You wanna talk about bone crushing metal? Try some Pig Destroyer on for a change. On their first record in six years, Virginia noise/metal pioneers Pig Destroyer has come roaring back to life. 12 songs in 30 minutes – that seems like a lot to take, but it’s all worth it. “Army Of Cops” is one of the best metal tracks of the year, and it just feels good to have them back after so long. It’s just crushing and really dense. “Dark Train” comes ripping out of the gate right away and it’s clear the band haven’t lost a step; they still sound as hard and fierce as ever
The most interesting thing here is that the songs are a bit longer on average than on previous records, which is a bit of a shock and very fascinating at the same time. The tempos are even slowed down a tad, particularly on the intro of “The Torture Fields,” before the band rips into a thrash mode that completely rips up most people’s ideas of hearing. The thrashing continues on a quick number like “Mt. Skull,” and if any listener isn’t aware of this band, and if they’re not into metal, then they will definitely regret it. Otherwise, there’s nothing here not to enjoy; there’s plenty to please even the most old school metalhead.
Album finale “House Of Snakes” begins with a very trippy intro and turns into one of the slowest songs this band has released. After the intensity of the previous few minutes, this track might turn into a true test of one’s determination. “The Adventures Of Jason And JR” feels like that old TAD song “Jack Pepsi,” wherein there’s a story but it’s really dark and the music is super heavy.
I don’t always like my metal so punishing, but I’m proud to show my VA pride by cranking a little Pig every once in a while. So should every proud metalhead.
