Review Summary: There is no "slow, sincere beginning". "All Pigs Must Die" grind you immediately and spew out your mangled remains afterwards. In fact, the only sincere thing about them is the willingness to mutilate and kill you.
All Pigs Must Die is relatively young Hardcore punk band from Massachusetts, formed in 2009. Notable for having Ben Koller from
Converge on drum-set and Kevin Baker from
The Hope Conspiracy on vocal duties.
The overall sound of the band could be compared to a merciless roller-coaster ride.
All Pigs must die take you straight down to the depths of a pit to be uncompromisingly devoured by the unrelenting assault of their machine like drum beats, fast buzz-saw guitar riffs and vocals, that will scream the very soul out of you. There is no "slow, sincere beginning".
All Pigs Must Die grind you immediately and spew out your mangled remains afterwards. In fact, the only sincere thing about them is the willingness to mutilate and kill you.
The aforementioned effect could only be achieved by a band members willing to fully co-operate and effectively using their instruments and musical techniques that have already been polished by their predecessors - bands like
His Hero Is Gone and
Entombed. Stylistically, the sound
All Pigs Must Die administer is nothing new. Hardcore punk with touches of extreme metal has already been practiced by a vast amount of bands previously. Instead of reinventing the wheel or adding new flavors, the band focuses on keeping the product fresh. The fast and bludgeoning, yet somehow catchy guitar riffs are accompanied with a spectacular, meaty production, that maintains a heavy, dissonant feel. Regarding the drumming, Ben Koller applies tons of polyrhythms and unorthodox time signatures, similar of those of
Converge. Aside from that, the drumming is relentless and varied, ranging from mid-paced d-beats to breakneck blast-beat sections, that accent the furious shouting and screaming of Kevin Baker. While the vocals are very consistent and intense, they are also quite monotonous, with that being one of the minor faults. A good aspect of Kevin Bakers delivery is decipherability ( Jacob Bannon doesn't get it ). All lyrics can be grasped with an ease and concisely describe the downfalls of modern society with a dark and pictorial touch.
Unfortunately the bassist Matt Woods doesn't deserve a praise as high as the other members of the band. While his bass guitar parts aren't necessarily bad, they seem to be drowned in overall cacophony. When listening closely and attentively you can hear him in the discord, but his performance doesn't shine bright, with bass guitars main purpose being to provide the low-end.
Overall
All Pigs Must Die is a solid and strong EP. Nowhere near being ground-braking or musically diverse, but still very enjoyable and promising nonetheless. The production is spot on, if only a bit too clear for a raw metal/hardcore hybrid. Band members deliver a good to excellent performance and the length of the record is perfect, at least in my honest opinion. I would recommend this release for all fans of the aforementioned bands and all those who aren't shy to enjoy a fine sip of modern hardcore.
All Pigs Must Die is a promising band, so lets see if they can deliver equally good or even better in near future. Cheers!
