Pig Iron
The Purple Turtle Club,
London, UK
January 9, 2008

by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer

Comments: As restoration of classic rock values sweeps across the UK underground, a new generation of musicians now comes face to face with a difficult task of giving an adequate modern interpretation to tradition. Pig Iron is one of a few British acts which is coping with this challenge fantastically well. In three years since its formation, this London-based outfit has managed to establish itself as one of the best revivalist up-and-coming bands on the scene. They are finding their answers in an uncanny mixture of Seventies hard rock, metal and Delta blues, and although they are not interested in pushing the artistic envelope too far, they have still managed to discover their own distinct voice, which is as authentic as it is singular.

On the night they opened with "The Pentagram," an atmospheric hard rock song shot through by blues and reinforced with intense instrumental breaks edging on heavy metal. The muscular rhythm section supported clear, well-modulated guitar grooves perfectly, as the gritty vocal added to the roiling tension of the song. And as if this colourful mix was not eclectic enough, they chose to give further depth and latitude to this number with a shadowy middle eight section, infused with echoes of the first two Black Sabbath albums, thus completing the range of stylistic references they would continue going back to for the rest of the set.

“…And the Bodies Fall" that followed, was a riff-heavy tune featuring a crackling shout-along vocal hook and some strident wah wah leads. The rhythm section was nailing the heavy, grinding groove perfectly, and if a better melody was hitched to it, we could have had a sure-fire hit here. This song prepared the audience for the real standout, "Hellacious Days,” where a Black Sabbath-inspired harp intro turned into more than just a formal nod to the fathers of metal. The entire song was based on a notion of mixing blues with hard rock, with the basic blues harmony giving it structure and balance, and serving as a platform from which the band launched into jarring hard rock-inspired extrapolations. The result was a curiously synthetic, but concise song which showed how Pig Iron can cohere their wide array of influences into one convincing whole.

Although their hybrid formula certainly works, Pig Iron isn't afraid to abandon it occasionally and go to the pure basics of their roots, as they did with "Another Mule." Here they dropped their usual cross-genre approach when they suddenly dived into a rudimental thumping Southern rock groove propelled by a bare-bones rhythm section and pneumatic wah wah guitar. This song was pure Americana with John Fogerty-inspired vocals and folklore lyrical imagery, all coming together in a deft, irresistible number that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a ZZ Top record.

No matter which classic rock style this band chooses to put an emphasis on, their music always has that distinct feel of a real thing that you don't always find. And even though they are not the most inventive of bands and at times are too willing to lean on a cliché, the end result is always clarity, good sense and good taste. They are honest musicians who by going back to tradition continue to respect the rules and essential premises of rock, and who by sticking to its chief elements steadfastly refuse to engage in any refinements, pretences or artifice.

Pig Iron’s debut album Paths of Glory Lead But to the Grave is now available on www.hmv.co.uk and i-Tunes.

www.pigironmc.com
www.myspace.com/soundofcaligula