Interviews: Basement Torture Killings

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Grindcore band, Basement Torture Killings, from the UK. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

We knew that we were going to call the band BTK, however after some research we discovered that there was already a large number of bands that had adopted that name. We then started to think of words that would fit the initials, at some point during that process Bertrand (co-founder of the band) came up with the idea of Basement Torture Killings. As soon as it was suggested we decided that it was perfect, we had already written the first song Fetus Eater which was inspired by one of the Fred and Rose West murders who as you may be aware committed many of their torture murders in a basement at their home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester, England so the name fitted what we were doing perfectly.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We formed the band initially as a joke and something to do. I went to visit Bertrand in Sweden as he was a long term friend who was living in Sweden. During the trip, we went to see Grave and Nominion play and the next day we just decided to write a death/grind song, in part inspired by the show the night before. Fairly soon we had recorded the song and decided that the band would be made up of serial killers and that we would just release a couple of songs on Myspace, I actually created the Myspace at the airport on my way home using an internet terminal. From there we wrote another song and another and on it went. We quickly realized that we had to ditch the concept of the band being made up of real serial killers so we decided to create fictional killers. Musically we were looking to pay homage to the death/grind that we grew up with in the early 90s.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

After we created the band we had to find a bassist and drummer, we turned to long term friends to pick up these roles. After a while we had to find another drummer and we found him online. We have had a few different changes over the years as many bands do. Our latest recruit Brother Kain is in our drummer's side project and someone we all knew so he was the perfect choice when we decided to get a new bass player.

4. Each band member favorite band?

I am not a 100% sure for all of them, Beryl loves Suffocation, The Faceless Killer loves Opeth and Meshuggah (he has terrible taste haha), Brother Kain is into loads of bands but Rotting Christ is a consistent fave and for me, I would say Metallica (even the new stuff) but also Carcass, Exhumed, Entombed, Impaled, General Surgery, etc. There are a few bands like Death and Doro that we all like, overall though there are a lot of different influences.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Musically there are many things that inspire me, I guess the main inspiration is the old school death/grind legends of the 90s but also more recent things can some times provide inspiration and sometimes something completely nonmetal. I tend to just play with ideas and when I find something I like I present it to the other and we develop it from there. Lyrically it is horror and true crime, we don't tend to write about serial killers in the way that a band like Macabre does but instead write stories about things they could do. This time with Lessons In Murder the approach was a little different as we decided we wanted to present the album as an audio guide for wannabe serial killers with each song serving as a lesson. So we needed to think about what those lessons should be contained in the guide and then fit the lyrics to whatever lesson we were writing about.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last show was in Bristol with Pulmonary Fibrosis, Putrefaction of Rotting Corpses and Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition. It was really fun and we sold the venue out, its not a huge venue or anything but to do that on a Sunday evening was really pleasing.

7. Where would you like to act?

There are many festivals and places we would still like to play, Brutal Assault, Hellfest, Partysan would all be great places to play. We were supposed to play a number of festivals this year but the virus has stopped that from happening, so we should be playing those gigs next year. Id also like to go play South America and Asia.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

We really don't mind who we play with although to be honest, the best tours are the ones with friends. So we would love to play some of these larger shows whilst touring with our friends in bands like Holocausto Canibal, Foetal Juice, Desecration, Sublime Cadaveric, etc. As for big bands, it would be awesome to tour with Carcass or Exhumed.

9. Whom not?

I can't think of anyone I wouldn't want to play with really, I'm normally game to play with anyone.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

I guess everyone feels it every so often. I certainly did before playing at Obscene Extreme Festival, it was kind of like the feeling you get when queue for a roller coaster or something like that. I think you just have to push yourself and go out and do it, once you start playing its normally fine. The only advice I could give is to make sure you rehearse lots and are comfortable playing with your band maters and know the material. That way you have faith in what you do and that helps you relax, after all the big fear is fucking things up and if you are well-rehearsed then there is less chance of that happening.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

If it wasn't for Metallica I wouldn't be playing guitar so they are a huge influence and I think you can hear their influence in my playing. But also bands like Carcass, Exhumed, Impaled are all large influences. I guess also bands like Death, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Cradle of Filth, Slayer and Sepultura are also big influences on my playing and our music.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

The strangest thing I think is when a guy asked our singer if he could watch her eat and throw her food packaging away afterwards, it was a little surreal. Other than that I can't think of anything to strange, maybe asking us to sign various things or something, nothing to mad though.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We appreciate their support massively, without them we couldn't do what we love to do which is to make music and play awesome shows. There is nothing more flattering than someone spending their money to support your art, we write for ourselves but the fact that people like it and enjoy it is awesome.

14. What do you think of our site?

I have only discovered it because of the interview but it looks super cool and really professional, I have seen a couple of interesting bands which I will be checking out later that you are featuring. Anything that is put together with passion and with the aim of promoting the scene and the bands is a fantastic thing.

15. Something add?

Thanks for the interview and the support. Our new album Lessons In Murder is out now via Bizarre Leprous Productions check it out and if you like it then grab a copy from us or BLP direct. Cheers