Pig Destroyer – The Octagonal Stairway
Relapse Records
After 2018’s Head Cage, grindcore phenoms Pig Destroyer return with a 25 minute EP featuring a mix of ram-down-your-throat aggression and something sinister. With all that 2020 has given Earth so far, anything from Pig Destroyer feels almost necessary in these trying times to get through the day.
With Head Cage still getting regular spins around the office, the first half of the album feels right at home. With brutal attack and gut-wrenching screams, the title track is fierce and oppressive in nature. The final percussive breakdown among the dissonant guitars produces some of the most intense moments on the album – and it’s just getting started.
The Cavalry arrives fast and hard. With the rasping wails of J.R. Hayes, the song smacks the listener across the face with its ripping-fast guitar from Scott Hull and a deep, dirty bass from newcomer Travis Stone. Lyrics are as poetic as ever, with The Cavalry encompassing the the despair the band is trying to get across with their music. “Mark my words,” Hayes screams as Blake Harrison’s hypnotic electronics fade in, ultimately wrapping the song in sonic darkness.
With Cameraman, drummer Adam Jarvis and Harrison work together to create a disoriented sound from both the electronic ambiance in the background with unforgiving percussion in the foreground. While naturally brutal, the album flips to a more sinister tone as album interlude News Channel 6 feeds into the song Head Cage – a spoken-word track borderlining on just ambient noise. Jarvis’ drums, slow paced for a change, add dramatic flair to the tune as it bleeds into the eleven minute track, Sound Walker.
Guest musician, and ex-Sepultura drummer Iggor Cavalera, adds “field, ambient, noise and drum machine” to the final track which is an intense and slow build of noise and sounds which begins to wave in and out by the songs halfway point. The experimental track is a fitting ending to the EP which arguably is the right kind of medium to add a song like Sound Walker to.
With the ever growing and changing sound of Pig Destroyer, The Octagonal Stairway shows there’s another sonic side to the band which may woo over some different ears while still satisfying the core fans.
Uncanny Metal Score: 7/10