Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to the debut single by Pig Pen, actor and chef Matty Matheson’s new hardcore outfit.
Matty Matheson, chef and star of FX’s The Bear, made headlines earlier this year when he announced that he was fronting a new hardcore band called Pig Pen. Celebrity/actor bands tend to fall into the “vanity project” category, but Matheson — who’s crushed out in tattoos and certainly looks the part of a hardcore frontman — surrounded himself with a veritable supergroup of musicians that also happened to be longtime friends: guitarist Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfire, along with three members of Daniel Romano’s Outfit including Daniel Romano himself on guitar, drummer Ian Romano, and bassist Tommy Major.
In other words, these guys have chops, and Pig Pen’s debut single “Mental Mentality” garnered our Heavy Song of the Week pick on its own merits, Matheson’s mild celebrity status notwithstanding (he makes for a great frontman). We especially appreciate the DIY approach the band took, sharing riffs for months before coming together to write the entire album in a day before self-recording it. That’s really all the time it should take to knock out no-frills hardcore (there’s a little Jesus Lizard-y sludge in there too), and the band’s impulsive writing style and sense of brevity results in quick, measured blasts of adrenaline, as heard here.
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Honorable Mentions:
One More Satellite (Dean DeLeo) – “Paper Over the Cracks”
One More Satellite is the new project of Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo and UK singer Pete Shoulder. The duo’s debut single “Paper Over the Cracks” sounds like a lost STP track, and not just because DeLeo is laying down the guitar riffs — and catchy ones at that. Rather, Shoulder sounds like a classic grunge singer, like a cross between Scott Weiland and Chris Cornell, and his chemistry with DeLeo is palpable here. This is required listening for all STP fans and a fine introduction to DeLeo’s new band.
Sodom – “Witchhunter”
German thrash masters Sodom pay tribute to their late drummer Christian “Witchhunter” Dudek on their latest single, appropriately titled “Witchhunter.” Dudek, who passed away in 2008, would certainly have appreciated this speedy slice of bestial thrash, with its galloping pace and double-kick drum workouts leading the charge. The accompanying video, a collection of photos and home videos of Dudek, was also a touching gesture by his longtime bandmates. Eternal hails, Witchhunter.
Tetrarch – “Best of Luck”
Tetrarch get a little skronky on “Best of Luck,” with its central riff having an almost jovial bounce to it. It’s a nice, if brief change-up from the group’s typically dark brand of nu-metal, as, sure enough, Tetrarch dig in for some brutality after the second chorus. For more where this came from, the band’s new album The Ugly Side of Me is out now.
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