In brief with PIG DESTROYER

(by Mike Riddick)
(photography by Josh Sisk)

I took a moment to catch up briefly with Blake of Virginia’s Pig Destroyer. The band was recently featured as the cover story in The Washington Post Magazine…which is surely a huge deal for them and for the underground in general! Check it out here. In the meantime, here is our Q&A with Blake…

You guys recently wrapped up a rare show in Brooklyn, New York at a Masonic Temple. How did the show go and what was it like to play with Repulsion on their first live show ever? Were there any secret handshakes going on in the venue?

Blake: It was a great show, great to play with Repulsion and Brutal Truth. As far as I know, it wasn’t their first live show ever; it was the first time they played “horrified” in its entirety. We’ve played with both them and Brutal Truth a handful of times and its always tremendous fun. The only secret handshakes involved the passing of a bottle of vodka.

What’s new with the band? Any future live events we can anticipate?

Blake: We’re playing a couple of dates in October on the east coast with EyeHateGod. We’ve also pretty much just finished up building a studio for practice and recording so we’ll be working on new material pretty soon.

Will you guys ever follow-up with the planned 7″ single series? Tell us more about it and if we can expect this to manifest one day.

Blake: Probably not, that seemed like a great idea at the time, but is a much bigger undertaking than originally thought. We are doing some splits with Coffins from Japan and Rotten Sound from Finland

You guys come from a background of older underground acts like Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Anal Cunt, Enemy Soil, etc. Do you miss the days of the underground (pre-Internet)?

Blake: Personally yes, although the internet is a great resource for checking out and promoting your band, there was something I liked about checking out new things with no preconceived notions about the band/music.

What valuable lessons did you learn with your previous bands that have enabled you to take a more mature course with Pig Destroyer?

Blake: Absolutely none at all.

While it seems a lot of bands have a tendency to label hop, you’ve stayed loyal to Relapse since your initial signing. Is this for contractual reasons or for personal reasons? Please elaborate…

Blake: Relapse treats us great, we have no complaints, they promote us well, we work well together, have personal relationships with people at the label. When our contract is up, we plan on re-signing.

What’s your opinion of Relapse in comparison to what other labels are doing in the market right now? I’ve always felt Relapse offer a perfect taste of the underground yet on an accessible level, without going commercial. Your thoughts?

Blake: Agreed, no label, or any business entity is not perfect, but some do a really good job and Relapse is one. They certainly aren’t as big as other metal labels. Relapse takes care and pride in who they sign.

Did you shit your pants the first time you saw your video on Headbangers Ball? How did it make you feel? Do you believe it did much to move the band forward in terms of exposure?

Blake: It was awesome, it was great, I grew up with Headbangers Ball so it was cool. I don’t believe that MTV is the promotional tool that it used to be. I’m not even sure Headbangers Ball is still around.

What are you guys listening too right now? Any divergences from metal?

Blake: Magrudergrind, Rotten Sound, Weekend Nachos, Despise You, Endless Blockade, Misery Index. And yes, we always listen to stuff that falls outside the realm of metal.

There is a YouTube video of a live show in which J.R. loses his microphone connection in the midst of a song. Rather than quitting the song or acting like a little bitch, he continues to perform without the mic, and does so with such ferocity that you can still hear him on the video, over and above the amps and music. That’s totally metal!!! What inspired him to continue in this fashion? I imagine it earned him much respect from fans.

Blake: You’d have to ask him, but I’d assume that he was just in the moment, rocking out.

www.myspace.com/therealpigdestroyer
www.relapse.com