TORTURIZED was formed in Magdeburg, Saxony Anhalt, Germany in 2001. You released two demos "Falsche Wahrheit’’" and "Promo" during two years (2003-2004). Could you give us a brief overview of the highpoints, lowpoints and challenges you faced during these early days?
Siggi -
It’s right, we formed in 2001.
This line up stayed together until 2005. Due to professional circumstances, there were some changes in the line up of Torturized between 2005 and 2010.
Then, we remained together in this constellation until 2014. In 2015, Peter, our latest change, joined the band on bass guitar. This is the current line up. Highpoints are definitely our shows at Summer Breeze 2010 and also at the Metal Frenzy 2016, but every show and every recording session is a highpoint for Torturized.
There had been no too serious lowpoints at Torturized yet. We stand for continuous musical creativity and for a high-quality live presence. This is exactly what we want to continue.
This line up stayed together until 2005. Due to professional circumstances, there were some changes in the line up of Torturized between 2005 and 2010.
Then, we remained together in this constellation until 2014. In 2015, Peter, our latest change, joined the band on bass guitar. This is the current line up. Highpoints are definitely our shows at Summer Breeze 2010 and also at the Metal Frenzy 2016, but every show and every recording session is a highpoint for Torturized.
There had been no too serious lowpoints at Torturized yet. We stand for continuous musical creativity and for a high-quality live presence. This is exactly what we want to continue.
TORTURIZED had a many personal changes from the band’s foundation... What is the main reason for this??
Siggi -
There is no single explicit reason for this. We all lived and still live in different personal circumstances that, of course, affect our daily lifes.
Every line up change was caused by a number of different reasons being mainly family and job related issues. Luckily, there never were serious difficulties on a personal level.
Every line up change was caused by a number of different reasons being mainly family and job related issues. Luckily, there never were serious difficulties on a personal level.
Tell us more about what makes the style of TORTURIZED...Let’s talk about influences and more...
Siggi -
A lot of influences coming from different styles of metal music
The main influences can definitely be found in Death metal but we also dig some Black metal bands. There is so much music out there. All these genres have so many sub-genres. Every member has different favorites. But there is a common denominator, so to say. Overall, it seems that we prefer Death metal that doesn’t have the oldschool touch but rather focuses on more technical nuances.
Regarding our lyrics, local and world wide events / news, TV, social media can be seen as some kind of influence. Roughly speaking, it is about society.
The main influences can definitely be found in Death metal but we also dig some Black metal bands. There is so much music out there. All these genres have so many sub-genres. Every member has different favorites. But there is a common denominator, so to say. Overall, it seems that we prefer Death metal that doesn’t have the oldschool touch but rather focuses on more technical nuances.
Regarding our lyrics, local and world wide events / news, TV, social media can be seen as some kind of influence. Roughly speaking, it is about society.
You play Death Metal with some brutal DM touch... What does ‘’Death Metal’’ and everyday brutalities mean for you? Do you think Death metal needs some part of originality, personality and own deeper ideas
Siggi -
Death metal is raw and doesn’t portray hidden secrets which we surely like
Everyone handles this daily brutality his/her own way
Nowadays or on our latest record, Omnivore, we try to deal with society including ourselves in our music
We don’t care about originality and other deeper ideas so much if we just want to come to terms with personally and sometimes even globally made experiences
Also, Death metal is some kind of genre only, musically speaking, that is from a musician’s point of view very interesting. It is challenging and fun to play at the same time. So, it is not only about the genre’s roots and the deeper meaning of it. It is music with some typical and sometimes new elements.
Everyone handles this daily brutality his/her own way
Nowadays or on our latest record, Omnivore, we try to deal with society including ourselves in our music
We don’t care about originality and other deeper ideas so much if we just want to come to terms with personally and sometimes even globally made experiences
Also, Death metal is some kind of genre only, musically speaking, that is from a musician’s point of view very interesting. It is challenging and fun to play at the same time. So, it is not only about the genre’s roots and the deeper meaning of it. It is music with some typical and sometimes new elements.
"Uncontrollable Hours" is your first album and was released in 2006. For those who didn't have the opportunity to listen to this piece of DM, what can you tell to awake their interest?
Siggi -
It’s the first LP we did.
A product of what we wanted to do at this point in time for a long time.
A couple of songs which were written and performed years before we were able to record them. So it represents some of our first ideas. It is pretty straightforward with a little bit more groovy sections. This record is still very anticipated by our fans. We sometimes even perform a song from this record live.
A product of what we wanted to do at this point in time for a long time.
A couple of songs which were written and performed years before we were able to record them. So it represents some of our first ideas. It is pretty straightforward with a little bit more groovy sections. This record is still very anticipated by our fans. We sometimes even perform a song from this record live.
When you write songs, do you focus on the intensity and energy, brutal sounding riffs, catchy sounding parts... What do you have in mind, what's your goal during the process of creation?
Siggi -
It is a mixture of these components. We often have a rough idea of how a song should sound like. Sometimes we completely want to go nuts and there are times when we like to focus on more complex arrangements on a deeper level. Therefore, each riff or section stands for itself with this overall feeling. And then we think in structuring elements like main riff, bridge riff and so on, in order to come up with a complete song. Sometimes these things happen by accident. But when we come up with a cool idea, e. g., a catchy sounding part, we then try to incorporate one or more repetitions of this idea or we like to come up with tiny derivations of this specific concept. But this is pretty common. There is no fancy magic behind it.
Authenticity is a big issue for us. We like to identify us with our music. Of course, this is very challenging because of different interests and ideas during the creation, but overall, this pretty much works for all of us.
Regarding our lyrics, there’s a little leaning towards misanthropy and humankind’s aftermath for everything on this planet
Authenticity is a big issue for us. We like to identify us with our music. Of course, this is very challenging because of different interests and ideas during the creation, but overall, this pretty much works for all of us.
Regarding our lyrics, there’s a little leaning towards misanthropy and humankind’s aftermath for everything on this planet
Your second album "Omnivore" was recently released.
Tell us a bit more about the album title ‘’Omnivore’’ and its meaning in your Death metal context?
Tell us a bit more about the album title ‘’Omnivore’’ and its meaning in your Death metal context?
Siggi -
Death as a person
Eating everyone and everything
The ultimate end
Eating everyone and everything
The ultimate end
Can you tell us more about the place where it was recorded?
Siggi -
The drums were recorded at Nekrowerk Studio in Nordhausen, Germany. Our good friend Seifo was our sound engineer. All we needed was a decent recording room and decent recording equipment. Therefore, we never searched for an alternative for drums recording.
Guitars, bass, vocals and samples were recorded / done at Lu’s home in a private environment with a pretty simple setup.
Guitars, bass, vocals and samples were recorded / done at Lu’s home in a private environment with a pretty simple setup.
The fast beats on ‘’Omnivore’’ are faster than the usual Death metal beats, it's a bit accelerated and in a way it could be considered as some blast beats. Do you feel this element as some kind of blasts, and could feel close to Grind or Brutal DM?
Siggi -
Blast beats are definitely an element we love to use, yes. This is so common. For us, blast beats are one of the typical elements of Death metal music. Of course, we don’t talk about the oldschool Death metal field right now.
We like it brutal, we like it fast, and we also like some grooves. But to be honest, there are so many bands out there that are way faster and way more brutal. And we don’t see our music as Brutal death metal or Grind or Death grind or whatever (referring to the genres).
We like it brutal, we like it fast, and we also like some grooves. But to be honest, there are so many bands out there that are way faster and way more brutal. And we don’t see our music as Brutal death metal or Grind or Death grind or whatever (referring to the genres).
Could you say how TORTURIZED sounds live? During gigs do you pay more attention to the neat technical rendering, to the brutal emotional impact or to the stage performance?
Siggi -
A summary of all, because a good performance includes everything of the named attributes. The overall goal is pure enjoyment during our performance – for us and for the fans. There is a dependency. If we deliver everything we can with a lot of energy, correctness, and emotions, the fans actually do feel it and throw back their joy. This strengthens the whole experience and show. This is our philosophy and job.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to reach 100% in all areas each gig, but we try.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to reach 100% in all areas each gig, but we try.
Can you tell us a bit about the creator of ‘’Omnivore’’ cover and how this artwork occurred to take form? Is this an old school painting or a digital work?
Siggi -
The creator of the “Omnivore” cover is Chris Cold, a very pleasant and friendly person.
We sent him our ideas and he did everything step by step. The cover is a digital work but also bears a high resemblance to a painted cover. But that was the decisive point for us. The quality of Chris Cold’s work is just great.
We sent him our ideas and he did everything step by step. The cover is a digital work but also bears a high resemblance to a painted cover. But that was the decisive point for us. The quality of Chris Cold’s work is just great.
There's currently a new wave of Death metal bands in Germany. What are your feelings about it? Does it awake some old nostalgic feelings or it's not really the kind of metal to awake your interest?
Siggi -
We notice all these ongoing developments in the scene and sometimes we already play some gigs with these bands and respect their style.
Germany has many very good and even very popular Death metal bands focusing on different sub-genres. This is pretty exciting and cool. If the music is well performed, you simply have to respect that but, of course, you don’t need to like the specific music.
But in the end, we focus on our interpretations and style.
Germany has many very good and even very popular Death metal bands focusing on different sub-genres. This is pretty exciting and cool. If the music is well performed, you simply have to respect that but, of course, you don’t need to like the specific music.
But in the end, we focus on our interpretations and style.
If you had to represent Death metal with a picture, a painting, sculpture or maybe a "famous" piece of art, what would you choose? (It could be an imaginary picture).
Siggi -
Just look at our cover artwork from our latest release Omnivore
What's to come from TORTURIZED in the following months?
Will there be merchandising or something else?
Will there be merchandising or something else?
Siggi -
Some weeks ago, we were on a small tour. This was fun. And there will be more shows in the future. There are already upcoming shows on our list. Here and there, we also work on new ideas in their very early stages.
We have merchandise to buy. Just visit
We have merchandise to buy. Just visit
Thx for the interview and stay brutal !!!
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