Rough Edge: Pig Destroyer CD Reviews

PIG DESTROYER

"Phantom Limb" (Relapse; 2007)

Reviewed by Mike SOS

Another installment of unsettling and uncompromising grind comes courtesy of industry leaders Pig Destroyer, who tone the trademark creepiness they've been known for since "Prowler in the Yard" down here, opting instead to raise intensity levels via the primal misanthropic guitar and drum poundings of "Phantom Limb."

This 15-track shotgun blast is mercilessly abrasive from the opening bell, crammed with hyperspeed tempos, walls of thick metallic guitars that scream imminence and, of course, a bevy of tortured screams with equally twisted lyrical subject matter dealing with everything from a wayward ex-love interest who hangs herself in "Girl in the Slayer Jacket" to the psychotic elation stemming from a horrible disfigurement in "Deathtripper."

While hardly as spooky as previous endeavors, tracks like the coarse grooving chug-a-thon of "Heathen Temple," the doomy dirge interlude found on "4th Degree Burns" and the grinding thrash metal ferocity exuded by "Cemetary Road" showcase Pig Destroyer's top-shelf grindcore chops while turning heads as this disturbed bunch of metal miscreants take their music to new face-ripping levels.

For more information, check out http://www.pigdestroyer.net.

"Prowler in the Yard" (Relapse; 2001)

Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter

Simply put, Pig Destroyer's "Prowler In The Yard" features a mind-bending mix of grindcore, death metal, and noise. Featuring the same set-up as Anal Cunt (vocalist, guitarist, drummer, no bass) Pig Destroyer take the simplistic approach to allow their grinding ways to dig deeper into your consciousness with sparse instrumentation to make the aural intensity all the more amazing in its impact.

With "Prowler In The Yard," Pig Destroyer grind and crush their way into your head with 22 monstrous tracks in under 37 minutes. When you consider that one of those songs nearly passes the seven-minute mark, leaving most of the other tunes to clock in at under two-minutes, you know your ears are in for a workout. Much of the material is surprisingly memorable and sticks to the soft tissue in my cranium which is something that doesn't happen to often when I listen to grindcore.

"Trojan Whore" is one of my favorite tracks. The fact that "Trojan Whore" slows down to somewhat normal speed wasn't a positive or negative factor because - no matter how you dissect it - the track has a killer groove. The frantic "Ghost Of A Bullet" is a song that would be perfect for one of the sequels to "The Matrix." And to think that the song titles are just as entertaining as the music, too.

Pig Destroyer are right up there with Nasum as being my favorite grindcore band. If I only have a half an hour to listen to music and I need to get riled up, "Prowler In The Yard" is my CD of choice.

"Prowler In The Yard" was produced by Matthew F. Jacobson.

Pig Destroyer: J.R. Hayes on vocals, Scott Hull on guitar (Agoraphobic Nosebleed, ex-Anal Cunt), and Brian Harvey on drums.

For more information, check out http://www.pigdestroyer.net.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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