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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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TORTURE KILLER
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Tuomo Latvala
March 2006
http://www.torturekiller.com
Torture Killer once started out as a fun project, but in 2003 a debut album was released and after that they found a new vocalist in none other than the legendary Chris Barnes of Six Feet Under. I wanted to know how they managed to do that and talk about the excellent new album for Metal Blade, "Swarm!" - drummer Tuomo Latvala answered my questions.
Could you tell us how and when the band was formed?
Thanks Brian for the words, let's get it started then! It all happened in spring 2002 when Laine, Hatakka (our former guitar player) and Liuke (former vocalist) had been talking about how cool it'd be to play some songs of Six Feet Under and Obituary, take a beer or three and basicly just have fun playing songs they all loved. Hatakka saw me playing drums with a now dead and buried band called Torn and asked me if I was interested in such project. That sounded totally killer to me, and soon we got Karppinen interested too and after that we found ourselves having a great time playing those songs and drinking beer in our rehearsal room.
What have you guys been up to lately?
We've played a couple of shows here in Finland with our helping vocalist Sallinen, been working on some new Torture Killer songs, done a shitload of interviews and checking peoples reactions to our new album.
How have those reactions to "Swarm!" been so far?
Mostly positive, better than we expected. Not all people like it but this was expected though, you can never please every listener's ear no matter what kind of music you play.
What's the difference between "For Maggots To Devour" and "Swarm!"?
"Swarm!" is definitely more thought over from beginning to end than "For Maggots...". For the debut album the songwriting happened in an amazingly short period of time and we are talking about months now, less than half a year and thus we didn't spend too much time to finish up the songs and give the final spice to them. For "Swarm!" we gave the songs more time to develop to as affective as possible concerning the structures, vocal arrangements, guitar leads etc.
The name Torture Killer, did you get it from Six Feet Under?
Yup, it's a song title from their "Maximum Violence" -album. That was one of the songs we used to play when we first started and we thought it would be perfect also as a name for the band.
How did you guys manage to get Chris Barnes to join Torture Killer?
People had been asking him was he aware that there's a bunch of guys in Finland who took their name from a Six Feeet Under song and were playing similar music. That got him to check our website and that's where he noticed the situation we
were at, going to a studio to record a new album but at that point, without a vocalist. He was kind of honoured about the stuff we were doing and offered his help for the upcoming album.
What's it like working with him (Chris)?
This far it has been only great. He did an amazing job on the album with his vocals and the lyrics he wrote were definitely just what we were looking for, and production-wise also there ain't too much to complain about. These are only the few things he has done for us, and we really appreciate the enthusiasm and contribution he is giving for this band!
Is he a permanent member of the band?
Yes that is the case. Of course his commitment to Six Feet Under and the fact that he lives in the States and we here in Finland makes things a little bit difficult, but he will be on our upcoming albums and will tour with us when that time comes.
Are you guys planning on touring extensively to promote "Swarm!"?
No plans made yet, we just have to wait and see if anybody is buying the album, heh.
Is there any chance of you guys touring with Six Feet Under?
I don't think it's an impossible idea and that would be something great for us at least! But again that depends pretty much on Chris, I mean how for example would his voice last for two shows a night for several days, that I don't know. Would be a really killer though!
How is the Finnish death metal scene?
I think it's doing pretty fine and new promising bands are rising up from their graves all the time! Some bands worth of mentioning are Deepred, Demigod, Cadaveric Incubator, Sotajumala, Kataplexia, Adramelech and Deatchain.
Which bands have influenced you personally? And Torture Killer?
As for my personal influences I could make a list filling several pages, but here are few to name: Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Death, Suffocation, Malevolent creation, Strapping Young Lad. Torture Killer's biggest influences would be Six Feet Under, Obituary and Bolt Thrower.
Any final words?
Thanks for the interview! Hope you all like our new album, take care & stay brutal!
submitted by Brian 06.03.2006
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