Published: August 5, 2018
Inside the controversial use of rock music as psychological pressure in the War on Terror
Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp opened in 2002 under the administration of President George W. Bush as part of the United States’ War on Terror, launched after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Located inside the U.S. naval base in Cuba, the facility has housed up to 780 detainees suspected of terrorism or enemy activity.
By February 2008, the Pentagon accidentally released documents confirming that evidence used in some detentions was limited or nonexistent. That leak revealed something unexpected: music was being used as a tool inside interrogation rooms.
When music becomes pressure
Reprieve, a non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom focused on human rights violations, gained access to interviews and documentation from interrogations conducted in Guantánamo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Their findings showed that music was blasted at high volume for prolonged periods as a method of psychological pressure.
The surprising detail was not the tactic itself, but the soundtrack: heavy metal dominated the playlist.
These are among the songs reported to have been used:
Metallica Enter Sandman
Drowning Pool Bodies
ACDC Shoot to Thrill
ACDC Hell’s Bells
Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA
David Gray Babylon
Eminem White America
Deicide Fuck Your God
Dope Die Mother F**** Die
Dope Take Your Best Shot
Nine Inch Nails March of the Pigs
Nine Inch Nails Mr. Self-Destruct
Queen We Are The Champions
Rage Against The Machine Killing in the Name
Musicians react
News from Associated Press reports that Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine publicly condemned the use of his band’s music in interrogations. During a concert in San Francisco, he addressed the audience:
“I suggest they close Guantánamo Bay, but keep one cell for Bush, and once he is in there… torture him with Rage Against the Machine.”
Others reacted differently. Stevie Benton, bassist of Drowning Pool, originally told Spin magazine he felt proud that “Bodies” was used in the facility, suggesting any measure that prevented another September 11 attack was valid. Years later, he issued a public apology, claiming his comments had been taken out of context.
James Hetfield of Metallica was also asked about the issue during an interview on German television channel 3SAT. He explained his reaction as conflicted:
“One part of me is proud that Metallica was chosen, but the other part feels overwhelmed because we are not tied to political structures. We have nothing to do with that. I cannot say stop or continue. I do not see it as good or bad.”
The political response
During Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, the future president called Guantánamo “a sad chapter in our history” and pledged to close the facility. While he reduced the number of detainees, the prison remained open. On January 31, 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep it operational indefinitely.
Art, ethics and unintended consequences
Guantánamo’s soundtrack sparked debates that go far beyond volume knobs. It forced musicians, lawyers and the public to ask uncomfortable questions:
Can art be weaponized
Should artists control how their work is used
Does sound constitute psychological harm
In the end, this chapter in rock history is not about riffs or decibels. It is about power, identity and the ethical lines society chooses to draw when fear becomes policy.
Heavy metal never asked to enter Guantánamo but history took it there anyway.
