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Pig Destroyer: Book burner

26/03/13 || The Duff

Pig Destroyer haven’t released an album in five years, a big deal for a grind outfit that sounds as unique and is as universally praised as Pig Destroyer, but from the strength of “Book Burner”, a necessary time away from the scene seeing as they haven’t exactly evolved given such a period.

The band’s last album, “Phantom Limb”, was a solid piece of grind/metal/rock/atmosphere, but yet another step forward in separating itself from its grind roots and focusing on an album’s narrative, development and ambience. Even if thematically and lyrically the tracks were disparate, the record boasted music of a more classic metal vein as well as centred on an eerie, crusty, unsettling aesthetic rather than a handful of short, energetic, riff-fuelled bursts of noise.

The recipe was as always a combination of ugly, messy, jarring, buzzsaw riffs and of course the signature deranged vocals of Scott Hull, but the album’s arc was less scrappily assorted as on past efforts, where ‘foul’ was definitely more the aim of the game.

“Book Burner” continues this tradition of ‘clean-filthy’ metal, punk, Slayer and fat- dangling riffs in a very traditional manner. If you hold “Terrifyer” as not only the band’s peak but also probably one of the greatest heavy metal albums of the last decade, this record will initially come across as a disappointment, but it’s the setting the band creates, and in persevering, what may at first appear a lack of inspiration, is less about crushing the listener’s head in but rather taking them out on an unsettling journey.

What makes this all the more exceptional is that Pig Destroyer are as ever masters at making the most out of one minute songs, each one creating its own little world. Later in the album, riffs will appear to resurface, making the entire experience like a good book (heeeeeeeeeey…). Intersperse tracks with some of the coolest samples (including one that sounds like slowed down George Carlin, delivered with just as much vinegar as the late, great comedian) and you have a story unfold in a pure nihilistic, rousing sense.

We have several new additions – vocal guest appearances from Misery Index and Cattle Decapitation (yeah, the latter being those insane high pitched wails – view the video here to have them ruined in your mind for all time), and then the album’s drumming tracked by Misery Index’s Adam Jarvis.

I personally had no trouble with PxDx’s (that’s it, folks) past drummer Brian Harvey; his performance on “Terrifyer” is hypnotic, chaotic and relentless, but Adam brings a certain dexterity and control to the mix, and it works very well as the essence of Pig Destroyer’s sound, scrappy and ugly, is still maintained. For such a controlled drummer, Adam has replicated the loose and sloppy prodigal nature of Harvey brilliantly.

So, for me this takes the “Phantom Limb” sound to a yet more tightened, and thereby logical, result; little evolution, a similar, fuzzy, light production, guitar-tone, still no bassist, killer riffs, and a track-by-track progression that makes the album a sonic narrative of sorts; the one downside is probably the occasional dip in quality of Hull’s lyrics, which frankly isn’t much to get upset over. Pig Destroyer are still doing their own thing in their own way and remain, although not so much revolutionary, at the very least consistent and full of mean, punk-thrash riffs and rousing breakdowns.

Information
Released: 2012
Label: Relapse Records
Website: Pig Destroyer MySpace
Band
Blake Harrison: noise, vocals
Scott Hull: guitars, noise
J.R. Hayes: vocals
Adam Jarvis: drums

Tracklist
01. Sis
02. The American’s Head
03. The Underground Man
04. Eve
05. The Diplomat
06. All Seeing Eye
07. Valley of the Geysers
08. Book Burner
09. Machiavellian
10. Baltimore Strangler
11. White Lady
12. The Bug
13. Iron Drunk
14. Burning Palm
15. Dirty Knife
16. Totaled
17. Kamikaze Heart
18. King of Clubs
19. Permanent Funeral

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