This is the third album from US death metallers Pig’s Blood.
2019’s A Flock Slaughtered was an enjoyable record, but it’s been an age since then. Now, with the 33-minute Destroying the Spirit, are Pig’s Blood able to still cut it in today’s death metal killing fields?
In short, yes they can. They wade into the carnage, axe held high, ramped up on combat drugs, and ready to kill. Pig’s Blood are murderously brutal.
Pig’s Blood exist in a bloodsoaked space inhabited by only a few hardened survivors – a liminal space where war metal and old-school death metal collide and put each other to the sword. It’s an effective battle tactic. War metal’s blackened hostility is put to good use with fierce assaults of blasting intensity, while OSDM’s muscular songcraft finishes off their opponents with blunt efficiency and crushing finality.
If you cross bands like Archgoat, Revenge, and Pissgrave with bands like Bolt Thrower and Immolation, you’ll have a decent rough starting point for Pig’s Blood.
Destroying the Spirit is an assault of lethal blackened brutality. It’s harsh and unforgiving, steeped in threatening horror, and laced with venomous spite. The ferocity is a thing to behold. Pig’s Blood are skilled enough in the arts of war to know that terror and fear are effective weapons, yet also know that subtlety and nuance have their places. You won’t find much of the latter here in any obvious form, but they manifest in the melodic and atmospheric components that are woven into the songs. These aren’t huge aspects of Destroying the Spirit, but they are there. Pig’s Blood are more than simple barbarians; these berserkers think, plan, and execute strategy too.
When it comes to bands that are tagged war metal or similar, Pig’s Blood are better than most. Destroying the Spirit is a brutally enjoyable record.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 