All Pigs Must Die - Hostage Animal

 

Every music fan I know has a musical sweet spot, the middle of a venn diagram wherein resides the music they absolutely fucking love.  They may "listen to everything (except country!)," but it's that intersection that represents their absolute favorite musical sensibilities, regardless of genre.  For me, that melting pot looks something like a stew of slow- to mid-tempo, atmospheric, ten-plus minute songs with progressive shifts, strong melodies, a bit of groove, and harmonizing vocals.  I love bands and songs that stray from those tendencies, but when an album lands right in that sweet spot... that's the fuckin' jam.  There's a comfort there, a knowledge that you as a listener have heard enough to know what you like.  I bring this musical g-spot up because to me, the only thing better than finding something new that fits into an established idea of "favorite" music is finding something new that doesn't check any of your Favorites boxes, but still gets your head banging, your pulse racing, and your motor running.  From the title of this post, I'm obviously talking about Hostage Animal, the third full-length from All Pigs Must Die.

Jack's Top 15 Albums of 2013

Hey, remember when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup this year? Yeah, that was pretty cool. Also of importance, particularly in relation to things this publication actually cares about as a collective, there were a staggering amount of fantastic albums in heavy music this year. I toiled with what to include in my Top 15 for quite awhile, but while there's plenty of excellent releases I've left off, this is the group of records I not only felt the most strongly about in a positive sense, but also that I feel deserve the most cred. On to the goods, children.

Oh, and it's good to be back.