Here’s one for the files: legendary industrial metal band Skinny Puppy is officially suing the US government for $666,000 in royalties after discovering that the military used bootlegged Skinny Puppy songs to torture detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp.
cEvin Key, the band’s keyboardist, told CTV “We sent them an invoice for our musical services considering they had gone ahead and used our music without our knowledge and used it as an actual weapon against somebody.”
Key is aware of the jokes people make about heavy metal (and, specifically, Skinny Puppy) being torture to have to listen to at all. To the people making those jokes, he only offers this: “I wouldn’t want to be subjected to any overly loud music for six to 12 hours at a time without a break.”
Before you call Key or his band un-American, keep in mind that they are in fact Canadian. The Pups’ latest album, 2013’s Weapon, was conceived in a fit of anger and inspiration, after finding out about the Guantánamo doins via a former guard who’s also a fan of the band’s music.
The Pentagon declined to comment.
(Photo Credits: Screencaps via YouTube)
