ALBUMS WE WISH HAD MADE THE LIST: PIG DESTROYER – TERRIFYER
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 5:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
Pig Destroyer, Terrifyer (Relapse, 2004)
J.R. Hayes – Vocals
Scott Hull – Guitars
Brian Harvey – Drums
Produced by Scott Hull
Of the three Pig Destroyer albums our panelists voted for, Terrifyer scored the lowest. But it’s still my favorite PD offering, so fuck it, I’m gonna go ahead and write about it.
Ahem.
HOW THE FUCKING FUCK DID PIG DESTROYER NOT WIND ON THIS LIST? Their place in the grind pantheon is, like almost anything, open for debate, but at least as far as I’m concerned, they perfected grind, they epitomize grind, THEY ARE GRINDCORE.
Pig Destroyer make ugly music. Fuck hooks, fuck choruses, fuck you and fuck your pussy-ass eardrums. The fact that three dudes manage to make a racket that is more brutal than what four, five, six or in some cases nine members of other bands can ever achieve always surprises me.
But it really shouldn’t. Scott Hull plays whirlwind riffs so fast it sounds like his arm might fall off, so raw they swirl in your head as though someone dropped an angry hornet’s nest in your brain. Brian Harvey either had cherry bombs going off in his drum kit when he recorded this shit, or else someone was holding a gun to his head yelling “PLAY FASTER, MOTHERFUCKER!” the entire time he was recording. The Hull-Harvey duo alone seem destined to make Reign in Blood look a record so slow it’s not even allowed on the short bus.
And then there’s J.R. Hayes. His screams are vicious, atonal, just barely human. But his lyrics… oh, his lyrics. They should be taught in literature classes across the world. Take this poetry – pure poetry – form “Scarlet Hourglass”:
she rolls out of bed with the blankets wrapped around her dragging like the
virgin’s wedding gown there’s a scarlet hourglass at the base of her spine
four arms offer caresses four arms brandish knives her tongue twirls in her
mouth spinning webs of lies
That is somehow scary and beautiful and violent and heartbreaking all at once.
Every song here makes me want to kill something. The spastic “Pretty in Casts,” the groovy opening riff of “Gravedancer,” the nearly 38 non-grinding minutes of “Natasha,” a “Where the fuck did that come from?” song if ever there was one. This record is more punk rock than any punk rock record I’ve heard this decade, and possibly last decade.
At the risk of sounding extremely pretentious: Terrifyer has the textures of a novel. I know grind just sounds like noise to some people, but you really need to listen to this album, and listen closely. It’s too dense, too complex for just letting it play in background while you do chores or play videogames or whatever. Terrifyer demands that you engage it with it. It cannot be ignored.
I could rave about this record for hours on end, but for now, I just wanna concentrate on “Towering Flesh,” which might still very well be my favorite PD song (When I saw them play it live at Scion earlier this year, I pretty much creamed my pants.). It goes from typically Hayesian psychopathic anger to a just barely-meditative interlude that explodes into the most epic fucking section that makes me wanna weep every time I hear it (It also features a sweet guitar solo, courtesy Matthew Mills). There are really no words to describe how this song makes me feel, so I’ll just leave you with some more of Mr. Hayes’ goddamn genius lyrics:
all her shrugged little movements
and their despotic majesty
in the midst of such perfection
I can’t help but feel diseased
I don’t know exactly what those words mean to Hayes, and honestly, I don’t care. They feel like a perfect expression of so many things I’ve gone through. All that matters is what they mean to me.
-AR
Prowler is better than this record, by far. However, ‘Terrifying Flesh’ is still the best thing these guys have written…
Yeah, i like ‘Prowler…” and “Phantom Limb” better than this. The kick drums is barely audible on here. The production ruined this record for me.
Agreed on the production. ‘Prowler’ may not have as raw of a sound, but it was clear and crisp.
Did I say ‘Terrifying Flesh’? I mean ‘Towering Flesh’. Duh!
“her lips are wet with venom
her posture’s serpentine
she’ll touch my arm and
flowers grow there
poisonous and obscene”
Oh, and the beginning riff of ‘Thumbsucker’ makes a great ringtone. Just sayin’.
I pretty much started headbanging uncontrolably just seeing the words “Pig Destroyer – Terrifyer.”
Awesome album.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. Prowler felt like a collection of songs. This is a cohesive barrage.
This album simultaneously got me through one of the most painfull break-ups of my life & made me wanna destroy her,everyone that I encountered & myself all at the same time.I totally agree that J.R.’s lyrics are pure poetry,Scott Hull is a fuckin’ guitar destroying beast & Brian Harvey ain’t too shabby of a drummer either
boobs FTW
And Pig Destroyer is the shit. I prefer Phantom Limb but pretty much every record that these guys have put out is a a classic. Oh, and when R.R. Hayes’ mic broke live he was still able to scream at the top of his lungs.
…and was even louder than when the mic was on.
This band rules. Pig Destroyer > all bands on the list. No arguments needed.
Awesome album cover art, is it me or do those tits look deformed? LOL
i’d hit it
double team?
shotgun anus
I dig it. Grave Dancer gets me going and the solo on Towering Flesh is phenominal.
prowler in the yard changed grind.
It’s been a long time since I actually listened to this album, and at the time my tastes were kinda different, so I don’t believe I particularly liked it. I should give it a try now and see if that’s changed.
Phantom Limb is okay ‘n’ all, but this is definitely Pig Destroyer’s best album. It’s musically brilliant, and I like the production – it’s thin like a straightened-out paper clip going into your eye and jabbing your brain. Love this record.
I friggin love PD.
I remember seeing them in Worcester, and during the breakdown at the end of ‘Trojan Whore’ the whole place just exploded. I ended up getting smacked in the mouth, and broke two of my teeth.
I still wear my busted teeth with pride.
“Terrifyer has the textures of a novel.”
YES!!! I felt similarly about “Phantom Limb”, which served as my introduction to the band. I immediately ran out and grabbed as many of their other releases as possible. This is my 2nd favorite release of theirs.
Oh yeah this album is perfection.
The song “Terrifyer” is the most epic 2 minute song I ever heard.
One of the most overrated bands in metal right now. And if this is what the writer thinks is the epitome of grind, you gotta lotta listening to do: Insect Warfare, Machetazo, Captain Cleanoff, Gadget, Nasum and a dozen others can grind the fucking face off this pile of shit. Terrifyer is just bullshit modern extreme metal for hipster swingbags that probably don’t listen to much other metal. Another triumph of style over substance.
NASUM IS GRINDCORE
grindcore = serious business, folks
the guys from insect warfare would probably call you a moron for namedropping them like that on the internet.
with songtitles like “at war with grindcore” and “death to false grind”, they are god damn serious.
That’s not namedropping because Insect Warfare IS grind, unlike Pig Destroyer.
style over substance? whats stylish about pig destroyer? PD for hipsters that dont listen to much metal? youve got to be fucking joking…
nasum kicks ass
insect warfare destroys
but i enjoy PD more than both these bands
jesus christ i bet only hipsters are gonna get that Pig Destroyer / Rotten Sound split when it drops
I was pretty surprised this didn’t make the list. Great album. Great cover art.
One would think someone would have mentioned “The Odyssey” or “Paradise Lost” by Symphony X. Two spectacular albums released in this decade.
Agreed. Personally, I prefer Paradise Lost, because the production quality is just SO much better than on The Odyssey. I’m very surprised at the lack of love given to Symphony X.
“Terrifyer” is a fucking TERRIBLE album! “Prowler in the Yard” is the best thing Pig Destroyer has ever done and even that wasn’t worthy of a Top 21 list.
wrong. you dont know anything.
Pantera RTS , Byzantine, Skeletonwitch better get some love coming up
If anyone is interested, the survey results of the best metal albums of all time on metal-archives: http://metal-archives.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=53732 interested, and damn good albums listed, I might check some I haven’t heard out.
I really can’t find any fault with that list. There are a couple of albums I would have liked listed, but that’s a damned good list.
i always knew i wasn’t the only one who thinks that ride the lightning is superior to master of puppets. great list.
That Tim guy appears to have an anus for a mouth.
YESSS. I love PD
This album, Prowler In The Yard & Phantom Limb are the shit
I’m not a huge fan of grind, but I must say, this record fucks your earballs.
Its a fucking crime that pig destroyer wasn’t on the actual list. Good call with this though. Though, I can’t narrow it to one favorite pig destroyer album.
OH MY LAWD such a good album. thankyou for reminding me about Pig Destroyer i havent listened to them in so long.
Pig Destroyer? Really? Lol.
pig destroyer is way better than napalm death in my opinion
Terrifyer is good but Prowler is better.
I do love this album, its in a tie with phantom limb for me though
I think I prefer “Phantom Limb” and “Prowler in the Yard” over this one too, but…whatever. This record kicks much ass. Wish these fuckers would tour, goddammit!
their best album indeed. i only had a passing fascination with their music until there was a day where everything just seemed to be going real shitty, turned on my mp3 player with the tracks on random, and pig destroyer was on. played the entire album after that and thus avoided being a dick to others on that day.
awesome cover art too. love the terrifyer shirt.
Fucking amazing album and band, I prefer Phantom Limb but this is still one of my favourite ever records
this review is what makes this site one of the best metal sites out there…an epic fucking review. if i hadnt heard this album before, this review would make me listen to it immediately. great writing fuckers.