Review Summary: Pig Destroyer perfect a blend of groove and brutality. No longer a 3 piece (oh noes!) but nevertheless, still a band more than capable of musically acquainting your face with a buzzsaw. Practically flawless death-influenced grindcore.
Pig Destroyer. A name most likely to either cause amusement or confusion amongst those not acquainted with the seemingly obvious usage of American slang. Hey, some people might even dismiss them completely because their name is too "uncool" or "random". That is until they're shown any material the band have ever recorded.
Grindcore is a genre renowned for several things - blistering speed, extreme brutality and incomprehensible vocals to name a few. Pig Destroyer are no exception to this - JR Hayes is a vocalist few will understand unless they root through sleeve notes. Brian Harvey is the definition of 38 Counts of Battery behind a drum kit and Scott Hull pens some brutal (and incredibly fast) riffs for the most part. Compared to their previous releases, Phantom Limb is a little different. For anyone who has heard pre-Terrifyer era Pig Destroyer, they will be accustomed to the sheer unrivaled power of the band through speakers. Prowler In the Yard incessantly beat the listener into oblivion with blastbeats and the odd groove riff. Phantom Limb takes the approach that being groovy is better than blasting for the majority of the album.
Is it an evolution of the band's sound? Or perhaps they've just completely lost the plot and in turn, lost all credibility as a grindcore band. Well, the answer to the question is yes. And they most certainly haven't lost any credibility as far as I'm concerned.
Album opener Rotten Yellow is the perfect example of how Pig Destroyer have evolved. After a few seconds of a typical PxDx sample, the sonic assault of drums and guitars hits you in the face and cuts it off in style. First things first; the production is flawless. Everything sounds superb and huge credit to Scott Hull because his skill and talent is undeniable. Then JR comes in with the vocals...
Suffice to say, it's brutal. It's evil. At times, it's terrifying. He has altered his style slightly and remains in mid-range shout mostly (on previous releases, he enjoyed alternating between shouts, screams and bowel-churning growls) and his lyrics are slightly more understandable this time round. Ahhh the lyrics. Anyone who has ever read anything JR has ever written will know just how brilliant the guy is at crafting lyrical masterpieces. The lyrics to Rotten Yellow are no exception.
Stench of solvent covers stench of rot I didn't even recognize her like a painting a masterpiece torn to pieces and set to flame her own cells turned on her now her skin is yellow like the wildflowers in July she asks me how she looks and I tell her that she's as lovely as the vultures as pretty as the larvae of the fly
Poetic to say the least. Graphic and disturbing to state another. Instrument wise, Scott and Brian are at the top of their game. Brian is one of the most varied drummers in metal; his plethora of different beats that crossover genres in punk and metal is astounding. Plus, the guy can really drum. The speeds this guy can reach are phenomenal. Add to this the fact that he doesn't use any triggers at all. it's all the more impressive.
As I mentioned before, the focus on groove is more prominent on this album than previous works by the band. Hull pens memorable riffs - like, the kind of riffs that serrate their way into your brain and stay there for several days.
Loathsome,
Alexandria and
The Machete Twins are just a few examples of the kind of grooves Hull can create. Hell, sometimes they're so groovy, you could almost dance to it. But not quite.
Song lengths are much longer than ever before, with an average track coming in at 2-3 minutes. This is most definitely not a bad thing. It could have gon either way - songs became longer and ultimately more repetitive or boring. Or they became longer and incorporated more into them. The latter most definitely applies.
Cemetery Road comes in at a more traditional length of 50 seconds. These 50 seconds profusely rape the eardrums and cause cephalic trauma - all the more reason to listen to it then. The track is a perfect example of old-era PxDx mixing with the elements of their newer sound - flawless production highlights just how brutal Brian's blastbeats are, just how terrifying JR's vocal talents are and just how utterly brilliant Hull's 7-string guitar riffs are.
Of course, as with any album (even those that everyone on earth raves about), there are some downfalls. But these downfalls are almost so insignificant that making a fuss out of them would just mean you're more than a little petandic and should probably cease being so pinickety.
Phantom Limb takes time. It's a grower. Whereas Prowler In the Yard and Terrifyer hit you square in the face and left immediate scarring, Phantom Limb takes a while to sink it's teeth into you and let it's venom pour into your bloodstream. There's also no concept (at least I don't think there is) tying the album together. Whilst this isn't exactly a problem, one of things that made listening to Prowler In the Yard or Terrifyer more interesting was the concepts surrounding them. People may also feel the need to bash the album because they are grindcore-elitists and cry into their cornflakes at the supposed 'lack' of blastbeats on the album. Quite frankly, they shouldn't; there's enough speed on here to put even someone in a speeding McLaren F1 to shame. And surely the groove is enough.
In conclusion (and I'm going to use quite possibly sputnik's favourite oxymoron here), Phantom Limb is an instant classic. It retains all the elements that made Terrifyer enjoyable. I'd also go as far to say as it keeps some elements that made Prowler In The Yard so amazing. But what makes Phantom Limb so good is that the band haven't just remade one of their previous albums. This is original. It's punishing and brutal just like all their other releases. But in a slightly different way. Everything on here is gold.
Even Track Numero Quince. It's a quality country song, get over it. And it probably raised the paycheck of new member Blake Harrison (who I must say, did add some quality samples throughout the album).
Overall, my advice to any fan of extreme music is this; buy Phantom Limb, give it a chance, broaden your horizons slightly and realize just how fantastic this is.
Recommended Tracks
Rotten Yellow
Though Crime Spree
Heathen Temple
Alexandria
The Machete Twins
