"Pigsx7 Bring Controlled Chaos and Psychedelic Fury to a Sold-Out Rescue Rooms"

Rescue Rooms Nottingham April 7th 2025

WORDS CHRIS GOULD / IMAGES ALEKSANDRA HELENA HOGG

"Pigsx7 Bring Controlled Chaos and Psychedelic Fury to a Sold-Out Rescue Rooms" — Pig x7

Tonight we're in Nottingham at Rescue Rooms, one of those smaller (500 capacity) venues that keeps less popular genres alive. Noise rock/Stoner metal heavyweights, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (hereafter Pigsx7!) can draw a crowd and tonight is sold out. The audience is definitely trending on the older side but psych-rock inspired riffs are ideal when you don't want to deal with mosh pains the next day.

Pigsx7 are supported on this tour by IRKED, founded in 2022 but channeling the spirit of 70s garage punk. They're enthusiastic performers and the crowd-work comes across as genuinely engaging but it still feels like an odd choice for an opening act. Frontwoman Helen is a force of nature as she unleashes cathartic screams on the audience but unfortunately issues with the sound mixing mean that a lot of spoken verses aren't picked up by the microphone. The Teeside crew rapid-fire rattle through their catalogue but while the crowd are receptive there's not much in the way of movement. Helen attempts to get something going, climbing over the barrier and striding through the audience as she screams her way through the debut of a new single (I didn't catch the name, sorry IRKED!) but it has little effect.

Pigsx7 are touring the UK in support of their 5th album, Death Hilarious, a milestone that frontman Matthew Baty tells us surpasses the Vengaboys. AC/DCs "For Those About to Rock We Salute You" kicks in, smoke starts to fill the room and it's nearly time for the main event. Pigsx7 lead off with one of the longer tracks from the newest album, 7-minute epic, The Wyrm and it's an immediate full frontal noise assault. Pigsx7 have brought lights with them and they intend to get their moneys worth - as the band plow through the rising riffs and scattered tempo changes, the lights strobe continuously, flashes reflecting the musical chaos we're listening to. It's a nice idea but from my position at the back I'm left attempting to watch the band through a squint and wondering whether I'll still be able to see on the drive home.

Pigsx7 have been building a name for themselves since 2012 and 2023s Land of Sleeper established them as stoner rock royalty, now they're looking to cement their position. The sound mix is excellent, Ewan Mackenzie's drumming a particular highlight as metronomic tempo-keeping occasionally gives way to bombastic fills and solos. The guitar tone is suitably fuzzy and it's nice to see that Adam Sykes is given the opportunity to show off his lead work during Death Hilarious as his technical shredding compliments and elevates what can occasionally be slow, plodding progressions through doom-laden riffs. Matthew Baty's vocal work is also stand-out, a commanding, stentorian performance - overshadowing instrumentalists of Pigsx7 calibre is difficult but when Matt's belting he manages it.

The setlist is 12 songs but when you're dealing with a genre where the average song is 8 minutes it feels as though Pigsx7 are able to cover a lot of their material while still keeping a focus on their new release. If you're a fan of noise rock, psych-rock, stoner metal or even just heavy riffs and great musicianship - go and check them out live.