Metal Music Torture?

The man who killed Osama bin Laden has confirmed that the American struggle with terror was aided by heavy metal music. This clashes with the account of the movie about the operation.

“Metal Torture” was the name of the radio program that was transmitted during the ’80s on Polish Radio 3. Paradoxically, the music played was not intended to actually torture anybody. On the contrary, the program was broadcast in the afternoons, which, given that fact that they played entire metal albums from start to finish in one sitting, seems improbable even today.

Today, the CIA continues what Radio 3 started. It has been a widely known fact that the agency tortures prisoners with metal music at all times of day and night, without regard for the critical acclaim that each song may or may not have received. The Associated Press wrote that the personnel at Guantanamo had Metallica and AC/DC (as well as the rapper Eminem) on the terrorist playlist. In his recent interview with Esquire magazine, the man who shot bin Laden said that after Metallica protested the use of their music, they replaced “Enter Sandman” with music by the band Demon Hunter. The latter play Christian metal, which is aggressive but quite melodious and relatively unknown, but highly sought after by Navy SEALs. Demon Hunter members are no doubt happy for the free advertising provided by the United States armed forces.

Of course, any music played loud and often enough can drive a prisoner over the edge. However, the producers of “Zero Dark Thirty” as well as “Homeland” have most likely hit upon the true essence of the music that was used. Both the film and the TV show depict scenes of prisoners being softened up by songs recorded by hardcore metal and grindcore bands. These feature some of the most extreme uses of the guitar and have a heart pounding tempo, which hasn’t been tempered by entry into the mainstream music market.

Both production teams used music by bands such as Rorschach and Gridlink. Even a brief two- or three-second sampling by the viewer vividly demonstrated what the interrogation subject had to go through. Two years ago, producer Jerzy Skolimowski used music by the Polish band My Adrenaline for his award winning political thriller “Essential Killing.”

It would be interesting to see what playlist was used in the secret CIA prison located in the tiny village of Stare Kiejkuty. This base is located close to Olsztyn, the regional capital, as well as the unofficial capital of Poland’s more extreme varieties of death metal, as well as black metal. If it were true that the CIA used local bands such as Vader or Dies Irae, then the popular belief would be true. When it comes to extreme metal music, we are so good that the Americans could come to us for the right playlists.