PIG
The Swining: Red, Raw, and Sore (Cleopatra)
by Chris Best
I like Pig. I’ll qualify this by saying that I love Foetus, but Pig will always do when I’m waiting for J.G. Thirlwell to put something out. I mean to say that Pig is nothing more than a second-rate Foetus. The entire genius that is Pig could not exist without Foetus blazing the trail. Am I alone in thinking this? I don’t think so. When Pig released Praise the Lard in 1991, there were many who believed it was Foetus under a different name and bought the album on that criteria alone. Nine years and a whole bunch of Pig albums later, and the Foetus influence is still present everywhere. To give Mr. Watts his due, he produces the best facsimile of that sound anywhere. The lyrics are delivered in the same overblown growl, the music is over-the-top fusions of brass-heavy orchestras and distorted guitars. Would I recommend it? Only if you like this sort of thing.
