Interview with death metal band from Belgium - TORTURERAMA.
Recenze/review - TORTURERAMA - The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre (2026):
Ave TORTURERAMA! Greetings to the Belgian underground. I hope everything’s going well over there. It should be you’ve released the seventh fantastic full-length album of your career this year. I have to admit, it literally pinned me to the wall. It’s dark, energetic, and cuts like the sharp edge of a knife. It’s very clear that you’ve done a great job and brought a lot of talent to the table. How do you view the new album in relation to your previous work? Where did you want to take things, and in what ways do you think these recordings differ?
Well hello there!
Good to hear you like our most recent audio document of questionable taste!
Talent is a broad term when applied to us but we take the compliment with dignity.
As for the new album, it’s been quite a journey through a pandemic, line-up changes and basically life as it unfolds. So, it’s not really as much as a deliberate idea as it is a result of the reality of life.
Of course we did thing entirely different than our previous release. Kept everything simple. No 17 layers of HM-2 madness. This is just how we sound. Massive thanks to Greg Wilkinson (Earhammer/Autopsy) who helped us achieve this since it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we would have lost our minds.
“The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre” embodies all the attributes of good death metal. For me personally, it’s an album I love coming back to. How did it come together? How does TORTURERAMA compose new material?
Well, it all starts with a Belgian basement. We gather there, bring riffs or invent them on the spot and the fermentation process begins. Double, Triple, Quadruple, … it takes time. That’s why we are slow. But we enjoy ourselves.
When I listen to the new album “The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre,” I feel like I’m sinking into a deep, bloody swamp. The superbly cold and dark sound contributes a lot to that. How and where did you record it? Who produced and mixed the album?
Recording we did ourselves, just like all our previous endeavors. Massive shout to Bèr (Guitars) who nearly lost his sanity whilst recording. The whole thing took a couple of months in the fall of 2025.
To mold this “twisted mass of burnt decay” into this easy listening, loungey style of death metal we contacted Greg Wilkinson of Earhammer (and fkn Autopsy!) to apply some of his talents. Resulting in this new, deformed afterbirth. We even found some maniac in Spain who wanted to release this! Thanx Raul!
The CD is an integral part of the release and a sort of bonus for fans today. You released it on the Memento Mori label, and it features a macabre cover. Who designed it? How did you choose the motif, and how does it relate to the music on the new album?
The one and only Skadvaldur released his talents upon the canvas. The title of the album in combination with some early demo recordings was all he needed to produce this fine piece of art. What a great artist to work with!
I’ve been wandering the underworld for over thirty years now, and when it comes to music, I go to Belgium for a sure thing. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I really like your bands and follow your scene closely. We also only have a few good death metal bands here. How do you perceive your scene, fans, and labels?
The scene in Belgium could really do with some fresh blood if you ask me. And there definitely are some youngsters moving about but the scene as it once was, has completely changed. In general, young people don’t really go out as much anymore and the underground here suffers from those same symptoms.
You play old-school-influenced death metal. These days, the band can’t really avoid comparisons, but I’d be interested to know how the idea to form TORTURERAMA actually came about, who your role models were and are, and where you want to take the band. Are you tempted by big international festivals, for example? Would you be willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
The idea was to go back to the death metal before overproduction and all records sounding the same. The Stockholm sound was an obvious choice, but our influences do not only come from Scandinavia.
Touring has never been on the table. We’re not objecting to anything but we’re not actively looking to tour either. The bigger festivals can always contact us but I have a feeling they aren’t really looking into real underground bands, let alone Torturerama. They are welcome though.
When I started my website ten years ago, my vision was to support bands that I felt weren’t getting enough attention to let the world know about them. I think I’ve been pretty successful at that, at least judging by the feedback. How do you approach promotion? Do you leave it to the label, or do you send out CDs yourselves for reviews? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. How about you? Are you also fans who like to support your peers often? Do you go to concerts? Do you party?
We move ourselves around in the European underground and buying merch is a part of that. We’re old school in that sense as well (of course).
We have our favorites and there’s definitely some good new bands emerging all over Europe.
Bands not getting enough attention will be a recurring thing since not everyone is gifted with the art of (self)promotion. I Shure know that’s not our strong point either.
On the one hand, a band just starting out today has plenty of ways to get their name out there, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of bands, and fans get lost in the crowd. A lot of people just download MP3s from the internet and, instead of going to a concert, prefer to spew venom on Facebook. How does modern technology influence you as TORTURERAMA? What do you think about downloading music, Google Metalists, streaming music, and so on?
I don’t even know what google Metalists is LOL. We’re old school and promoting ourselves has never been our strongest side. As you mention getting noticed in the vastness of social media is not evident today.
I don’t oppose downloading or streaming but the fairness in respect to the artist is hard to find in that part of the online world. I think the way AI is rolled out by the “industry” is a far bigger problem for music in general.
I like to ask musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it is it more of a philosophy and lifestyle for them, or “just” a way to unwind? What does it mean to you? How do you perceive and experience it?
Death Metal is just a label. But making music and the mindset that comes with the metal underground is something special. The Death Metal underground specifically is the most fun for us. It still has integrity without becoming another big cliché.
To wrap things up, a classic but important question. What does TORTURERAMA have planned for the coming months? Where can we see you live? If you have a message for fans, labels, or promoters, this is the place…
We’ve got the release show coming up of course. The album will then also be available on cassette and vinyl, thanks to Daniel from ADG/Godeater.
In December we also have a show in Wesel (GER) with our friends from Mauler and Rotterdam (NL) with the sick fucks from Mancuerda.. Hoping many shows will follow. If you’re interested contact us through our socials and we’ll see if we can come over and ruin the day for you.
For merch look at our online shop @bandcamp or the Memento Mori shop. Our new album will be up on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer,etc so you can check us out there as well.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish your new album every success and hope your fan base grows as much as possible. I look forward to seeing you live somewhere, and I wish you all the best both musically and personally. I’m off to blast “The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre” in my head again!
Recenze/review - TORTURERAMA - The Elaborate Theatre of the Macabre (2026):
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