That Poland’s underground metal scene is big and offers a lot of quality, there’s no doubt about that. But there are always newcomers to the scene and that’s always something to cheer and support.
Tortured Corpse from Silesian town of Gliwice could be considered such a new addition, being formed in 2022.
And by a sheer chance…let’s have a word with them, what do you say?
Czesc! Thanks a lot for this opportunity to familiarize ourselves with Tortured Corpse! And without any delay, let’s jump right into it, what do you say? First of all … can you introduce the band to our readers? What’s the current line-up?
Necro: Hail Death! The current composition is as follows: Agressor - Vocal, Anna - guitars, Artur - Bass, Necro - drums. I hope there will be no surprises and the line-up remains stable. Time will tell.
The beginning of the band dates to the year 2022. How did it happen? I remember the COVID-19 was almost over, did it have any influence on forming the band?
Necro:None. I founded Tortured Corpse almost immediately after the end of my previous band Kryptik. I really regret that this band ended its activity because our album was releasNed on Vrykoblast and it had really great potential. But oh well, life. A moment later, I founded Tortured Corpse, Greg joined on guitar, we met our vocalist at the gym... and a guy wearing an "Eaten Back To Life" T-shirt was running by... Then Artur joined on Bass, the oldest and most upright of us all haha! With this line-up we started making the first numbers....
Now, how did you get Ania into the band? Considering the lyrical themes of the band, I hope she was not kidnapped and forced into playing the guitar… But seriously, even with the ever-growing number of females in the extreme metal (thanks whatever deity one want to give praise), it’s still worth asking – how did you manage to recruit her into the ranks of Tortured Corpse?
Necro: In January this year, Greg left our ranks....a few weeks before the planned concerts....I was left in the dark!
There were no candidates, and if there were, they were useless. Our riffs are really fucked up and hard to play... a few people, after receiving the song tabs from me, gave up, saying straight up that they couldn't play it... I was devastated... And Bah! Ania suddenly popped out like a genie from the bottle... she had been watching us for a year or more and wanted to write, but as always, life didn't allow it, husband, child, family matters... you know, normal life... she finally sorted everything out and she dared to write.... Damn I say! A girl ! How nice it would be to have her in the band... she was given a few songs to work on from me... bam... one went, the second one, the third one... I have never met such a determined person before... in one and a half month she recorded 6 songs plus we made two new ones for a full album! Shocking ! Ania is my little diamond and I won't let her go anywhere haha... she's already sentenced to Tortured Corpse... and I think she's happy... she's happy with us... besides, she's a great girl with her guitar skills and her knowledge about music puts many guys to shame... we love it and we won't give it up to anyone hahaha
The very first official material appeared in February 2023 in the form of “Rites of Putridity and Death” EP. I have to say I love that muddled sound of production, giving the record an unmistakable patina of the underground of the 1990s. Was is something you wanted to achieve, or is it just a by-product of the limitations of recording facilities?
Necro: Every material that comes out from under our wings has its intended sound. I'm old school... I love dirt and rawness... I hate the sterilized sweet sound! I don't listen to these new wave bands that have nothing to show... You listen to 5 bands and you still feel like you're listening to one! That's the truth! There's loads of shit everywhere. Not only in my country. I observe various scenes closely and look for raisins... it makes me laugh when old metal bands are talking about some shit, and labels are trying to convince fans that a certain band is Oldschool! hahaha pathetic. The 90's were great. I started listening to metal in the late 1980s. I'm not that old because I know a lot of older maniacs and I respect them. You can accuse me of many things, but not that I sneered or started listening to lighter music. No way . Death and Black metal still dominates my speakers. Of course, I also listen to other music, but 95 percent of the records I have are only classics and what I like the most. Of course, there are also raisins in new bands, such as Funus from your country. Really good materials.
The explicit artwork and the song titles itself, I am pretty sure listeners of Radio Maryja (the Catholic radio station in Poland – Editor) won’t be amongst your fans (but then, who knows, right?). Who was responsible for the cover and who’s the main depraver in the band to provide song lyrics?
Necro : You're wrong, my friend! Our benefactor from Toruń recently bought me new strings hahaha, we were also invited to appear on his television, I'm staying.... also this one..... fame, my friend, fame.... But seriously . The cover for Rites... was painted by a young artist from Katowice. Of course, it was a painting painted with paints... it's our little nod to "Tomb of The Mutilated" and I think it shows. I love this album as much as my singer. This is our tribute to this wonderful work... The CD version of "Night Stalker" included a photo of Ramirez from the trial, and the cassette version included a pentagram from his hand... I wanted these versions to be different from each other. The image for the EP Burial Mounds and the 7" EP Necrophilic Lust was drawn and made by Kasia Jakubska from Dark Descent Design. She is our friend, we can always count on her, she does great work and it is really worth checking out! Thank you Kasia! When it comes to ideas for lyrics, I come up with what the song should be about. I pass it on to Agressor and he puts it into words and puts it on paper. This terrible pervert dreams of doing a scene from Woodman with 6 grannies hahaha he keeps saying that the grannie with no jaw could suck his big cock! Hahaha.... He is not normal.... He is an animal dangerous to the environment. But he is a dedicated team member and does his job perfectly, and I praise him for it!
With so many bands just in Poland itself – not to mention the thousands of those around the world, I think it’s even more difficult to get noticed by listeners nowadays than, say, 30 years ago. What was the reaction for the debut EP? Any particularly rememberable positive or negative reviews?
Necro : With a lot of shit, I think you meant to say. Yes, of course it is difficult to stand out unless you have a Polish name and play new wave Black metal, which is not Black metal, but some kind of circus. Most of these bands are nothing more than posturing and they smell like shit from a mile away. . There are exceptions, but they are really rare.
We were pleased with the reception of "Rites Of Putridity..." the reviews were really positive both in zines and webzines and from geeks. There are also interviews. It's nice to hear that someone likes what you create.
I haven't seen any negative reviews. The only reservations were about the sound, but as always, these are written by those who masturbate to well-bred and bouncy bands that pump out their plastic sound on records.
With the second EP of 2023, “Night Stalker”, those of us who are familiar with the events of the 1980s in the good ole USA know that the EP title is inspired by the infamous Richard Ramirez (who also graces the cover). Obviously, it goes hand-in-hand with the lyrical subject and while you are neither the first, nor the last, to employ the serial killer imagery in the band’s output, I’m curious – what was the reason to pick the poor old Richard to appear on the EP’s cover?
Necro : Read his biographies. Then you will understand. Ramirez was totally crazy. He killed in the name of Satan. What more could you want than to dedicate a song to this psychopath? It fits us perfectly.
November 2023 saw the release of the live album “Live Death Madness” (although in quite a limited number), and I have to commend the decision…what’s a better gift under the Christmas tree, than some good Polish OSDM, right? However, I can’t find much info about this one…I assume the label “Rotten Crematory” is your band’s label, am I right? And with the live recording, what gig does it come from?
Necro: The album sold out very quickly and is no longer available. There were only a few dozen copies. During Winter Underground Assault in Częstochowa, we had the opportunity to use the recording straight from the sound engineer's console, so we took advantage of it. The geek reception was excellent. Hail Częstochowa! (although the third edition was a total failure, unfortunately... Częstochowa, what's wrong with you motherfuckers!) It sounded very good, so we released a small live version. Rotten Crematory - under this banner we release small, limited productions of TORTURED CORPSE and organize concerts. We have already done a few with better or worse results. This year we are organizing 5 events, including Symbtomy, Bestial Therapy, Chainsword, Surgery... and others.
For me, 2023 has gone so quickly, with so many things happening almost at once… and the activity of Tortured Corpse in 2024 confirms you haven’t been sleeping either… One would think you would sleep the New Year’s Day off after some partying, but nope..January 1st saw the release of yet another EP, “Burial Mounds”. This one brings a hell of a better sound production and overall, it shows a leap of progress for the band. I am always for giving a shout out to any artist(s) involved, so let’s start with the cover artwork. I fucking love it, who’s the creator of it?
Necro: Yes, it was my intention to release this EP on January 1st. The cover was made by the aforementioned Kasia Jakubska from Dark Descent Design. She's phenomenal. In my opinion, this is one of her best works! I fell in love with it like a 14-year-old fell in love with a teacher 20 years older than him - at first sight! We owe her a lot, her help is always at a high level, we are friends and we get along very well. Kasia helps many underground bands. I recommend this wonderful, warm and sensitive person! Write to her about any matter! I'm sure you'll get along.
The EP gets even better with the cover of Impetigo’s famous “Boneyard”, because, who doesn’t fucking love some classic goregrind, right? I guess that cover was not hard to agree upon… The music of Tortured Corpse doesn’t seem to be influenced by those US maniacs that much, or am I wrong?
Necro: Greg is an Impetigo freak and it was his idea. I think the song is great and fits perfectly into the rest of "Burial Mounds". I really like Ultimo Mondo... and Horror... but our former guitarist is their maniac. There was an idea, I accepted it and "Boneyard" was recorded. We play it at concerts. It's a really great track, simple, lively and encouraging to headbanging.
To satiate the hunger for a quality death metal, in February you offered the fans another bloody portion of gore – “Necrophilic Lust”, available as a 7” EP. If I don’t count the compilation “Bind, Torture, Kill”, appearing later in the same month, “Necrophilic Lust” was the last material with Greg on the guitar. Can you give us some insight about him leaving the band?
Necro: Yes, that was the last material recorded with the old guitarist. Why did he leave? These are internal matters of the team and I will not talk about them. I can only say that he did it on purpose at the worst possible moment when we had already booked several concerts, including Death Scythe Massacre I in Bielsko. The concert took place but without our participation. He caused me problems with his departure and even now he doesn't realize how big they were. The second thing is that not everyone can keep up with the pace of work that I impose. I don't like wasting time, I push forward, I don't sit and masturbate over one song for three months. Everyone else understands this way of working. We are like an oiled machine. A killer machine.
We’ve already talked about Ania replacing Greg, and while I have to wait a bit to hear her take on death metal guitar in the official recording, some of the fans already have! A few days ago (in April 2024, to record it for the posterity, lol) you appeared on stage along with Cry of the Nile, Bestial Therapy, Unborn Suffer, Himerah and Impermanence at Summer Underground Fest in Częstochowa (Poland). The memories are still fresh (I hope!), can you share some highlights of this festival with us?
Necro: Yes, the concert took place just a week ago. Unfortunately, this time Częstochowa failed compared to previous editions. It was a failure in terms of attendance and I felt ashamed in front of the bands that there were so few people... the previous editions were much, much better in this respect. I don't know what went wrong this time. The promotion of this event was really solid and posters appeared all over the city. It was a terrible day... our Ania's car broke down in the morning - the car was packed to the roof with equipment, we had to quickly rent a new one a few hours before the concert... during the middle of the second number of "Burial Mounds" my double foot told me to go fuck myself and I had to play on one and it turned out terrible. I'm not satisfied with my performance. It was probably the weakest TC concert we played...without a doubt. Everything was wrong. Plus an hour and a half long delay, a lot of nerves and stress. Everyone was exhausted... I slept all day. We will play in Częstochowa again at Winter Underground Assault in the fall and if the turnout is not good again, I will be forced to end my cooperation with this club. You can't keep adding to it, there will come a time when you'll say enough is enough... It's a pity because I love playing there, the atmosphere is really great and the owner of the club is so good. But what to do if maniacs prefer to support a pedophile and go to his concerts. I hope you're reading this scumbag! . We know everything about you and the time will come when you will suffer the consequences of what you did, you fucking pedophile. Phew.
I know this was Ania’s first live performance, how did she handle it?
Necro: Yes, it was Ania's first concert. She did a great job, everything was fine on her part! She was stressed but she managed. I'm very proud of her for playing it all like that. She still has many challenges ahead of her this year... Among them, Rotten Open Air in the Czech Republic, plus a lot of other concerts... But I believe in her, we all believe in her, everyone the team and the staff of people working with us believe in it!
OK, let’s talk about the last item on the release list, the aforementioned compilation, “Bind, Torture, Kill”. Again, the reference is more than obvious, but apart from collecting songs from previous – I guess now officially no longer available – EPs, has there been any change? Remastering, new mixing…?
Necro: We received an offer from Robert from the American Inverted Chalice Productions to publish our materials in a 6-panel digi and I agreed. Our digi is almost sold out, I only have a few pieces intended only for sale at concerts. I decided to include material from "Night Stalker" on this compilation because the first edition of the CDs was sold out. I love this material, it really is evil, raw and disgusting. The way real Death Metal should be. There were no masterings. Everything was preserved in its original form. It is worth adding that the material from "Burial Mounds" will be released on CD by Satanic Porno Records from Mexico, enriched with several live songs and rehearsal recordings. Also this material will soon be released in the "Tortured Tapes" series, released by an awesome label from the USA - Iron Fortress Records, we are currently waiting for the layout from Ben. Greetings, my friend!
The summer is coming and with it many festivals and individual gigs. What’s up the sleeve for Tortured Corpse, where can you be seen live in the upcoming months?
Necro: Yes, we have already booked several concerts for this year, including the previously mentioned Rotten Fest in the Czech Republic. We will visit this country twice more, at the invitation of Jane from Bestial Therapy (greetings to you) and for the Fatal Flesh Feast. In addition, there are a few small club concerts and events that we organize, including Butchers Night, Christmass Terror Massacre and the second edition of Winter Underground Assault with a really strong Death Metal lineup. There is always something going on and that is cool. We love playing live. Everywhere we go there is death and destruction! And this is not my opinion! Next year we will play at your place in Poprad and I hope to see you my friend!? We will also be present at "Back To The Symbolic Air 2025" in the Czech Republic. Everything else is in progress. Specific information will be posted on FB and Insta. We are currently preparing material for a full album. We're not bored, as you can see.
We can’t miss the important question – for those interested in some band merchandise… what can they spend their hard-earned money on?
Necro: I make sure to keep the merch available on a regular basis... We recently made t-shirts with the "Burial Mounds" motif in black and white and they look stunning. (Again bows to our Kasia) There are also sweatshirts and longsleeves "Necrophilic Lust" also available with our Kasia's graphics. She has incredible talent. We have records, tapes, patches... I'm still making extra money, the merch is coming off and that's the most important thing. There is already a design for a new T-shirt painted by our Ania - she has a fantastic talent for painting, damn, look at the poster for "Butchers Night"! Posters for "Gleiwitz Death Mass" and "Christmass Terror Massacre" will be available soon, I already have them, but you'll have to wait a while for the publication. Damn, I found an incredible diamond, not only is she a great person, I love her, she plays great and she has a great talent for painting! If we talk about merch, we cannot fail to mention our "queen of merch" - Bogusia Grabczynska. She is a real woman orchestra, responsible in the band for selling and setting up the merch stand, she is our driver, she prepares meals and refreshments for the bands and she does a thousand different things!!!! A woman terminator for whom nothing is impossible! A wonderful girl, completely devoted to us! Thank you for your help! We love you!
Nearing towards the end of this interview, I always consider important to promote local scenes, and Gliwice (and the whole Silesian region) is huge. Obviously, apart from the already bigger names there, let’s talk about any new, upcoming bands from your area…what would you recommend to our readers to check?
Necro: Silesia really has a lot of bands. When it comes to Gliwice, Devilpriest (their album totally took over me) and Embrional definitely deserve a mention, but I think everyone knows them, the old-timers from Heretique, the newer ones Hadesalia and Gilotyna. And that's all. I'm not interested in the rest, I don't listen to their sounds. Maybe there's something else I don't know or haven't heard about, but as I say, I don't follow the local scene very much. There are a lot of false tricks, envy and similar behavior here... but it's like that everywhere... the guy smiles at you while talking, but in reality he would be happy to stab you in the back. It's better to use your energy in other ways than to worry about these vermin.
And I guess that’s all. Any final message to our readers?
Necro: Thanks for the interview! Stay true to the real old school Death and Black Metal sounds! Trample on fake pseudo-metal bands, spit on the current trend! Hail Death Metal To The Death!!
Facebook: Tortured Corpse
Bandcamp: https://torturedcorpse1.bandcamp.com/music
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