We caught up with future thrash kings, Tortured Demon, to briefly discuss their rapid rise in the metal world, their live shows and a nod to the difficulties of dancing to Meshuggah.
I’m here with Tortured Demon. Can we get your names please lads?
Jacob: “Jacob.”
Ben: “Ben.”
Lovely to meet you fellas, right? First off, can you tell us a little bit more about that your previous trip to Bloodstock on the Jägermeister stage?
Jacob: “Yeah, I mean, Bloodstock we played first in 2021 with a different lineup. We played on the Jägermeister stage. And I like to see that as kind of a bit of a precursor to what has, you know… Without sounding arrogant by any means, what has become now sort of. Everything happens for a reason and we’ve grown and developed. So we’ve changed line-up a little bit and that was kind of our first big show outside of Manchester. We’re forever grateful for the people of Bloodstock for giving us that opportunity and to come back and to have a similar turn out from the Sophie Lancaster Stage… Just the best time ever!”
How did you guys feel coming into the show for 2023? Was there any like any pre-show jitters, or were you feeling like we’re gonna own this?
Jacob: “I mean, if I’m not nervous before a show or something is wrong. I always get nervous, always shitting myself. But obviously for our Ben here, it was his first show with us on the Sophie Stage.”
Really? Well congratulations! What a baptism of fire!
Ben: “First time playing [Bloodstock] and first time playing with the band as well. It’s just mental, the whole thing. I’ve never been in a band, pretty much, ever. I’ve done a few gigs at uni, but it was nothing like this. It was just mind boggling.”
Jacob: “Tell you what, though, he ticks all the boxes: badass stage presence, knows the parts. That’s all we need.”
Absolutely! What more can you want? So with coming into a show and particularly this, were there any differences with how you normally prepare for a show?
Jacob: “Just rehearse. We rehearsed like 3 days a week, at least for this one. You know, it’s good to get it as tight as possible. Practise and try and put your eggs in a basket, so to speak.”
So what was your takeaway from your performance on the Sophie Lancaster Stage? How did you feel?
Jacob: “I feel on top of the world, to be honest, mate. Like I said on stage, it’s a dream come true. The first thing I said to the crowd, who very kindly showed up to watch us was, “Thank you for making my dreams come true”. I remember seeing Onslaught in 2021 and I thought, “You know, maybe one day, maybe I’ll get to do something like that on the Sophie stage” The fact that we were doing it… Means the world to me.”
I guess the usual progression route would be perhaps New Bloods, then to the Sophie. But you’ve gone from Jägermeister to Sophie, so you’re doing something right!
Jacob: “It’s hard for me to process, partially because I’m not mature enough for that shit yet! But it’s just a massive pleasure. Even saying that, it doesn’t put into perspective how much it means to me just to be at Bloodstock and play, and it’s just the biggest bonus in the world and people digging it, seeing that… It makes my life complete.”
So who else from 2023’s line-up were you looking forward to seeing?
Jacob: “Hate were really good.”
Ben: “Megadeth. Meshuggah. I haven’t really heard much Meshuggah, but some I’ve heard, I really dig.”
Seeing people try dancing to Meshuggah… So you released your second album, ‘Rise Of The Lifeless’ – how have you found the reception to it?
Jacob: “Awesome. Couldn’t have asked for anything better. You know, we’ve got a great PR team doing a lot of stuff for us, which we are forever grateful for. People seem to be digging it. That’s all we can ask for – we’re just going to keep playing the music that we want to hear, and if people dig it. Like I said before, that’s the biggest bonus we can ask for.”
Thank you so much for speaking with us and we look forward to bigger and better things from you in the future, so congratulations.
Ben: “Thank you.”
Jacob: “Cheers mate!”
https://www.tortureddemon.com/
Interviews by Lee Carter
Photo by Rebecca Bush