Malta-based brutal death metal horde BEHEADED will release their long-anticipated fifth full-length next year via Unique Leader Records. Entitled Beast Incarnate, the infernal, eight-track production draws upon the brutal and melodic approach to 2012’s critically-championed Never To Dawn offering. Welcoming drummer Davide Billia and guitarist Simone Brigo to the fold, the album seethes with the band’s self-proclaimed Mediterranean brand of brutality belting out caustic vocals, punishing riff and crushing drum sequences. Recorded at MKII Recording Studio (Italy) and mixed and mastered by Ronnie Björnström (Teadeat, Bone Gnawer, Aeon, Those Who Bring The Torture etc.) at Enhanced Audio Productions Sweden, Beast Incarnate comes shrouded in the cover art of Gabriel Alegria Sabogal stretches the boundaries of BEHEADED‘s signature sound to meet new extremes.
Comments the band: “The driving force behind Beast Incarnate was to create a milestone for Mediterranean death metal by cementing and defining the essence of BEHEADED‘s signature sound drawing inspiration from the different facets of the band’s twenty-five years of existence and pushing boundaries to take it to new extremes. Beast Incarnate can be considered the pinnacle of the band’s history, echoing the eerie old school melodies and blasphemous poetry of the 1998 album Perpetual Mockery infused with technical elements of the 2005 Ominous Bloodline making this album an indisputable successor to Never To Dawn. The Horror breathes and The Beast is among us.”
BEHEADED‘s Beast Incarnate will be released on January 27th, 2017 via Unique Leader Records with preorder options to be announced in the weeks to come. In the meantime check out second cut, “The Horror Breathes” at the label’s official Bandcamp page HERE.
Beast Incarnate Track Listing:
- Beast Incarnate
- The Horror Breathes
- Crossing The House Of Knives
- Reign Of The headless King
- The Black Death
- Cursed Mediterranean
- Fid-dlam ta’ dejjem
- Punishment Of The Grave
BEHEADED was forged in 1991 in Malta, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Together the quintet stood firm, against all the odds and confrontations such an environment generated. Cementing its name through the tape-trading circuit, BEHEADED caught the attention of Sweden’s X-Treme Records. Debut full-length Perpetual Mockery saw release in early 1998. The offering was praised in countless reviews including a 4K/5K review in Kerrang and a 7/10 score in Terrorizer. Later that year the band embarked for the first time outside Maltese shores to play shows in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany opening for the likes of Vader, Dying Fetus, Defaced Creation, and Deranged, as well as gigs with Fleshless. The band would later join Danish imprint Mighty Music for the unleashing of their Resurgence Of Oblivion mini CD. By 2002, BEHEADED dropped the maniacal wares of their Recounts Of Disembodiment full-length followed but their first-ever US tour which included performances at the Ohio Deathfest and New Jersey Metal Meltdown. On their way back to Europe, BEHEADED stopped in Germany to take part in the legendary Fuck The Commerce festival in Neiden which saw the band perform in front of a crowd of nearly 5000 instigating one massive pit. It was the appearance that truly brought to life their slogan of “Sheer Crushing Brutality That Will Eat Your Fucking Head Off!” present on the backs of BEHEADED shirts that year.
By 2005 and after various personnel shifts, BEHEADED joined the ranks of extreme metal powerhouse Unique Leader Records for the release of their critically-lauded Ominous Bloodline full-length. The record was met with more positive reviews and live shows. Four years later the band unleashed Never To Dawn which centered itself on their Mediterranean origins. Sputnik Music likened it to the sound of, “the apocalypse of the world” while No Clean Singing hailed riffs that have a “booming, cataclysmic quality, spiced with rapid techy jabbing and whirlwinds of dark melody,” adding, “The vocals are a paragon of bestiality, and the fuckin’ percussion is explosively off the hook. BEHEADED definitely have the knack for forging relentlessly brutal music that’s also groovy and memorable.” The band again took to the live circuit numerous times following the album’s release and played a number of festivals. Following a period of dormancy, an updated lineup and a renewed spirit of brutality, 2017 marks the release of Beast Incarnate. After twenty-five years, the horror still breathes!
BEHEADED Lineup:
Frank Calleja – vocals
Omar Grech – guitars
Simone Brigo – guitars
David Cachia – bass
Davide Billia – drums
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