Hooray for underground metal supergroups from Massachusetts. Like the yang to Old Man Gloom’s yin and filled with this frenetic energy, All Pigs Must Die return after a four year gap with their most solid release to date while adding more layers as (soon-to-be) former Trap Them guitarist Brian Izzi joins their ranks.
The resulting album is Hostage Animal and it is seriously a juicy slab of metallic beauty right here. From the blistering barrage of brutality of the opening title track through to the six and a half minute beast of “Heathen Reign”, All Pigs Must Die deliver a concise yet epic work of metal art.
As an aside…can someone please make an award for Ben Koller being an all around indispensable drum hero in 2017? You’ve got the latest from Mutoid Man and the subsequent tour, this beast of an album with a tour following, then Converge in November and touring obligations behind that. If any musician deserves a vacation it’s this guy but we’re all thankful that that’s not an option any time soon.
But I digress.
“Slave Morality” gets all moody and deep with brooding guitars as Izzi and Adam Wentworth lay a somber riff foundation until Kevin Baker’s monstrous delivery takes this song to new heights of awesome. Koller thumps out a percussive tribal pounding to start off “End Without End” while “Blood Wet Teeth” honestly sounds like a new Converge track with a BigDumbFace name. Take that statment as you will. Later on, “Cruelty Incarnate” shines with another dual guitar melody to start before Matt Woods’ low end rumbles in and syncs with Koller to become this chaotic metal monster.
Hostage Animal will see release on October 28th through Southern Lord. Pre-orders are already available by clicking here or here. All Pigs Must Die is gearing up for a small tour and decimating audiences in the Northeast on a headlining run that hits Allston’s Great Scott on October 20th. For tickets and a full itinerary, head on over here.