, brutality is the name of the game. Beheaded focus their music in a number of ways in which to make it seem more ‘brutal’ in sound. First, the vocals are pivotal. These gore obsessed renditions of hateful songs are important to the sound of death metal bands. Although the vocals cannot be considered in any way decipherable, they stir up such hateful emotions within oneself that they become appealing anyway. As aforementioned, death metal is a mood altering genre. I need to be in a specific mood in which to enjoy it, most of the time, but these melodic, yet powerful songs are mood altering. The way in which the music is put together doesn’t allow for any lapse in negative emotions. Although the vocals aren’t what I’m typically used to, they suit the style and that’s all that matters. To me, the vocalist, Lawrence Joyce, reminds me of the old Suffocation albums, ’Effigy Of The Forgotten’ for example. Those growls and guttural expressions depict the lyrical themes of ’obscure visions of chaotic annihilation’, apparently, perfectly. Unlike Suffocation’s early material, the production on this record is much cleaner than that of ‘Effigy Of The Forgotten’. Bass, for example, is ever present in the mix. Whilst it doesn’t hold the same importance as either guitarist, or the vocalist, it does have the key to some creative bass lines, which act as the underbelly to the record, creating solid foundations on which to work. The lyrics, especially, don’t allow for the audience to feel anything other than what the band are portraying. So, for that reason, I enjoy them.

“A solitary descent amid the twisting depths
Tracing the downward spiral trailed by the dead
On the merge of desperation, inhaling pain
Suffused in ruins and never to rise again
Devoid of hope - injected by binding fear
Wet my arid spirit, I bathe in lakes of tears.”

Written and expressed like the bleakest of poetry. Although I don’t really take much from the lyrics because of there extreme nature, I do appreciate the time and effort gone into them. The lyrics are important to the music because they express what the sound is all about. The lyrics need to be aggressive, brash and as it states, “devoid of hope”. Considering the lyrics do a competent job at portraying the message behind the music, one has to applaud the song writing behind the music. It’s twisted nature is what makes it what it is. The lyrics, in a sense, do what the music does. Using two guitarists is important to Beheaded’s sound. Whilst one plays a continuous sound, which ultimately drives the soundscapes, the other plays a much higher sound in pitch, which gives a much edgier sound to Beheaded. Again, plaudits go to the musicians behind the music because if you use two guitarists, you need to be very controlled and skilled in order to pull of outstanding riff after outstanding riff and Beheaded do that. The same goes for the drummer, Chris Brincat. His double bass skills are phenomenal. People sometimes underestimate the use of double bass, claiming that blast beats are simplistic and add very little depth to the present soundscapes. Personally, I enjoy there inclusion into the mix. Chris is a very controlled drummer. Able to switch from using double bass to cymbals and using both at the same time, for example. His intricate skills do a lot to further develop the soundscapes that Beheaded create for the audience. Take the first two songs, for example, ‘Broken Thoughts Of Righteousness’ and ‘Horde Of The Stolen Sun’. These are my two favourite songs on the record and produce the defining moments in terms of skills, solos and technique, which is of the highest order. Negatives, well there are no major one’s as such. The fact that the backing vocalist plays only a small part in the creation of this record seems a bit perplexing. I’m not sure I understand the point to a backing vocalist when the main vocalist does such a good job to begin with. He isn’t in need of any assistance and certainly doesn’t need anyone else contributing to the content when that would only put Beheaded off their game. Having said that, when the backing vocals do come into play, they’re barely noticeable anyway. Lawrence holds himself so well, that he steals the show without condemning the instrumental sections to the back of the classroom. Top drawer death metal.

Woah! What just hit me? These guys are fast, these guys are brutal and these guys are HEAVY! The blast beats, the groovy passages, the monster tech riffs and last but not least those LOW vocals to top it off.

I'll make this brief. If you're a fan of pummeling death metal such as Suffocation or Wormed and like the techy and weird aspect of bands like Cryptopsy and Cephalic Carnage, then you will undoubtedly enjoy this record. This is pure death metal straight to the ears and you're lucky if you aren't bleeding by the time you're through.

A couple of tracks to check out are "Broken Thoughts of Righteousness", the title track "Recounts of Disembodiment" and track eight "Disdain" which are particularly pummeling and ferocious.

It goes without saying that Beheaded have conducted a true work of art and class with the release of the long awaited “Recounts of Disembodiment”. This 10 track full length CD has paved the way to the podium of prominence for this legendary Maltese band. “Recounts of Disembodiment” is personally deemed as one of the best Brutal Death Metal releases ever!Though “Recounts of Disembodiment” is an album composed of songs purely in the US Death Metal vein, like its predecessor “Resurgence of Oblivion” MCD, it is thoroughly diverse, technical and creative. To sum it all up: completely unique and distinctive from other bands’ releases. Industrial high-tech like intro samples are a great and creative idea to give this album its theme and sense of emotion when listened to. Bone-crushing and in-your-fucking face growls are perfectly emitted from Wenzu’s (Lawrence) vocal chords. Chris’ drumming is godamn killer (as always!) and the guitar riffage and solos from the David and Omar duo is first-rate. Crazy and damn fast bass work is conducted by Cejca (David Cachia) in the last track “Unbound”.

I really can’t choose a favorite song out of this album because whenever I listen to it I get addicted to them all more and more. But nevertheless don’t forget to check out the great work in “Disdain”, the brilliant chorus in the title track, and the pounding “Horde of the Stolen Sun”.Cover art is mega-sick thanks to Toshihiro Egawa’s famed skill and the CD production is awesome. Sound production is professional – you can’t complain! (Hey who the hell doesn’t want to own this album anyways!?)