PIG DESTROYER
BACK ON THE PROWL
By: John Gnesin
On the strength of the critically acclaimed 2004 release, Terrifyer, the elusive trio known as PIG DESTROYER have emerged as one of the most high-profile grindcore bands in the world. In the two years since, the band has toured more extensively than ever before, including their first European tour as well as a run of US dates with controversial industrial innovators WHITEHOUSE. Over the winter of 06/07, the band announced that they would be recording a new full-length album, titled Phantom Limb, and that they would be expanding their tight-knit trio to a four-piece, adding Blake Harrison (TRIAC) to the group to handle electronics, noise and synths. We caught up with vocalist JR Hayes and guitarist/producer Scott Hull to chat about the group’s progression towards their new album.
The first question that would occur to anyone to ask is why the band chose to add a synth/noise artist rather than say something more obvious, like a bassist? Apparently the idea came from the group’s tour with WHITEHOUSE and WOLF EYES, when the band attempted to recruit famed noisemaker Emil Bealieau so that they could play nice/noise with their tour mates. “We thought it would be a cool merging of noise and grind.” Hull explains, “Emil pulled out at the last minute but volunteered SECRET DIARY (Donna Parker and Jessica Rylan), who were totally cool. We had a lot of fun with those gigs because there was so much chaos and noise and the vibe was loose. We wanted to actually add someone that could do that full time.”
Many in the Baltimore area know Blake Harrison as the vocalist for the grindcore band TRIAC, but he had a relationship with the band before ever being asked to join. “Blake’s been our merch guy for a while,” Scott points out, “and has been helping us tremendously with many things for many years, so it seemed like an easy thing just to include him in the band.”
With most of the album written by the time he joined up, Harrison’s contribution to Phantom Limb has been more geared to adding layers on top of the band’s sound rather than being a full writing partner. Oddly enough, Harrison also plays bass on two as-yet-unannounced cover songs that will appear on the Japanese release. Hull is steadfast in assuring us that there is no bass on the album proper though:
“Contrary to what people will think when they hear Phantom Limb, there is NO bass on it.” Hull asserts. “Since I used conventional guitar heads on the record, I did pitch-shift one of my scratch guitar tracks to add a bit of low end that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Another aspect of the release that might have some fans thrown for a loss is the presence of only fourteen tracks from a band that usually delivers a good twenty at least. Scott is quick to point out that there is no sacrifice in terms of the speed of the band’s grind, but that different circumstances in the writing and recording of the album led to a shorter track-list. “14 tracks just happens to be the number we hit when we arrived at 30 minutes,” Hull explains, “In general, all the songs seem faster. The difference is that. instead of writing the tracks together as a band in practice; I programmed drums and wrote everything in my studio, then brought all the tracks to the band to learn. It was a fast process this time around. I guess, as a result, the songs tend to be a little longer, a little more involved, though Phantom Limb doesn’t really sound like a big departure for us. I mean, the musicianship is better, as is the production, but if anything we’ve sped up.”
The title of the album itself is a little different for PIG DESTROYER as well. While Phantom Limb (basically a phrase used to describe the emotional void left behind by the missing limbs of amputees) is every bit as creepy as previous titles, it doesn’t seem to imply the direct violence of titles like Terrifyer, Prowler in the Yard, or 38 Counts of Battery. “Phantom Limb is a title we had kicking around before Terrifyer,” Hull reveals. “I always felt it resonated with some of the emotionally disconnected lyrics JR writes, so it seemed appropriate. Also, with the Iraq war and this new phenomenon of so many soldiers becoming amputees as a result of IEDs, it just seemed like a more interesting concept
than before.”
Speaking of the devil… Well not really the devil, but JR Hayes who - being an extremely calm and nice dude in person - becomes a man possessed when writing some of the most demonic and demented poetry n’ prose ever to (dis)grace a lyric sheet. Unlike other lyricists, Hayes is never content with cheese ball blood and guts imagery. and he has been recognized throughout the extreme metal, hardcore and grindcore scenes as one of the sharpest and most disturbing songwriters around today. He seems humbled as I point out his distinctions as opposed to the shortcomings of others.
“Aww...thanks man. That’s very nice of you to say. First of all, there are lame, half-assed lyrics in every genre of music, not just metal and grindcore; and at the same time, there are great lyricists in every genre as well. I draw just as much inspiration from ICE CUBE as I do from HANK WILLIAMS, you know? I try not to have goals or expectations when I write. I just try to let it come out naturally and not force it. If you can creep into your own head enough to isolate a particular emotion or point in time, then the words will write themselves. It’s almost trance-like in a way.”
So far we have phantom limbs, lyrics and bass players and knowing the band’s reputation for delivering a whole package full of horrifying goodies for their fans; the next logical topic is the artwork for the new album. Having worked with acclaimed tattoo artist Paul Booth in the past, and well-known hardcore scene sketcher Chris Taylor (of PG. 99 fame) on their last album, I was wondering what and whom the band might have in store for us this time art-wise.
“For this record I was looking for something more intricate and dense, if only just to differentiate it from the last record.” JR explains. “I’ve known John Baizley (BARONESS, TORCHE) for a couple years now, and have always been a fan of his work. He’s got a great psychedelic vibe going on but it’s not all ‘70’s and retro. There’s gonna be some naked girls, a couple skulls, and some maggots...and that’s just for starters.”
Well let’s see now, think we’re just about done here:
New band member – check
New album title – check
New album artwork – check
Naked girls, skulls and maggots – check, check and check
Brutal death metal cows in Germany – ah, I knew I missed something!!!
“We were driving back to Belgium, packed into a van with ROTTEN SOUND. All of us were stupid drunk, and we’d already made the driver stop like 20 times to let us all piss. Anyway, we conned her into stopping again somewhere in Germany (I think...), and we pulled into some gas station off the highway that backed up to this farm. Brian (Harvey, drums) and I come out of the place with yet more beer, and we see the ROTTEN SOUND guys down by the fence doing these hilarious death metal growls at the cows, and this one cow is screaming right back at them and it’s the most brutal noise you’ve ever heard. So they’re grunting back and forth with this dumbass cow for what seemed like a half an hour in my drunken head. I was laughing so hard I thought my eyeballs were gonna fall out. Now every time I listen to ROTTEN SOUND I just picture this brutal death metal cow.”
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