The latest release from the long­running Malta­based death metallers “Beheaded” is "Never ToDawn" ("Unique Leader" Records, 2012). The band has a couple new members since their lastalbum, with guitarist Robert Agius and vocalist Frank Calleja joining “Beheaded” within therecent years. I caught up with front­growler Frank, to get the inside scoop on "Never To Dawn"release.What was the band doing in the eight yearsleading up to this “Never to Dawn” albumrelease?Following the release of “Ominous Bloodline” in2005 and some touring + shows to promote thealbum the band went in somewhat a hiatus for afew years due to the departure of membersincluding long time member and main songwriterfor “Ominous Bloodline” Omar Grech for personalreasons. The band attempted to regroup in 2008with various new musicians doing a EuropeanTour and appearing in festivals such as “BrutalAssault & Death Feast” Open Air however theissue of a steady line up was still not settled. In2009 Omar joined “Beheaded” again drafting mein on vocals since we had played together since2006 in another band called “Slit” and since thanwork has been steady and constantly progressingto the better. Live shows, tours and festivalsappearances consolidated the band's strength andwe started working on new songs which eventuallywent into the release of our new album “Never ToDawn” in November 2012.

Do you think it was a benefit for the band towait so long before going into the recordingstudio for the new album?The long wait wasn't one which was planned butdictated by different circumstances which are partand parcel of the difficulties any band can face,especially when coming from an island such asMalta. Finding dedicated musicians who are intodeath metal is no easy feat. I believe that thesomewhat long “break” has brought good and badthings to the band. Obviously it stopped themomentum “Beheaded” had gained with therelease of “Ominous Bloodline” but at the sametime a certain anticipation and curiosity wascreated for the successor of OB especially sincethe album had been so well received. Theimportant thing is that “Beheaded” managed topull through the hard times and come back withwhat the band itself believes is the strongest lineup and best release to date.When were the tracks for “Never to Dawn”written and what does the band’s writingprocess usually look like?

We started writing the tracks as soon as the bandregrouped and after playing a few live shows so Iwould say circa 2010. We did not want to rush orforce things but compose and write what feltnatural at the right time. In most cases songwritingstarts with Omar bringing some riffs to therehearsal room, drum and raw vocal patterns areadded to give the song a skeleton structure which isthen polished up and completed once the vocallines and lyrics are done.Music for “Never to Dawn” was recorded at“Temple Studios” in Malta while vocals wererecorded at “16th Cellar Studio” in Rome withproducer Stefano Morabito.What wererecording like?This was one of thereasons the releasetook a bit longerthan expected.Recording for thealbum started in2010 with a firstsession at “Templestudios” and 2ndsession later on. Thealbum was mixedand mastered also at“Temple Studios”however we felt thatthe final product didnot pay justice to themusic, which is whywe decided to workwith Stefano Morabito to record the vocals fromscratch at “16th Cellar Studios” in Rome, Italy andlet him handle the final mix and master of thealbum.Did the band have any definitive goals beforethe recording process began for this album?As I hinted earlier, the objective was always towrite an album that felt natural to us withoutforcing things in one direction or another. Truly theonly thing we aimed for is to write a death metalalbum. Without necessarily it an old school, ormodern, or brutal, or technical, or groundbreakingly original album, but an album thatreflects “Beheaded's” character throughout theband's 20 plus years of existence. A death metalalbum, and I am very confident we have succeededin doing so.Were you more inspired by the past or did youcheck out what was happening in the current

underground metal scene?There is a lot of 'old school' in “Never To Dawn”but yet it is not an old school death metal album.We did want to bring something of the pastespecially from the 90's but at the same time notget stuck in some sort of nostalgic frenzy. I cannotsay that I like most modern death metal bands to behonest but still I think it is important to stayrelevant in the spectrum of what is going on in thescene. One way or another you can't help but noticewhat is happening around you if you are involvedbut ultimately I think it's important to stick to yourguns and do your thing.All songs follow a common concept, the waterelement. Does it reflect “Beheaded's” Maltese

origins?“Never To Dawn”is a loose conceptalbum which meansthere is a connectingtheme in all thesongs. The conceptrotates around theelement of waterwhich is a source ofall life and yetpossibly the greatestdestructive forceknown to man.Being from Maltawhich is an island,the idea of watersurrounding you is

something we can connect to on a more tangiblelevel. The way I have written the lyrics for thesongs is vaguely similar to a way a painter createshis work. I use words to describe an environmentand create a setting in which the listener/reader canbe taken to and use his/her imagination to freelyroam and discover. In this case “Never To Dawn”depicts a surreal world, vaguely inspired by themyth of Atlantis in which a great civilization isdestroyed by water but still living, trapped in asurreal state of life/death under the delusion ofachieving the lost greatness. The title itself “NeverTo Dawn” projects the idea of a sun, a life, a hopewhich will never come again. I must say on apersonal note that writing the lyrics and working onthe concept for this album has been verychallenging but very rewarding on an artistic andcreative level. I do believe that the way the music,the theme, the song titles, the lyrics and the artwork

have been combined to work together can takethe listener somewhere. That as a listener issomething I personally strive for in an album,which is why I'm very pleased with this effort.Are there any particular moments on thisalbum that you are proud of when you stepback and look at the album?I think the album culminates it's full potential inthe last part of the song “The Ancient Acumen”…the riffs, the leads, the harmonies and thevoice repeating ''DEATH WAS INSCRIBED BYTHE ANCIENT ACUMEN'' create anatmosphere which gives the album a verydramatic closure truly reflecting what “NeverTo Dawn” is all about.What’s your favorite of the new songs to playlive?If I had to pick two I'd probably go for “Lamentof a sordid god” and “Dead Silence” but thatdoesn't mean they're my favorite tracks off thealbum.What do you think of '90s metal bandsreforming? Do you see passion, money(although there aren't so much around) orsomething else behind this trend?I'm sure every situation is different but there isa little bit of all the things you have mentioned.For sure many of the musicians from thereforming bands of the 90's are grown men andmore capable of handling all the ups and downsof being in a band more wisely also vis­a­viethe music industry, business and labels. The factthat there is a demand for old school bands toreform makes it more logistically andfinancially viable in practical terms. Possiblythere is a buck or two for grabs yes, butdefinitely no amount of money which woulddrive one to do it for the sole purpose beingfinancial especially in this day and age.Do you think the metal scene is gettingbetter, staying the same, or getting worsethen it has been in previous years?Without wanting to sound too generic or somekind of nostalgic old school 'elitist' because I'mnot, but when it comes to death metal I'm not abig fan of many of the modern bands. I'm notcompletely sure what the reason is exactlybecause musically I see very capable musiciansplaying good extreme music but somehow I findit hard to connect to their music in the sameway I connect to the death metal I'm head overheels into, the more classic stuff “Deicide”,

“Malevolent Creation”, “Death”, “Immolation”,“Suffocation”, “Pyrexia”, “Autopsy”,“Dismember” etc. Maybe because musicsometimes can be like a good wine, matured intime. Currently the best “emerging” death metalin my opinion is coming from Italy with bandssuch as “Hour of Penance”, “FleshgodApocalypse”, “Hideous Divinity”,“Antropofagus”. They have the intensity,personality and character which I look for indeath metal. Wether the metal scene is nowgetting better, worse or the same is partlysubjective but above all I think the scenario iscompletely different now as to what it was inthe 90's or in any other period of time for thatreason. The situations for bands and musiciansare not alike and cannot be really compared. Ithink that bands nowadays have less personalitythen before but that is a normal thing when oneconsiders how much extreme music has evolvedand 'perfected' itself in terms of sound, style,genre defining etc.Is there anything you have/want to add?Thanks a lot for the time and space you havegiven “Beheaded” for this interview. Foranyone who wants to keep updated on what'sgoing on check our pagefacebook.com/BeheadedMT. Hail Death Metal!

"Beheaded" online:www.myspace.com/BeheadedMTwww.twitter.com/BeheadedMTwww.youtube.com/BeheadedMTstore.beheaded.euwww.reverbnation.com/Beheadedbeheaded.deathmetal@gmail.com