Biography
The song titles “Fuck Them When They Bleed,” “Cannibal Gluttony,” “A Violent Scene of Death,” and “Day of Cadavers” immediately signal death metal, the style that Finland’s Torture Killer has pursued through those tracks and equally grindcore-tinged numbers. The band has built its reputation on deliberately grotesque lyrics about cannibalism, mutilation, and dismemberment, trading in shock value that is delivered with clear irony and registers more as dark humor than earnest horror. Lyrically, Torture Killer draws primary inspiration from early-1990s grindcore groups such as Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, and Cancer, yet the music itself merges classic death-metal traits—including the familiar “Cookie Monster” growling vocals—with thrash-metal elements instead of remaining strictly grindcore.
The group formed in Turku, Finland, in 2002 and began as a cover band devoted to Six Feet Under and Obituary material; the name Torture Killer was taken directly from a Six Feet Under song. Original songwriting soon replaced the covers, and the resulting debut album, For Maggots to Devour, was tracked in early 2003 and issued by Karmageddon Media. In 2005, amid the frequent personnel shifts typical of the death-metal and black-metal scenes, American vocalist Chris Barnes—leader of Six Feet Under and former frontman of Cannibal Corpse—contacted the band and became its new lead singer while continuing to front Six Feet Under and dividing his schedule between the two projects for several years.
Also in 2005, Torture Killer signed with Metal Blade, which released the second album, Swarm!, in 2006; Barnes sang on the record and wrote more than half its songs. Early in 2008 Barnes announced his departure, and Juri Sallinen was brought in as his replacement. By March 2008 the lineup consisted of Sallinen—also known for work with Krypta, Ghost Realm, Funeral Feast, Occult Astral, and Wormfarm—on lead vocals, guitarists Tuomas Karppinen and Jari Laine (the latter formerly of Crimson Midwinter), bassist Kim Torniainen, and drummer Tuomo Latvala (previously of Hellbox and Torn).
The group formed in Turku, Finland, in 2002 and began as a cover band devoted to Six Feet Under and Obituary material; the name Torture Killer was taken directly from a Six Feet Under song. Original songwriting soon replaced the covers, and the resulting debut album, For Maggots to Devour, was tracked in early 2003 and issued by Karmageddon Media. In 2005, amid the frequent personnel shifts typical of the death-metal and black-metal scenes, American vocalist Chris Barnes—leader of Six Feet Under and former frontman of Cannibal Corpse—contacted the band and became its new lead singer while continuing to front Six Feet Under and dividing his schedule between the two projects for several years.
Also in 2005, Torture Killer signed with Metal Blade, which released the second album, Swarm!, in 2006; Barnes sang on the record and wrote more than half its songs. Early in 2008 Barnes announced his departure, and Juri Sallinen was brought in as his replacement. By March 2008 the lineup consisted of Sallinen—also known for work with Krypta, Ghost Realm, Funeral Feast, Occult Astral, and Wormfarm—on lead vocals, guitarists Tuomas Karppinen and Jari Laine (the latter formerly of Crimson Midwinter), bassist Kim Torniainen, and drummer Tuomo Latvala (previously of Hellbox and Torn).
Albums
