For ten years now BTK have been stalking the streets of London, dragging unsuspecting victims into their gloomy death chamber and making guitar strings out of their tendons, lamp shades out of their arses, drum sticks from their femurs and straps from their er….. nipples (I think), before off-loading the offal in the Thames. In their down time they’ve also made an EP some splits and two albums of some of the most savage death / grind the UK has ever produced and if you’ve ever caught one of their live gigs you’ll know the band can put on a fantastic performance and can really, really play. Imagine the Brit horror movie “Mum & Dad” was made into a grindcore rockopera and I think you’ll agree that’s a good description of BTKs live depravity.
There’s been some ups and downs in the BTK camp since I first caught the band live over five years ago and this has lead to some line-up changes with only their sick mastermind and dirty cardigan enthusiast Tarquin (guitar & vocals) remaining from the original line up, the rest of whom are now presumed to be in high security mental institutions. Having tried out a previous lead vocalist in the form of the hairy Bertie Cumberdale, poor Bertie didn’t quite ‘fit’ and so was strangled, chopped up and fed to the pigs. This proved to be a blessing of sorts as Tarquin managed to find someone as sick as himself in the form of young Beryl. Beryl (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Millie from Bristol slam monkeys Craniation) has brought an extra dimension of horror to the bands live murders and has made watching BTK an even more unsettling prospect, which to be honest I didn’t think possible. Cute and innocent(ish) one minute, dismembering teddy bears with sadistic glee the next, she’s a real find and hopefully Tarquin can keep her on side as her rasping vocals are the perfect offset to his schizoid shrieks. Rounded out by Dr Krauss on bass and The Faceless Killer on drums, the band sound slicker than ever on this their third record.
There has never been any doubt that BTK can play, Tarquin in particular has always been capable of dishing out weapons grade shredding like he’s got a nicked container load of it , but in the past the song structure may have sometimes suffered a little for the sake of extremity. Not so here. This third album sees BTK actually sounding like a really cohesive unit and the tracks are more memorable, more catchy than ever before. Tracks like opener “On A Mountain Road”, “The Rat Catcher” the title track and in particular the brilliant “Knives” are dripping with the light speed precision razor sharp riffing that Tarquin has always excelled at but the songs also have something that’s been absent in the past….. groove! And we all know I love me some groove based death metal. Tarquin will probably eviscerate me and stuff my rib cage with rabid weasels for saying this but the song writing on this record sounds less complex and more straightforward than before and as such the record is, to these ears, the best Basement Torture Killings album yet. The most efficient and ruthless serial killers have always excelled at the seduction of their victims and the catchier offerings here beckon you in to the BTK slaughterhouse and you go willingly as opposed to being dragged in against your will.
The bowel emptying bottom end of Dr. Krauss’ bass and Faceless Killer’s drums underpins Tarquin’s guitar work perfectly and coupled with the organic production adds to the overall carnage throughout and this is definitely the finest slab of deviance yet from this bunch of depraved lunatics.
BTK have their tenth anniversary & album launch show coming up at The Black Heart on April 1st and I’m sure they’ll be pulling out all the stops to celebrate / commemorate this milestone of snuff-grind worship. I’ll be there with a teddy bear for Beryl!
(9/10 Mark Eve)
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