- It’s been six long, anxious years of waiting for fans of American grind-poets Pig Destroyer’s latest release, and as of September 7th they can stop chewing their teeth and clawing at their arms, thanks to the release of Head Cage, the band’s 6th full length studio album.
The title is apt: through twelve skull-splitting tracks you will be taken on yet another gruesome sonic misadventure inspired by the worst reflections of modern life, as told through the ever-potent poetry of animalistic vocalist J.R Hayes. The band has been keeping it fresh instrumentally as well, having included a bass guitar for the very first time on a studio release. Fans of Pig Destroyer may shriek, frown, grin or be mostly indifferent; however it is worth mentioning how this has influenced the feel of this partcular album.
This album is certainly the heaviest release thus far for the band. The addition of John Jarvis on bass (cousin to drummer Adam Jarvis) has now filled out the lower textures of Pig Destroyer’s ensemble sound, subsequently providing a foundation to guitarist Scott Hull’s riffage. The most strict-minded of fans may bemoan this: after all, the band’s sound to a respectable degree has been defined by the absence of a bass voice. Indeed, the mixing of their previous albums has needed to take this into account and has often adapted by blending together the raspier timbres of guitar, cymbals and voice while keeping the articulation of drums and guitar attack more distinct – the resulting mix sounding raw but undeniably clear.
The addition of a bass player and the bass itself does change things, at least a little. Inevitably the bass and rhythm guitar are necessarily going to play in accordance with each other, and for the purists out there, this may mean that a few of the idiosyncrasies of Scott Hull’s guitar work need be restrained so that blend with the bass is possible. In this case however the trade-off is worth it; John Jarvis’ bass playing is slick and devastating, enabling rich, punishing grooves that make other new-wave-of-American-metal bands sound like a bunch of schoolkids who can’t find their lunch money.
That’s a good thing. Pig Destroyer has proved, consistently, their capacity for rash, abrasive, schizoid riff-writing. It’s just now that they’ve put down the rusty, notched kitchen knife and picked up an industrial sledgehammer. Epitomized by a song like Army of Cops, the band sound is rounder, drums beefier, and riffs a little more anthemic than previous albums. There’s a lot to like here.
- Anton Kalisch-Smith.