All Pigs Must Die – God Is War

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There aren’t many band names that suggest anti-authoritarian hardcore punk better than All Pigs Must Die. The band might claim it is a clever wink to George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, and it might even be a reference to the Death In June album of the same name, but most will look at such a name and think of punk bands such as Millions of Dead Cops… and why not? All Pigs Must Die, from a musical perspective, harbour all the vile aggression one has come to expect from the angrier and more political side of the punk movement, packaged in fast and dirty sounding crust. There’s no real surprises in God Is War – this is what you should really expect from a bunch of US hardcore kids getting down to basics. It’s fast, loud, very heavy and is the kind of music that makes you want to flail your fists in disgust at the current world climate. There’re a few fancy riffs and bass-lines that suggest a more matured musicianship, but that seems hardly important on a record like this. As far as this genre of music is concerned, it ticks all the boxes and does everything you want such a record to do. At times it does feel a bit obvious though – it is a very sincere album granted, but when put up against other records in the same genre (including new entries by Sarabante and Unkind, reviewed recently), it suddenly sounds rather plain. It succeeds at what it is trying to do though, and whilst bad timing doesn’t let the album shine, it is still a respectable effort.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Punk, Quick.Play Reviews, All Pigs Must Die