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Big Pig were a seven-piece Australian pop/rock band that existed from 1985 to 1991.

Biography[link]

In 1983 Australian drummer Oleh Witer, frustrated over playing in a string of unsuccessful groups, travelled from Australia to London.^[1]

I'd been in four bands and nothing had really come of it. I put loads of effort into each group, and at the end we'd have nothing to show for it, except a lousy demo or something. And I thought, 'Well, right, if I'm gonna do it again, I'm gonna do it on my own terms completely. I'm going to write all the songs, I'm going to create something that's very different and I'm not going to compromise at all on my ideas.' And that's really what sparked it off.

—Witer^[1]

Inspired by a performance of Japanese taiko drummers, Witer formed Big Pig in London in 1985.^[2]

When I saw them, the key to it was orchestration – that each guy had his own part. There was no improvisation at all. So from that point on, I knew how to do it. It was just a matter of getting the right people.

—Witer^[1]

This incarnation of Big Pig involved eight or nine drummers, with Witer trying to sing over the poly-rhythmic din. Members of the band came and went.^[1] This early version of the band, which included fellow Australian drummer, Nick Disbray, performed a number of shows in London, one of which Sherine Abeyratne (a back-up singer, who had toured and recorded with various bands, including INXS, Jo Jo Zep, and the Rock Party^[3]) happened to attend.

Since I started joining bands eight years ago, as long as the music was high-energy, really strong, that was the criterion.

—Abeyratne^[1]

Witer, Abeyratne and Tim Rosewarne had originally been in the band "Bang", however, Witer wanted an edgier, more experimental sound that also retained Bang's funky rhythms. When Witer's visa ran out he was forced to return to Melbourne.^[2] Later that year, he, Disbray and Abeyratne recruited two more drummers, Adrian Scaglione and Neil Baker, and harpist Tony Antoniades, with Tim Rosewarne on keyboards to complete the new line-up.^[2][3]

Big Pig made its concert debut in February 1986, and almost immediately began planning the release of a self-financed, independently-distributed record.^[2] In May, following the release of their independent three-track EP, for which Witer won an ARIA Award for Best Cover Art for the Big Pig EP at the first ARIA Awards in 1987.^[4] and with only five live shows under its belt, every major record and publishing company in the country offered lucrative contracts to the group^{[citation needed]}. Mushroom Records became the band's label and re-released their debut EP, with bonus dance mixes of "Hungry Town" and "Money God".^[5] Their first album "Bonk" was recorded at Metropolis Studios in Melbourne, Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney, and Townhouse Studios in London, in 1987, with producer Nick Launay, and mixed in London later that year.

It took about 3½ months to do, and we used three tracks, "Hungry Town", "Money God" and "Devil's Song", as the basis for the album after we'd reworked them. All the tracks were first recorded in Australia, and then we mixed the album in London. The biggest problem in recording was successfully integrating all the percussion parts so that nothing got lost in the mix. It would be possible to play all the songs live in the studio, like a gig, but the problems of miking make it very difficult, so we built up each track bit by bit by first programming a drum machine, and then replacing those parts with live drums. And by using the drum machine feel as a foundation, it becomes much easier to record complex patterns, and once you get past the high hat, kick drum and snare, it all becomes a lot more fluid and a lot more human. We always fought against the idea of sounding too robotic just because so much of Big Pig`s sound is based on rhythms.

—Witer^[2]

Bonk went gold, then platinum in Australia with three top-twenty singles ("Hungry Town" #14, "Breakaway" #4 and "Big Hotel" #40).

In the U.S. the album was released by A&M Records in 1988, with "Breakaway" reaching #60 on the Billboard magazine top 100 pop charts and was used in the opening sequence of the movie Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.^[6]

The group's song "Money God" was well known in the United Kingdom as the theme tune for the BBC DEF II Rough Guides show with Magenta Devine, whilst many tracks from their first album Bonk were used towards the end of the Miami Vice TV series in the 1980s. The songs "Hungry Town" and "Boy Wonder" both featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious movie Young Einstein.^[7]

Notable for their dominant use of drums, harmonica and vocals, along with the absence of guitars, the band established a unique place in music. Sounding quite unlike anything else, their signature look was black waterproof aprons,^[8] similar to those worn by blacksmiths,^[2] which gave their stage presence a distinctly industrial feel. Shortly after the release of their second album, You Lucky People, in 1990, Big Pig played for the very last time at Melbourne`s Myer Music Bowl in February 1991.

Witer is an accomplished artist whose paintings have been exhibited in galleries across Australia. He also composed the music for the 1996 Australian film, Love and Other Catastrophes.^[9]

Rosewarne went on to join a successful rock outfit, Chocolate Starfish, in 1994.^[3]

Their 1988 Australian Top 10 hit "Breakaway" enjoyed a revival in the dance charts with a new 2007 cover version by US House Diva Inaya Day.

Big Pig's "Hungry Town" featured in the first episode of Channel 9's "Underbelly: The Golden Mile" on 12 April 2010.

Members[link]

• Nick Disbray — lead vocals, percussion
• Sherine Abeyratne — lead vocals, percussion
• Oleh Witer — vocals, drums
• Tony Antoniades — vocals, harmonica
• Tim Rosewarne — vocals, keyboard
• Adrian Scaglione — drums
• Neil Baker — drums

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Bonk – White Label (March 1987)
• You Lucky People – White Label (1990)

EPs[link]

• Big Pig – White Label (L-19015) (1986)

Singles[link]

• "Hungry Town"/"Hungry Town (Dance Remix) – White Label (K-120) (October 1986) AUS #14
• "Boy Wonder"/"Hellbent Heaven" – White Label (K-251) (April 1987) AUS #59
• "Breakaway"/"Hellbent Heaven" – White Label (K-423) (February 1988) AUS #4, US #60
• "Big Hotel"/"Fine Thing" – White Label (K-570) (June 1988) AUS #40
• "Iron Lung" – White Label (X 13349) (December 1988)
• "Justifier"/"Taste" – White Label (K-10223) (August 1990) AUS #73
• "Hanging Tree" (January 1991)
• "King of Nothing"/"Bound" – White Label (K 10223) (April 1991)
• "Inbetween days" (May 1991)

Video albums[link]

• Bonk: The Videos – A&M Video (VC 60900) (1988): VHS

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Pig Destroyer
Background information
Origin	Richmond, Virginia, United States
Genres	Grindcore,[1] death metal,[2] deathgrind[3]
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Relapse
Website	http://www.myspace.com/therealpigdestroyer
Members
J. R. Hayes Scott Hull Blake Harrison Adam Jarvis
Past members
John Evans Donna Parker Jessica Rylan Brian Harvey

Pig Destroyer is a grindcore band from Virginia, USA.

Biography[link]

The band formed in 1997 with vocalist J. R. Hayes (Enemy Soil), guitarist Scott Hull (Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Japanese Torture Comedy Hour, ex-Anal Cunt), and drummer John Evans. Evans was later replaced by Brian Harvey. Sampler Blake Harrison joined prior to recording Phantom Limb.^[4]

In an interview, Scott Hull claims that they picked the band name on the criteria that it was insulting, yet somewhat more creative than the name of his last band, Anal Cunt. Deciding that "Cop Killer" or "Cop Destroyer" would be tactless, they eventually settled on "Pig Destroyer" ("pig" being a pejorative American slang term for the police). Derived from a non-musical source as extreme as the band's sound, Pig Destroyer's easily identifiable logo was created using the emblem from ANSWER Me! magazine as a template. However, the band has become less political in recent times.

Relapse Records signed the band and issued a split 7" with Isis on the label's Singles Series in July 2000. 38 Counts of Battery was a complete discography of Pig Destroyer releases up to the year 2000, which included split records with Gnob and influential screamo act Orchid, as well as their debut album, Explosions In Ward 6, and the demo that secured their record deal.

Prowler in the Yard, released in 2001, was the first of the band's records to really break through to what could contextually be considered the "mainstream." Garnering rave reviews from popular press such as Kerrang! and Terrorizer, the record earned Pig Destroyer headlining slots at the 2002 New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and the 2002 Relapse Records CMJ Showcase, as well as a high placing at 2003's Relapse Contamination Fest alongside scene legends High on Fire and The Dillinger Escape Plan (documented on the Relapse Contamination Fest DVD).

2004's Terrifyer boasted a much clearer sound than Prowler in the Yard or 38 Counts of Battery, as well as lyrics and prose from Hayes. The record came with an accompanying DVD soundscape entitled "Natasha", which was intended to be listened to in surround sound (although a more recent Japanese edition of the album has "Natasha" as an ordinary CD with four bonus tracks). Session guitarist Matthew Kevin Mills, Hull's former guitar teacher, recorded the lead guitar parts in the song "Towering Flesh".

A compilation of tracks from the split EPs with Gnob and Benümb is also available, entitled Painter of Dead Girls. The album features alternative versions of older songs from the 38 Counts era (such as "Dark Satellites"), a series of new songs (such as "Rejection Fetish" and "Forgotten Child"), and covers of bands who could be considered an influence (such as The Stooges and Helmet).

Pig Destroyer have stated that they would release a series of 9 split 7" EPs in 2006. Bands on the flipside include Orthrelm and Blood Duster; however, nothing has yet been released. The 7" series has been put on hold for the release of Phantom Limb.^[5]

2007 saw the release of album Phantom Limb via Relapse Records, complete with album artwork designed by John Baizley (Baroness, Torche).

At least three official promotional videos have been made of Pig Destroyer songs: "Piss Angel", from Prowler in the Yard, "Gravedancer", from Terrifyer, and "Loathsome", from Phantom Limb. All three have aired on MTV2's Headbangers Ball, with each video seeing more airplay than the one that was released before it.^[6] The video for "Piss Angel" debuted on the show on Aug. 14, 2004, and was directed by Kenneth Thibault and Nathaniel Baruch.^[7] The video for "Gravedancer" was directed by Vladimir Lik and released in 2007. The video for "Loathsome" was directed by David Brodsky and debuted in late 2007.

In 2011, Harvey was replaced by Misery Index drummer Adam Jarvis.^[8]

In September 2011, a low quality YouTube video surfaced of Pig Destroyer playing three new songs in Seattle, Washington. This adds speculation that the band are working on a new album due out in 2012.^[9]

Pig Destroyer will headline the Terrorizer stage at the Damnation Festival in Leeds in November 2012, marking their first United Kingdom show in eight years.^[10]

Influences[link]

Scott Hull has mentioned artist Matthew Barney, author Dennis Cooper, and noise musicians Whitehouse as influencing his music.^[11] Pig Destroyer is inspired by thrash metal, such as Dark Angel and Slayer, the sludge metal of The Melvins, and American grindcore as practiced by Brutal Truth.^[12]

Members[link]

Current members

• J. R. Hayes (Enemy Soil) – vocals
• Scott Hull (Agoraphobic Nosebleed, ex-Anal Cunt, ex-Japanese Torture Comedy Hour) – guitar
• Adam Jarvis (Misery Index) – drums
• Blake Harrison (Hatebeak) – electronics

Former members

• John Evans – drums (1997–2001)
• Donna Parker – electronics (2006)
• Jessica Rylan – keyboard (2006)
• Brian Harvey – drums (2001–2011)

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Pig Destroyer at Relapse Records
• Pig Destroyer on Myspace
• Live Photos of Pig Destroyer at Blackened Music Series Event 2009