The Red Hot Chili Peppers have released songs called "Taste The Pain," "Knock Me Down," "Tell Me Baby," "Scar Tissue" and "Torture Me." But the band probably never imagined their music might used for actual torture.

Spin reports the Red Hot Chili Peppers' music was used by the CIA to torture an "imprisoned enemy combatant" during George W. Bush's term as President.

The news was revealed as part of the agency's forthcoming 6,600 page-report revealing its own "enhanced interrogation" procedures used following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted 11 to 3 to commence the declassification of the large report.

According to one anonymous interrogator who spoke to news outlet Al Jazeeera, terror suspect Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn Abu Zubaydah, was given shock treatment by listening to the band on a continuous loop. The detainee was handcuffed to the ceiling with the band's "music used to batter the detainee's senses." Al Jazeera reports the band's music was played during Abu Zubaydah's interrogations from May, 2002 to July, 2002.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have yet to comment on the revelation but aren't the first or only group to have their songs linked to torture. Earlier this year, it was reported in mainstream news that besides Metallica's material used on detainees in Iraq, Canadian industrial group Skinny Puppy claimed their songs were used on detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

"We heard through a reliable grapevine that our music was being used in Guantanamo Bay prison camps to musically stun or torture people," band founder cEvin Key said in an interview with the Phoenix New Times. The band said their music was used at least four times.

Repeatedly playing loud music to suspected terrorist detainees is also a standard interrogation technique in Guantanamo and other US bases.


"That is torture," singer-songwriter 'David Gray' told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight.

"That is nothing but torture."

"It doesn't matter what the music is - it could be Tchaikovsky's finest or it could be Barney the Dinosaur."

"It really doesn't matter, it's going to drive you completely nuts."

He said such torture formed part of a US "retaliation to a few terrorist acts".

"No-one wants to even think about it or discuss the fact that we've gone above and beyond all legal process and we're torturing people," he added.

Babylon - from his White Ladder album - was Gray's breakthrough single, reaching number five in the UK in 2000.

White Ladder reached number one in the UK and number 35 in the US.

Top Songs for Torture...

- Metallica / Enter sandman
- Alex / Let the Bodies Hit the floor
- AC DC / Shoot to Thrill & Hells bells
- the Barney Theme / I Love You
- Bruce Springstein / Born in the USA
- David Gray / Babylon
- Eminem / White America
- the Sesame Street theme Song