UMUR "Phantom Limb" is the 4th full-length studio album by US grindcore act Pig Destroyer. The album was released in June 2007 by Relapse Records. Since "Terrifyer (2004)" the band have added Blake Harrison (Samples/Ambience) to the ranks, but still no bass player, which means that Pig Destroyer basically create their music with only guitar, drums, vocals and now Samples/Ambience. Blake Harrison is rather subdued though and besides the occassional sample, I don´t really think he adds much to the sound. At least not something I notice.

The music on the album is raw and aggressive grindcore but with the occassional thrashy/ hardcore infused riff. The band have been accused of adding "core" elements to their sound on "Phantom Limb", but I don´t think that´s true. At least not in a sense that the music is metalcore in any way. Like on the last release the vocals are distorted, hystarical, screaming, yelling and aggressive. The production is also distorted but very professional and powerful. It´s not easy to make an album sound this full without a bass. The band successfully vary the pace on the album to not make the album one long grindfest. Personally I appreciate the variation, which isn´t exactly the focus of most grindcore acts.

While "Phantom Limb" isn´t exactly as surprising or innovative as "Terrifyer", I still think Pig Destroyer have produced a very good album. The songwriting is inspired and adventurous ( within the confines of the genre), the production is excellent and the musicianship is solid too. Pig Destroyer are one of those few grindcore acts that actually have an instantly identifiable sound and that´s quite the achivement in a genre with very limited possibilities of expression. Hardcore grindfreaks might even find this one too adventurous. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved.

UMUR "Terrifyer" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US grindcore act Pig Destroyer. The album was released in October 2004 by Relapse Records. "Terrifyer" features an audio disc with 21 tracks and a DVD disc with the 37:55 minutes long track "Natasha" mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.

The music style on the 21 tracks on the audio disc is grindcore of the most filthy and aggressive kind. Seldom have I heard a more out and out mean and violent vocal delivery. Screaming, distorted and demented. The band is a three-piece but still manage to create enough sound to blow everything to pieces. There´s no bass player on the album so it´s only guitar, drums and vocals. There´s something relentlessly aggressive, sick and vile about "Terrifyer". Both the music, the vocals, the imagery, the lyrics and the production ( with little low because of the lack on bass, it´s very hard sounding and distored) makes this album quite an unpleasant experience. All tracks on the audio part of the album are short grindcore tracks ( the longest being "Gravedancer", with its 3 minutes playing time) but the tracks feature other things than blasting. Pig Destroyer understand the importance of variation and while it´s still hard to tell most of the songs apart even after many listens there are actually some good variation on the album ( well relatively, we are after all talking about a grindcore release), both when talking pace in the songs, but also when talking musical ideas.

The DVD part of "Terrifyer" features one 37:55 minutes long track called "Natasha" mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound. If you feel exhausted after listening to the 21 track, 32:17 minutes of caustic and noisy grindcore on the audio disc, "Natasha" is more or less the counterpart to that experience. It´s a long slow sludgy track with long atmospheric and ambient sections. Personally I would have prefered to have the track in a "regular" audio format, but it´s obvious the band wanted their fans to experience "Natasha" this way. It´s an interesting track, but some of the ambience is drawn out a bit too long for my taste.

"Terrifyer" is something as rare as an aestethic grindcore release. I know that may sound all artsy and whimsical, but I can assure you that while Pig Destroyer have put an effort in creating a release where everything from the lyrics, to the imagery to the format have been given a lot of thought, the actual music is still filthy, noisy and aggressive to the max. There are days when the distorted screaming vocals and the in your face distorted production are a bit too much for my ears, but the days when "Terrifyer" really click with me, there´s not doubt it´s one of the most unique grindcore releases out there and I´m completely engulfed by the depravity and the demented nature of the album. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.

topofsm There are many albums out there that follow the "one giant song" formula. Oftentimes they are met with overwhelming praise (Dark Side of the Moon, Colors), while other times for whatever reason they are maligned compared to the rest of the respective band's catalogue (Catch 33, The Incident). In the case of the latter maybe things get too redundant, and there is no breathing room for the listener in between songs.

There is no room to breathe on Prowler in the Yard. That is why it succeeds so well. 36 minutes of grindcore broken up by little more than changes in riffs creates an unrelenting sonic atmosphere. At the most there will only be a few seconds between songs, and some ambient noise will only contribute to the uneasy feeling the album brings on.

That being said, the album isn't entirely grindcore. There are plenty of groove-based riffs mixed in, and there's also quite a lot of death influence. The tracks toward the end of the album border on conventional metal, but don't quite qualify. The album is also bookended within two Microsoft SAM monologues, setting and wrapping up the evil tone of Prowler in the Yard.

As for standout tracks, as with many albums of this type, it's hard to tell. Each track contributes to the whole like a movement within a suite. Tracks 19-21 can stand on their own though, but they fit well within the album too, so they don't necessarily stand out.

All things considered Prowler is a fantastic album. Grind fans should love it, and for groove fans trying to get into extreme music this would probably be the best album to start.

The Pessimist What can possibly be said aout this album that hasn't been said already by fans of the band? This is THE Pig Destroyer album; their magnus opus; their 7th Symphony; their masterpiece, and I conclusively consider this the greatest experimental grindcore album of the 21st century. As well as the pure creativity, energy, fantastic concept, outstanding musicianship and superb production (yes, this band doesn't have a bass player, and to make just drums, vocals and a single guitarist sound MORE powerful than most groups is a difficult task), this album has one thing a lot of albums struggle to achieve nowadays: grittiness. Yes, you have brutality and aggression (in essence, those things define grindcore), but to have an audience take your music seriously is a whole different skill altogether, and Prowler in the Yard nails it.

As far as the actual music goes, PITY is iconic for a number of reasons. The tracks flow seemlessly into each other so it sounds like one long 30 minute suite, and never give the listener a rest, which is very important for a genre that isn't supposed to lay off on the aggression. Secondly, the musical creativity gone into it is incredible, considering the scarce resources of the band. The three songs Strangled with a Halo, Intimate Slavery and Mapplethorpe Grey are some of the most interesting pieces of grindcore I've ever heard, with varying groovy riffs, syncopation from hell and really well thought out and complex composition. This also applies for the last five tracks - and the rest of the album for that matter - but those three especially. Finally, the album is iconic because of what it represents. This album was conceived when grind was getting kind of old, and the audience was mostly underground. Bands like Napalm Death and Brutal Truth had their time, and needed to pass the baton on to something fresh, but nothing was around to take it... Then Pig Destroyer and Cephalic Carnage emerged from the woodwork, and claimed the Grind throne with PITY and Exploiting Dysfunction. This album pretty much revived grindcore, and brought it back to the ears of metal listeners, which is why it is so special.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not the traditional grind that the fathers of the genre gave birth to. No, this is modern, this is grindcore's seventh son, with the old school aggression blended in with modernist creativity. And the results are beautiful. My personal favourite grindcore album of all time. 5 stars, easily.