Hard rockers demand $666,000 after Guantanamo claims

Montreal, Canada: A Canadian hard-rock band says it sent the Pentagon a $666,000 bill after a former Guantanamo Bay guard alleged that the US military used their music to torture detainees.

Skinny Puppy found out their music was blasted out at the detention centre in southern Cuba from a former guard who is a fan of the band, keyboardist Cevin Key told Canada's CTV Television.

Rights groups say that prison officials subjected Guantanamo's terror suspects to "deafening loud music," often featuring violent lyrics, during interrogation.

Several other bands, including REM, Rage Against the Machine and Metallica, have denounced the use of their music at Guantanamo.

"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 told CTV.

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The amount they requested may be a reference to 666, known as "the devil's number", in light of the band's Gothic themes.

The group, which has a cult following, has performed live with band members smeared in fake blood, sporting machetes, animal skins and heavy black and white makeup. They have even included mock executions in their performances.

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Key said band members were "offended" to learn the claims that their music was played at Guantanamo to "inflict damage" on detainees.

"I wouldn't want to be subjected to any overly loud music for six to 12 hours at a time without a break," he said, acknowledging that Skinny Puppy's music could be a "terrible nightmare" for some listeners.

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