Album Review: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

I’m only gonna write this once: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs are ready to release this their 2nd Full Length, the first being the massive and ground breaking “King Of Cowards” back in 2018.

For the purposes of not wearing out my keyboard they’ll be referred to forthwith as Pigs x7, and their newest addition to the world of hard, heavy guitar driven Rock/Punk/Metal Visceral will hit the unsuspecting public on Friday April 3rd.

Coming from Newcastle the band are made up of Matt Baty (Vocal), Adam Ian Sykes (Guitar), Sam Grant (Guitar), John Michael Hedley (Bass) and Chris Morley (Drums). If you’re new to them, it would be certainly advisable that you check out their first two releases, their “Feed The Rats” EP and “King Of Cowards” album.

Not for the squeamish would be a reasonable analogy to use but not one that should put you off either; think Motorhead, Sabbath and throw in some self made Noise Rock, and you’re somewhere near the mark. Although it does somehow feel like this is ground that has been covered before, take the bands Hey Colossus or Part Chimp as examples of this, Pigs do do it so well And with such vigour and originality they can be forgiven. Mudhoney too, (there we go again dropping names) draw comparison as well – experimental, deep, a moment in time, all apt and work for this band too.

Matt Baty as a front man has all the energy and voice of Jim Morrison and come to think of it, this might be a good reference point to describe the sometimes abstract and almost psychedelic nature of the majority of the places he takes you.

“Reducer”, being the opening track and first single release from the album, is musically full on and as dark and heavy as you might want to go. Lyrically possibly a little weak, but then is this in any way a detriment to the song or is it more that the vocal simply adds to the soundscape, for the listener to make their own minds up possibly.

Generally, Viscerals lives up to its title, but it not an all out onslaught. Moments in single Rubbernecker is soaked in melody, while the the angular Sabbath like riffs in New Body tick boxes normally reserved for ‘classics’. The fact that Pigsx7 keep it up – closer if typically high octane and full of big riffs, shows that on their day, they’re right up there with the best.

If you have already been exposed to Pigs x7 on their previous offerings, then you might even find this 8 track fest of musical picture painting a little on the heavier side, if that is even possible. The impression your’e given by the heavy duelling guitars and methodical bass lines filled in with almost gothic drum beats, is that all this is written and then the words are moulded, weaved and dramatically played out.