Until Death Do Us Laugh With MATT BATY From PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS, PIGS

Interview by Kris Peters
In case their band name wasn't enough of a hint for you, listening
to their music will ram the point home that Newcastle, UK outfit
Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs are a musical force unto
themselves and their care factor should you disagree is a
resounding zero.
Since bursting onto the scene in 2014, Pigs have almost gone out of
their way to ensure they drank from no-ones well of musicality
other than their own, uniting normally opposing forces of music
with flawless inhibition for maximum results.
Essentially a rock band but with enough alter egos and
personalities to conquer the world, Pigs have always quietly gone
about their business, in the process drawing fans and their peers
increasingly into their own sonic paradise and sweeping all before
them in eclectic waves of passion.
In setting their fifth musical child out into the wilderness
earlier this month, Pigs also unleashed a powerhouse of musical
disparity that highlighted their growing stature while
simultaneously sending purists reaching for their notepads to
scribble down notable forms of blasphemous intent. That album is
titled Death Hilarious, an album name that says pretty much
everything you need to hear about Pigs without lowering the needle
to the record and setting off down another magical and whimsical
adventure, destination unknown but satisfaction guaranteed.
Openly touted as a body of work infinitely more hostile than
previous release Land Of Sleeper, Death Hilarious evokes the same
type of reaction as a person would feel standing in the mosh pit at
one of Pigs notoriously frenetic live shows.
It was a deliberate hardening of the arteries by Pigs, once more
showing their disdain for familiarity as their journey into the
abyss grows darker and more dangerous along the way.
Vocalist Matt Baty kindly gave up some of his time to chat with
HEAVY in what turned out to be an engaging, informative view of the
music industry as a whole and Pigs place in it.
"We're a weird band," he shrugged when we ask what Pigs were going
for musically with Death Hilarious. "In the sense that we don't all
get together before we start writing an album and discuss what
direction we'd like to take it in, which I think is pretty odd and
probably not very efficient (laughs). We just get together in a
room and everyone will have worked on different things or have
different fragments of ideas for songs. And we just get together in
one room and present those with each other. Some things kind of
click amongst all of us, and some things don't. And those things
we'll just park for a rainy day and see if it works at a later
date. But we'll kind of focus on everything that people bring that
all of us as a five-piece unit are all in on. From that point, once
we start developing the skeletons of what the songs are, Sam - he
also records and produces our albums - takes them further."
"I think with this one, the songs were presenting themselves as
being a bit more… maybe a bit more assertive and a little bit more
aggressive," he continued. "A little bit more immediate. So that's
where Sam took the production as well and maybe just pushing things
a little bit harder and slamming it against the wall a little bit
more than they were on Land of Sleeper."
In the full interview, Matt shared insights into the positive
reception of the album and the tour, describing it as their best
experience yet due to enthusiastic fan engagement. He emphasized
the challenges of measuring success in the current music landscape,
where streaming metrics often overshadow live performance feedback.
Matt elaborated on the band's collaborative songwriting process,
which allows for organic song development without a predetermined
direction. He noted that their latest album aims for a more
straightforward sound compared to previous works, with production
enhancing the music's immediacy. The title Death Hilarious,
inspired by Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, was chosen for its
representation of the band's identity and humour.
Matt highlighted the band's journey in defining their sound,
showcasing a variety of styles across albums, and mentioned
specific tracks that exemplify their creative exploration before
admitting he still doesn't know exactly what Pigs definitive sound
is, but is also happy to keep exploring the realms of musical
possibility.


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