Album Review: Pig Destroyer - 'Phantom Limb'

The great thing about a group

like Pig Destroyer is you’re very rarely disappointed. When a band

makes a name for itself playing foot to the floor grindcore with elements

of thrash and hardcore it’s safe to assume they’re not going to

release an album full of acoustic balladry. 

“Phantom Limb” is another

chapter in Pig Destroyer’s already impressive history and is a worthy

follow up to their last full length “Terrifyer”.  The 30 plus

minute DVD track (titled “Natasha”) which accompanied “Terrifyer”

ensured the record is now viewed as a classic, however the 14 tracks

which make up “Phantom Limb” are more than capable of cementing

Pig Destroyer’s reputation as leader’s of their chosen genre 

After the ominous intro of “Rotten

Yellow” you’re hit in the face with a furious blast beat and one

of Pig Destroyer’s signature riffs. “Jupiter’s Eye” starts with

a great drum fill and stop/start riff before the song ventures into

thrash territory. Even with a slower tempo the riffing is still as furious

as ever. 

The almost doom introduction of

“Deathtripper” is one of the most menacing things committed to record

this year and the guitar work in the breakdown is pure fucking evil.

“Cemetery Road” and “Lesser Animal” are both fairly standard

Pig Destroyer fare – that is both songs are at the higher end of the

BPM spectrum. 

At the end of the day, this review

isn’t going to sway anyone’s opinion of Pig Destroyer. You either

like music this fast and abrasive or you don’t. If the heaviest band

in your CD player is Good Charlotte then this isn’t for you but if

you’re looking for something short, fast and loud then you should

give “Phantom Limb” a listen. 

Oh yeah, “Girl In The Slayer

Jacket” is the best song title of 2007.

1. Rotten Yellow
2. Jupiter’s Eye
3. Deathtripper
4. Thought Crime Spree
5. Cemetery Road
6. Lesser Animal
7. Phantom Limb
8. Loathsome
9. Heathen Temple