Hailing from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (Often shortened to Pigsx7) have long been lauded both for their live performances, as well as their incredibly diverse albums. Often referred to as stoner, sludge, or doom metal, the band thrives on their long, drawn-out tracks and their spaced sound. Returning for their fifth album with their new release ‘Death Hilarious’, the band’s distinctive sound remains mostly unchanged but diverse, with their deep-cutting and often introspective lyrics, soundtracked by some immense riffs, and a beautifully grunted lyrical delivery. The band have aimed to deliver as much of the atmosphere of their live performances to the headphones.
As the heavily fuzz-tinged riff and pulsating drums of album opener ‘Blockage’ rattles its way through, complemented by the soaring guitar solo to conclude, the band’s domineering sound bursts through the speakers. Tracks like ‘Detroit’ rumble slowly, while the catchier ‘Stitches’ passes by quickly, despite the similar time-stamps. The band’s reputation for prolonged songs is held up well by the gargantuan track ‘The wyrm’, clocking in at 7 minutes 51 seconds, the track’s rising introduction and consistent instrumental and vocal drama ensuring that it never once becomes boring.
While there’s no wholesale change in terms of the band’s sound throughout the album, there are some beautifully experimental moments. At this point, a special mention needs to be given to ‘Glib Tongued’, written by bassist John-Michael Hedley, this unassuming hip-hop song impressed his bandmates, they managed to reach out to the legendary EI-P from Run The Jewels for a feature to produce perhaps one of the most unexpected but welcomed collaborations of this year. Aside from their dabble in hip-hop, the album is laden with some other experimentations, often in the form of a synth or a keyboard, helping to provide change to the maelstrom of genres the band deploys with such ease.
The album’s conclusive track ‘Toecurler’ is exactly that, slowly and steadily building itself until it becomes this near unstoppable force, personified by an unbothered and charismatic swagger. It caps off an album that is nothing short of genius.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs’ promise to deliver their live atmosphere to the speakers, is certainly kept throughout Death Hilarious, and then some. Its sheer scale may frighten the uninitiated, but each song translates exactly why the band is so revered on the live stage into a digestible format for the listener to an incredibly high standard. Just make sure you have plenty of spare time before you start to listen…