UMUR "Stress Related" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Nevada based grindcore/death metal act Righteous Pigs. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1990. It´s the successor to "Live and Learn" from 1989 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Scott Leonard has been replaced by Alan Strong. Righteous Pigs formed in 1986 in Las Vegas and featured future Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris in the lineup. Righteous Pigs folded soon after the release of "Stress Related" and Harris joined Napalm Death in time for the recording of "Harmony Corruption (1990)".

While "Live and Learn (1989)" was a very raw and unpolished grindcore release, Righteous Pigs have opted to include more heavy mid-paced death metal influences on "Stress Related", which is therefore more in the deathgrind fold than the more hardcore punk influenced grindcore predecessor. At least that´s the impression after listening to the opening track "Eulogy", which features death growling vocals and a riff and rhythm style which wouldn´t have been out of place on "Harmony Corruption (1990)". On the following track "Boundries Unknown" and on the remaining tracks on the album, lead vocalist Joe Caper sings using a more hardcore influenced screaming/shouting type delivery, closer to the vocal style on the debut album (maybe a little more extreme at times). The instrumental part of the music features both mid-paced death metal parts and grindcore blast beat sections, so while it´s sligthly odd that the vocal style changes from the opening track to the rest of the material, the music style is pretty consistent throughout.

"Stress Related" features a raw, powerful and overall well sounding production, which suits the music well. So upon conclusion it´s a quality grindcore/death metal release and it´s also obvious that Righteous Pigs have developed as musicians and composers since "Live and Learn (1989)", which was incredibly raw and unpolished (although still greatly charming). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Live and Learn" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Nevada based grindcore act Righteous Pigs. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1989. Righteous Pigs formed in 1986 in Las Vegas and featured future Napalm Death guitarist Mitch Harris in the lineup.

Stylistically the material on "Live and Learn" is raw, noisy, aggressive, and filthy grindcore. Sometimes a little chaotic in nature, but the band are well playing, delivering their parts with great precision and they also understand the importance of variation, so while they often blast away at a furiously fast-paced tempo, they play heavier mid-paced parts too, and the combination works wonders as the music never become monotonous. There´s always something new happening within the tracks. One other thing the band do well are the delivery of the vocals and the occasional hook phrase/lyric line, which makes you remember the tracks. For example the lyrics for "I Hope You Die in a Hotel Fire", which resembles the kind of sick and depraved lyrics artists like Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Pig Destroyer would produce 10-15 years down the line. Lead vocalist Joe Caper has a raw, powerful, shouting delivery. His performance here is savage and authentic. The whole band actually sounds like they are standing in a rehearsal room next to you, that´s how unpolished and raw "Live and Learn" is.

So this is an album for those who enjoy the most harsh and noisy grindcore (without entering noisecore territory). It´s old school grindcore, which is basically a fast-paced and furiously aggressive take on hardcore punk. Many artists have played the style over the years with varying degrees of success, but Righteous Pigs manage to put enough of their own spin on the style to stand out. The fact that they are skilled musicians doesn´t exactly hurt their case either. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Vim Fuego What do you do if you're a fan of extreme music, but you live in Las Vegas, the world capital of easy listening lounge music? You make your own, like Righteous Pigs did. ‘Live and Learn’ is a harsh, horrible sounding album, full of inept drumming, tuneless out-of-time shouting, and chaotic guitar and bass which only occasionally manages to string together a riff. The production is awful, the mix unbalanced, and the lyrics misogynistic and deliberately offensive. The band sounds like it is falling apart at times. Hell, there’s even two songs listed which don’t actually appear on the album. So why the hell is it so damned addictive? The attraction is the unrestrained violence of it all — brutal, unpolished, in your face, and downright confrontational. Vocalist Joe Caper can't sing. He knows it. He sounds like he'd kick your face in if you told him. Scott Leonard's drumming sounds like he was in the band just because he was the only drummer the rest of the band knew. Throw tin cans and ball bearings in a food processor and change the speed from time to time and you'll get something like the effect he produces. The band does hit the right note from time to time. ‘Misconduct’ sounds like MOD playing Grindcore, all four members of the band managing to stay together for two minutes. Other tracks like ‘Hidden Zit’, ‘Celibate Tease’ and the delightfully titled ‘I Hope You Die In A Hotel Fire’ could all be vintage Extreme Noise Terror. On the liner notes, the band complains they had to re–record the album after mixing had been fucked up initially. It would have been difficult for the end result to have been much worse, or much better. Much of the charm of this album is its spontaneous, immature, amateur feel. The blast beats are insane. The lyrics are vicious. Two tracks listed on the cover are missing from the album. The whole beautiful mess finishes so quickly you feel compelled to play it a second time. Oh yeah. Guitarist Mitch Harris went on to join Napalm Death.