I wish I could offer you an informed review of Phantom Limb, the very ambitious new LP by Pig Destroyer. But I am no purveyor of metal myself, so I can only give you my tentative impressions. I looked Pig Destroyer up after learning its name from the menu of Kuma's Corner, Avondale's local metal bar/gourmet hamburger joint. I found that the band was very highly regarded, and that the members had chosen the band's name as a slightly sly way of implying that they like to rough up cops. Intriguing. I noticed that they were slated to release a new album this June, and, accessing the cover artwork, I was stunned at how well the subtle, high-concept artwork had been executed. Plus it had titties. I went and picked up the new album at Permanent Records down on Chicago Avenue (fuck Reckless, who hadn't gotten any copies in yet). I listened to the album, which runs about a half an hour twice yesterday, and...I...like it...I guess? For someone not particularly well versed in this stuff, it kind of just sounds like some really well-disciplined musicians are mimicking a garbage disposal. The rhythms alone offer much to explore and enjoy, but I do find them somewhat difficult to process, since I have no fucking clue what the drummer is doing. The lyrics are fun--but I'm surprized how little doom and malice are to be mined from them. I thought I was paying for a whole CD full of songs about kicking cops' asses and killing grade school kids. You guys are supposed to be really good at this, can we step up the evil a little bit? I was dissappointed by certain points in the record where I felt the tenor of the songs did not live up to the strength I expected the album to project, such as parts where the lyrics amounted to whiny sentiments, and the one song that is basically just a break-up song thinly veiled in clearly insufficiently evil doom rhetoric. Finally, the decision to add a fourth musician to the ranks of this erstwhile trio, credited simply for "noise" is total bullshit, guys. In sum, I am enjoying the album with a critical eye on this band, of which I sense we could expect more.
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