01. Għadam
02. Xtrajt l-Infern
03. B’niket Inħabbru l-Mewt
04. Iħirsa
05. Il-Kittieb
06. Ix-Xjaten Ta’ Moħħi
07. Iljieli Bla Qamar
08. Jidħaq Il-Lejl
09. Irmied

Forget about Sweden and the US for a minute: Maltese death metal could be the scene to really watch out for.

Malta isn't exactly associated with having a death metal scene, but it's here you'll find the brutal death band Beheaded. They may have a cliché name that sounds like a typical OSDM band, but that they certainly are not. Beheaded formed during the rise of the brutal death genre in 1991 alongside the likes of Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and Deeds Of Flesh, but despite this, they never quite made a name for themselves in the way those bands did, and it wouldn't be until 7 years later in 1998 that they released their full-length debut Perpetual Mockery. Now fast forward nearly 3 decades and the band are still going strong, unleashing their seventh full-length album Għadam.

You could call Għadam a landmark album for the fact of it being the first album in death metal to be written entirely in Maltese. This also ties with the album's theme centred around Maltese folklore, and its culture and literature. The lyrical content is mostly inspired by Maltese horror and the occult, particularly from the books of author Anton Grasso, with each of the nine songs using the title of a book by the author, but local phrases, poetry, and religious scripts are also used as references. This offering also marks a landmark musically, as it blends their trademark brutal death sound with blackened and traditional folk elements, as well as various other influences. In doing so, this is an album that pays homage to their motherland while not straying too far from their own musical origins, despite taking their approach to new experimental heights.

At just under 40 minutes, Għadam delves into some of the island's darkest superstitions and folklore through narrative tales based on stories by Grasso. Tying in with this, the music is not entirely brutal; it's not based on hammering death slams, relentless blast beats, and overwhelming technicality as the band was once renowned for, but instead concentrates on creating spine-chilling theatrical soundscapes. This is achieved through merging blackened and dark folk elements with a more accessible old school approach to death. The guitar work varies from ferocious blackened tremolos, unsettling dissonant leads, and striking folk melodies, with occasional acoustic sections also present. Other than a few slower-paced atmospheric sections, the tempo is mostly rapid and relentless. The vocals are also very diverse, spanning harsh growls, eerie clean folkish singing, and evil theatrical spoken word.

Rich in a nightmarish atmosphere that brings the island's darkest tales vividly to life, and with its impressive variety of influences, Għadam has a remarkably fresh sound for death metal. These are novel ideas and elements that together bring a satisfying variety to a genre that doesn't often take to experimention at this kind of level. On paper it sounds like it shouldn't work, but it really does. It flows really well, as if immersing yourself in the pages of those horror tales, and the atmosphere remains constant and vividly imaginative, making the listening experience a more than satisfying one. Let's not forget though, that this is a new experimental direction for Beheaded, and as such is arguably still rough around the edges, but at the same time this could offer the potential for Maltese death metal to truly grow.

Performance:	7
Songwriting:	7
Originality:	9
Production:	8