Tag Archives: Ewan Mackenzie

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS: Death Hilarious.

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Here we go. Record number 5 from the North East’s loudest band- Pigsx7. What can they do on record number 5 that they haven’t already? Like, what is left to be done now?! Haven’t they burst our eardrums enough?! No. They haven’t. There’s more to do, more damage to our ears to be done.

Death Hilarious is a masterpiece, that you can be sure of. Again, Pigsx7 are a band who do not make bad records. Everything they release is so exciting and different- but always beautifully loud to the point where you may need medical attention (not the best kind of attention you can get, but still.) If you’re wanting a record to drown out the noise and to make you feel like every bone in your body is being crushed- this is the record you need. It’s the band at their peak. They’ve done it. They’ve made something that defines their sound in a new way, and I love how with every record they are unafraid to push the person who listens to it. It may be us old fans or it may be new ones; either way they push you and it’s wonderful.

If you’ve been lucky enough to see Pigsx7 live, then you’ll know that it’s an experience that goes beyond anything else you’ve seen or felt. For me, bands like this are the ultimate comfort band. Their sound feels like a secure grip around me, and I can’t get free from it- I guess it feels like home and it’s calming. Others may hear something utterly dripped in chaos and pure noise, but for me, that’s my version of calm. I never claimed to be “normal” because none of us are.

The record consists of 9 songs and is around the 45-minute mark- that’s enough time to let a record utterly consume you. Every song deserves its spot here, and the way it ends on the 8-minute wonder that is Toecurler is magnificent. It’s a grand record, and the ending does not mean the band are going quietly at all. If anything, they get louder. Matt’s screaming on this song is next level, you can really feel how healing it is. It’s like getting every ugly and painful feeling out. It’s the kind of song you’d want playing in a sketchy Slasher film where the killer loses it towards the end.

This is their most experimental record to date, and they won’t lose fans over it at all. If anything, they’ll gain more. Welcome to the cult of Pigsx7! I’ve played the record a lot this morning, and with every listen I’m getting a new appreciation for the band. You can hear the growth on the record. I remember first listening to them and I had NO idea what was going on- all I knew was that I was instantly hooked, and I found a band that were going to change how I listen to music and how I take music in. Turns out, that feeling has stood very firm with every record they released since. Death Hilarious is no exception. If anything, it heightened it.

I started writing this a week ago, with the intent of putting it up by the day had ended. But I felt with every listen of the record, I found something else to cling onto and relate to. So, for once, I let the record stay with me. For a week solid, this has been the only record I’ve listened to. I’ve played it at the gym on a loop, played it to and from work, listened to it at work- that’s a lot of hours. Have my feelings changed? Not in the slightest. I still think this is the best record Pigsx7 have done, and it explores the brutalness of anxiety and everything that comes with it, in a way I’ve not felt before from a record. The way Matt screams some of these lyrics will rip right through you. I know for a fact I cried when I played it the first time. Some lyrics just get you in the gut, and with more listens I feel less alone with whatever goes on in my head. Someone else gets it, and they are expressing it in a way that is a billion times better than I ever could. That’s the power of music- it makes you feel less alone, and less of a burden too.

If you’ve seen Pigsx7 live, you will know how big their sound is in that environment so when you listen to them on record- it can feel different. They’ve managed to capture that huge live sound and put it beautifully on record. They’ve done it. This is THE record they had to make and tonight I get to witness it live. It’s going to leave me hard of hearing tomorrow- it did last time, and I cannot wait.

Death Hilarious is a record I’ll keep going back to for different reasons. This week it’s helped me focus at work and the gym. Maybe next week it’ll feel like a hug, and the week after it’ll be my comfort record. All I know is that it will be one I keep going back to constantly. I don’t think it’s a record you play and just forget about. You don’t do that with a Pigsx7 record, it’s impossible.

Every song on the record does feel like a smack in the kisser and a punch to the ribs, and you just cannot get enough of it. Stitches has a Glam Rock feel to it, and you’ve got the ripper of a song, Toecurler that just sums up the whole record as the closer. In 45 minutes, Pigsx7 give the listener all they want and deserve.

The record feels like an exorcism of sorts and that powerful release is felt on every single song, and I think that’s why you cannot help but feel hooked right from the start. But that’s Pigsx7 all over.

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS: Detroit.

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The best Geordie lads are back! Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (I have to count every time!) are thankfully back with a beautifully heavy number, Detroit.

Detroit, in their words is about, “a ghastly, needy and controlling man.” And the world knows we have plenty of them- especially at the moment! This is Pigsx7 at their loudest, at their utter best. If a new record is coming (let’s be honest, it must be because a tour’s been announced too) and this is the sound they’re going with, then I think we’ve found the record of 2025 already.

To quote the band, “Detroit’ is massive slab of striking noise rock about a hideous man with even worse behaviours. Better we let Matt take it from here: “Detroit reflects on the worst manifestations of male jealousy and resentment, and the ways in which the deliberate avoidance of accountability can lead to deflecting responsibility in exchange for blaming external forces like fate or God for perceived injustice”.  And if I couldn’t love this band anymore, all the money the streaming of Detroit generates will be donated to domestic abuse charities prior to the tour. THAT is how you do it.

The new song is heavy and rowdy. You can feel the aggression and the story-telling really makes it, you feel the rage too. You almost feel as pathetic as those types of people who behave this way, and that’s what makes Pigsx7 such a bloody incredible band- they put you in the position of others, even when that position is really unsettling in every way possible. For me, Pigsx7 are a comfort band. I love nothing more than just being on my own, wandering round or at work with their music blasting worryingly loud in my ears. I find the whole sound just makes me feel really safe. I cannot explain why, it just does. I’ve only seen them live once, and I remember being stood at the back but I could see EVERYTHING and even though the room was packed- I felt like it was just me in the room. Easily one of the loudest and best bands around, and the gig was definitely up there as being one of my favourites.

A new tour for 2025 has been announced, and the dates are:

UK – APRIL 2025:
03 – Brighton, UK – CHALK
04 – London, UK – KOKO
05 – Bristol, UK – SWX
07 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
08 – Birmingham, UK – The Castle & Falcon
09 – Birkenhead, UK – Future Yard
11 – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall
12 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
15 – Edinburgh, UK – La Belle Angèle
16 – Glasgow, UK – St Luke’s

EUROPE – MAY 2025:
17 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
22 – Cologne, DE – Gebäude 9
23 – Düdingen, CH – Bad Bonn
24 – Munich, DE – Strom
26 – Leipzig, DE – UT Connewitz
27 – Berlin, DE – Säälchen
28 – Hamburg, DE – Knust

So, if record number 5 really is on the way then I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be nothing short of divine!

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS: O2 Ritz, Manchester 30th September 2023.

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Every time I write about Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, I always feel like I find something new to love about them. On record, they are one of the most thrilling bands around yet, after being obsessed with them for so long, tonight was my first time seeing them live. Whenever I had a ticket, something or someone would get in the way. Whether it be a clash of plans I couldn’t get out of or having a panic attack and having to miss out again- you name it, it’s stopped me from going. Reluctantly. Tonight, I finally got to see them. I’ve never felt so content at a gig. It was so loud, so beautiful and just out of this world.

Before I get into the show, I want to state that Matthew Baty is THE most powerful front man of any band around right now. The way he struts round the stage in his vest and shorts (I sound like I’m talking about a PE lesson from school when you’ve forgotten your kit!) like one of The Bushwhackers (if you’re a WWE fan you’ll get it.) A phenomenal band through and through.

I’ve been to enough loud gigs to last me a lifetime but trust me- this is up there with being one of the loudest. The love for this band is felt throughout the venue. I’m stood right at the back with a perfect view of everything, and the atmosphere is something else. Every single song is cheered with unifying admiration. This band have been together for around 11/12 years, and to see them play a venue like the Ritz is incredible. Matthew mentioned that the first time they ever played Manchester was in some warehouse, and now they are playing venues like this. They are a band that deserve to be heard, and like Matthew said- maybe now the music industry will take them seriously. Let’s be honest here, what the music industry thinks about Pigsx7 means nothing- all you need to do is go to their shows and you’ll see exactly why they are the best around.

The show is sheer justification of why they are the most entertaining and hypnotising bands around. They don’t do encores which personally, I am in favour of. Either stay on the stage and a play a few more or just leave!

The setlist rips from start to finish. You want loud? You’ve got it and so much more! They end their set with A66, and it felt like every song felt like a lead up to that moment. My god this setlist, this show- out of this world. Reducer? Insane! GNT? Mind-blowing. You got the hits and so much more, and even though it was my first time seeing the band it will definitely not be my last. Far from it! They opened with the face-melting Mr Medicine, and that was enough for us to all quickly realise that this was going to be one hell of a night. My ears hurt the morning after, but that’s what you want from a band like this. Beautifully loud. There is something really magical about this band, and their live shows truly show how incredible they are. Every single song is delivered with this euphoric passion that makes you question how you’ve got through life without experiencing this before.

For me, it was all about finally seeing World Crust- this one just blew me away. I’m pretty sure I had this weird grin on my face throughout the whole show, but this one was next level. I felt proper joy at this show, and it’s a joy I didn’t think I’d feel but turns out, I can! I guess all isn’t so bad afterall. The comfort I find in this band is like nothing else, and their live shows are an extension of how phenomenal they are. I urge anyone and everyone to see them live. Even if this isn’t your type of music, the atmosphere alone will change your mind and probably like me, you’ll want to be at their shows every night.

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS: Land Of Sleeper.

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Are you looking for the loudest record of the year? Do you want something that’ll burst your eardrums in the most pleasant way possible? Pigsx7 have gone and done it with their new record, Land Of Sleeper. 8 songs that are sheer delight, absolute carnage and beautifully loud.

Writing about this band brings me so much joy. I just LOVE them. They combine everything I love about music, and everything I want from music and just make something that is effortlessly slick and charming. This morning on the way to work, I had a horrible pain in my chest. I knew what was coming- it was the start of a panic attack. I needed to somehow tame my mind to deter something from happening. I started to listen to some meditation for anxiety on Spotify. I found myself getting wound up over the persons voice and how it felt like they were being patronising. I hated it. I needed something but I didn’t know what. So, I went and found something to listen to. Again, I found myself turning to Pigsx7. I tuned into the new record once more. I don’t know what happened, but I felt almost calm. My brain was tame, the pain in my chest wasn’t as bad. I was alright. It probably seems strange to have something so loud be a calming force- but that’s just what they do. I don’t know if it’s the vocals or the heaviness of the sound. It just feels like a massive grip around me offering reassurance.

It is such an incredible record, and I know I say it every time I write about Newcastle’s finest- but there is something about this band that is so magical and so euphoric. There’s this aggression in the music and vocals that doesn’t make you feel threatened- it makes you feel quite safe. Every time they’ve toured something has gotten in the way of me seeing them but I’m determined to see them this year. I just need to. I have to. They’re the kind of band that you have to really focus on. You can’t just mindlessly play a song and be like, “oh this is nice.” You have to really soak it all in, and I think that’s why listening to them this morning when I felt awful truly helped. I wasn’t aware of anything or anyone around me- just this record. I think it was Big Rig that saved my brain this morning, but if I’m honest- every song on this record is a dream to listen to.

The vibrations in the songs, the way every song moves you in a psychedelic way allowing you to be free with your limbs and screaming the words back at Matt is just insane. You can hear how they poured their everything into this record, and it’s evident in their previous records. This band don’t make shit songs- ever. They don’t have one bad song. They are consistently excellent, and Land Of Sleeper massively shows this. Every song is a call to action and a bolt of reassurance for the soul. Most of the songs on the record last over 5 minutes, and I think for me that’s part of the attraction. I love how their songs feel like stories or a journey. I feel like I’m being taken into a sacred world and Pigsx7 are the leaders. I’ve said it before but when I listen to them- i feel like I’m listening to Melvins and Sleep for the first time. Those two bands are vital and shaped a lot of the music I listen to, and to hear a band like Pigsx7- they complete my holy trinity in a way! I honestly cannot praise this record enough. I’m going back to Big Rig again- the last 2 minutes of this songs turn into some obscure instrumental that will blow your mind. You can’t help but dig it- it’s incredible!

Land Of Sleeper is made up of anthems that need to be heard as loud as possible. There’s this raw energy on this record that has developed from each record they’ve put out- this is THEIR record, and I love how you can tell that they have and always will make music that is for THEM and no one else. It’s how THEY want to sound. Perfection is subjective, but come on now- this is another perfect record by the band. There’s a lot of pent up emotions and rage being released on this record.

For me, a lot of the songs have that same outpouring that’s on Release The Bats by The Birthday Party. I can’t explain it- I just know that there’s a similar link in how it’s poured out. I’m just in awe of this record and how yet again, Pigsx7 have gone and done it with another masterpiece.