French chaotic hardcore powerhouse BTK (Bind Torture Kill) unleashed their fiercest and most unrelenting album yet, Sauvagerie, in fall 2024. In just a few months, this 30-minute sonic maelstrom has left a scorched mark on the international extreme music scene.
Available now on CD, LP, cassette & digital via Breathe Plastic Records, Dahlia Noir Records, and The Hills Are Dead Records, ‘Sauvagerie’ delivers nine tracks of brutal, relentless intensity. From the buzzsaw opener « Déchiqueté » to the oppressive weight of « Cul de Jatte », the album alternates between blistering speed assaults and suffocating slow-burn passages — all drenched in dissonance, distortion, and despair.
Since forming in Lyon, France, in 2010, BTK has steadily carved out a reputation in the European underground. Originally a four-piece, the band streamlined to a trio in 2015, consisting of drums, guitar, and vocals. To achieve their massive, dense sound, the guitarist employs a unique three-amp setup with two amps for guitar and one for bass, enhanced by an octaver pedal and, for this album, the infamous HM-2 pedal. The result is a crushing, distorted wall of sound that defines BTK’s approach.
After a self-titled EP in 2013 and their debut album ‘Condamné’ in 2015, their sophomore full-length, ‘Viscères’ (2018), marked a shift toward heavier, darker territories — mixing mathcore chaos with crust, grind, and post-metal textures. This evolution reaches its apex with this third album, which unleashes a relentless barrage of pummeling tempos, grinding riffs, and suffocating atmospheres.
Though grounded in chaos somewhere between bands like ALL PIGS MUST DIE, Converge, Napalm Death, Sect and Trap Them, ‘Sauvagerie’s structure is deliberate and coherent. Each track contributes to a suffocating descent — from rapid-fire assaults to cavernous breakdowns. The final track, « Cul de Jatte », surpasses six minutes, not as a respite but as an extension of the dread permeating the album.
Thematically and sonically, ‘Sauvagerie’ embodies humanity’s darkest facets. BTK’s lyrics and music confront the ignoble, grotesque, and violent — not gratuitously, but as a raw reflection of reality. Their name, referencing American serial killer Dennis Rader, underscores a fascination with psychological horror and the abyss lurking beneath the human psyche.
Recorded at Warmaudio Studios and mastered by Nick Zampiello (New Alliance East), ‘Sauvagerie’ pushes the band further into oppressive textures. The addition of the iconic HM-2 pedal amplifies the filth, producing an album that feels like being dragged through a collapsing bunker — loud, claustrophobic, and inescapably heavy.
‘Sauvagerie’ isn’t just music — it’s a confrontation, a descent into darkness, and a brutal statement of intent from a band that has mastered the art of refining chaos into something devastatingly coherent.
