More than a few hardcore fans shed some ecstatic fanboy tears when news dropped last year of the formation of All Pigs Must Die, a blazing hardcore/crust/death metal band featuring Converge drummer Ben Koller, as well as the Hope Conspiracy vocalist Kevin Baker, Bloodhorse guitarist/vocalist Adam Wentworth (who also spent time in metalcore bruisers the Red Chord) and Bloodhorse bassist/vocalist Matt Woods. And after a teaser of an EP, the band have now dropped their debut full-length, God Is War, on Southern Lord Records.
"I'm really happy with how it came out, both in terms of the material as well as the way it sounds," Wentworth tells Exclaim! in a recent interview. "We recorded it in December of 2010 and I think we all took a step away from it for a while after it was finished. Now that it's being released, we've gone back and been able to listen with fresh ears, so there's somewhat of a renewed enthusiasm towards it and towards playing the new material live. I think it's much easier for us to enjoy now that we've had such a big break from having to listen to it over and over again to finish the mixing and mastering."
Like the band's debut EP, they went with Koller's bandmate and producer-in-demand Kurt Ballou, who gives God Is War a perfectly dirty and raw production sound. Wentworth says the process of recording with Ballou is generally easy and quick for All Pigs Must Die.
"He's a friend of ours and the environment in the studio is pretty relaxed, we can toss ideas back and forth and anyone can say 'this works' or 'this sucks' and nobody's taking anything personally; we're just trying to get the best results," says Wentworth. "He's full of ideas for tiny and simple changes that can make massive differences in how a song turns out. I usually hate recording, but these past two All Pigs Must Die records, we've done with him have been really fun to make."
With a sound so intense and a moniker like All Pigs Must Die, it's strange to hear anyone involved in this project talking about fun. But so it goes, and, speaking of that name, turns out there's more to it than just simple shock value after all.
"It's taken from the Death In June album of the same name," says Wentworth. "How we all interpret that phrase depends on our views of the world. I'm sure the majority of people see the name and assume it's a reference to cops, but that's completely untrue. It's not a reference to the police at all.
"In our eyes, a pig is the 'gimme gimme' culture. A pig is someone who is irreversibly corrupt. A pig is a self-serving, soulless leech. A pig is a sense of unwarranted entitlement. A pig is blind greed. This list can continue on for a long time. It's a theme that Kevin has written about in several Hope Con songs in the past, and is continuing to write about with this band. It's about being disgusted by how humanity is devouring itself and becoming a pig."
"I'm really happy with how it came out, both in terms of the material as well as the way it sounds," Wentworth tells Exclaim! in a recent interview. "We recorded it in December of 2010 and I think we all took a step away from it for a while after it was finished. Now that it's being released, we've gone back and been able to listen with fresh ears, so there's somewhat of a renewed enthusiasm towards it and towards playing the new material live. I think it's much easier for us to enjoy now that we've had such a big break from having to listen to it over and over again to finish the mixing and mastering."
Like the band's debut EP, they went with Koller's bandmate and producer-in-demand Kurt Ballou, who gives God Is War a perfectly dirty and raw production sound. Wentworth says the process of recording with Ballou is generally easy and quick for All Pigs Must Die.
"He's a friend of ours and the environment in the studio is pretty relaxed, we can toss ideas back and forth and anyone can say 'this works' or 'this sucks' and nobody's taking anything personally; we're just trying to get the best results," says Wentworth. "He's full of ideas for tiny and simple changes that can make massive differences in how a song turns out. I usually hate recording, but these past two All Pigs Must Die records, we've done with him have been really fun to make."
With a sound so intense and a moniker like All Pigs Must Die, it's strange to hear anyone involved in this project talking about fun. But so it goes, and, speaking of that name, turns out there's more to it than just simple shock value after all.
"It's taken from the Death In June album of the same name," says Wentworth. "How we all interpret that phrase depends on our views of the world. I'm sure the majority of people see the name and assume it's a reference to cops, but that's completely untrue. It's not a reference to the police at all.
"In our eyes, a pig is the 'gimme gimme' culture. A pig is someone who is irreversibly corrupt. A pig is a self-serving, soulless leech. A pig is a sense of unwarranted entitlement. A pig is blind greed. This list can continue on for a long time. It's a theme that Kevin has written about in several Hope Con songs in the past, and is continuing to write about with this band. It's about being disgusted by how humanity is devouring itself and becoming a pig."
