Year Of Metal #063: Pig Destroyer - Book Burner

Here’s an interesting one to compare with that Portal album that I really couldn’t get on board with. Outside of that LP - which felt to me like a genuine assault on the senses, where the endurance test aspect was basically the point - this 2012 grindcore record is probably the most extreme thing I’ve listened to. The only band in that subgenre I have as a reference point is Napalm Death, and while I’m hardly well versed in their short, sharp shocks of songs, it doesn’t strike me as something that would be easy to talk about.

But while this record is downright brutal for the majority of its runtime, I actually enjoyed it a lot. At just shy of 32 minutes, it’s exactly as much of this kind of thing as I can take, but I think it’s a smartly put together record that throws you a bone exactly when you need one. I’m quite keen on records comprising a lot of mostly really short songs, like Wire’s Pink Flag or some Minutemen releases. While Pig Destroyer don’t (to my ears) boast the variety of the aforementioned acts, that lurching sensation of going at a breakneck pace between mad song snippets adds to the violent, unsteady sensation of Book Burner. 

They’re also not above throwing in a more conventional piece of music here and there in the form of some of the longer pieces. “The Diplomat” is by far the most streamed track on the album, and it’s not hard to understand why. The slower tempo and more straightforward riffs at the start give you plenty to hang onto, and the guitar tones are fun and bendy. J.R. Hayes’ vocals are fantastic throughout, a powerful, hardcore roar rather than a sickly death scream. At points on this song especially, it sounds not unlike Slipknot circa Iowa, one of my favourite metal albums, though there’s still plenty of room for moments of overwhelming discordance leagues more harsh than the masked nonet.

“The Bug”, at a sprawling 3:05, is even better still. The tune starts as blown out as it gets, blast beats, feedback, grinding guitars, Hayes’ barking, unintelligible lead line. But it slowly mellows out (relatively speaking), and the chaos is replaced by something you never thought you’d hear on this record - something approaching a groove. The chugging guitars and almost playful riff give a brief respite, something you could sort of dance to, before the fire and fury come back around. 

Between this are a bunch of shorter tunes, and in all honesty I can’t really imagine just listening to these for fun. The album’s certainly designed to be consumed as a piece; it buffets you around, occasionally gives you something a little more conventional, then returns to rough you up some more. But what it isn’t is genuinely unpleasant. It’s music to psych you up and get your blood pumping; it’s not daring you to pussy out and turn it off. 

Based only on the fact that this is a genuinely interesting and experimental record, I’d imagine they have more in their tank than they give up on Book Burner, so in the right mood on the right day, I’d dip back in for more, even if I imagine I’d still do so with a sense of trepidation.