There was a post from us a few years back when Raymond Watts was revving up the PIG machine again and while we were already elated at new material finally coming our way again we became more ecstatic at the wealth of new material being released as well with singles and and EP’s and guest spots in addition to a proper full-length. We don’t know if it’s more of a deja vu thing here in the year of our Lard 2024 or a “Everything old is new again” sort of deal but it’s happening again!
Red Room, the new PIG LP, was released in May of this year with a tour announcement following for the Fall (Kicking off at this year’s Cold Waves Festival on September 28th, actually). Sinsation, originally released in 1995 (Yes, kids, the Lord of Lard has been preaching for that long… and we have the CD collection to prove it), got the remaster treatment and a nifty vinyl release towards the end of summer while late September will also see PIG’s Raymond Watts all over the new full-length from former KMFDM collaborator (And current PIG live band member) En Esch (Which we just reviewed here). And that all leads to a new PIG EP featuring five all new tracks plus one remix called Feast of Agony. Personally we don’t think you could ever have too much PIG especially when it’s this good!
Maybe a little inspired by earlier works, Feast of Agony is a nasty, gnarly, guitar-driven opus with lead track “Heroin for the Damned” kicking it all off quite nicely as slashing synths cut through the chunky riffage that Watts and frequent co-conspirator Jim Davies (Pitchshifter, The Prodigy) have concocted while Watts’ signature snarl is on full display throughout. “Fallout” is also very much in that vein, pulsating while pummeling your earholes with big shreds as these bigger programmed strings conjure up some more nostalgia for both Sinsation and its’ follow-up Wrecked.
“Comedown” is a sobering sonic soliloquy while “Hand of Mercy (Make the Cut)” is the kind of timeless PIG track that’d fit on either 1994’s Red Raw and Sore or 2024’s Red Room with Watts’ playful wordplay always enticing whether it be in a commanding baritone or a sing-songy lullaby-like delivery. “The Ratchet Effect” takes so many twists and turns, running the gamut in not only genres but also with Watts’ varied voices that can be a cathartic croon or a harrowing howl from one note to the next before the Davies-led “Red Line Remix” of the 2022 track “Baptise Bless & Bleed” that also features the heavenly vocal talents of Michelle Martinez caps off this new release.
Feast Of Agony drops digitally through Metropolis Records on September 27th and you can get yours by heading here. If you’re looking for a physical edition then there’s only place to pick that up and that’s during the upcoming “Heroin For The Damned” North American tour (Hitting Cambridge’s Middle East on November 12th)! For the rest of your PIG news, stay tuned to the socials by clicking here, here, or here.