Ben Koller is a complete and utter badass. I once read a posting from the inimitable Cosmo Lee on his blog Invisible Oranges that Ben Koller was one of the greatest live drummers that ever existed (or possibly something less grandiose). At the time that I read his opinion, I had only heard one (oddball) Converge album, and I won't lie to you; I thought Converge sucked (!!!!). I felt they were overrated at the time, and that there hype had something to do with the fact that Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou had his sticky lil' fingers in so many totally sweet albums. Turns out, upon hearing 2009's Axe to Fall, I had to eat my anti-Converge sentiments with a side of being-an-uninformed-asshat. It was finally clear what all the hubbub about Converge was all about; it's because THEY FUCKING RULE. Oops!
Fast forward to April of this year, when I finally got to see Converge live, and Cosmo's opinion is not even kind of unfounded. Ben Koller is a whirling dervish behind the kit, and it's clear that he can a) play some drums, b) bring the energy that propels an entire band forward at breakneck speed, and c) play some additional FUCKING DRUMS.
Now, on to Ben Koller's new hardcore project band, All Pigs Must Die. Honestly, having Ben Koller on the roster is the main reason anybody is giving this band the time of day; let's all be frank and admit that crusty hardcore/grind/metal bands are getting to be about a dime a dozen these days (which is great for me, since mass D-boner strokage suits me just fine). Luckily for all of the rest of us, however, All Pigs Must Die actually do the D-beat/grind genres proud with well-written songs, sweet riffage, and a liberal dose of The Heavy. Feedback squalls and Disfear-style "heavy bl00ze" solos abound, with more than enough blast beat assaults to keep the average hesher from being bummed out enough to regret stealing the record from the Interbung.
The easiest comparison to make in regards to All Pigs Must Die is, somewhat counterintuitively, to Trap Them. Their footloose and fancy-free juxtaposition of sweet, sweet D-beat and grind-infused blasting mirrors Trap Them very closely; however, if you're a Trap Them vet (yo), don't expect a simliar style of riffing. All Pigs Must Die tend to employ a crossover style of guitar attack, akin to D.R.I.'s punk/thrash elixir aged a solid 25 years or so, like a stinky cheese that nobody but the grossest purists could possibly enjoy.
I don't have any idea what All Pigs Must Die are going to do tour-wise; it seems pretty obvious that Converge is the cockblock that's going to keep All Pigs from getting into our collective pants in a live setting. However, if they ever do come through, you should probably go see them, if only to watch Ben Koller do the things he does (listed above). I'm hoping they'll take the time to make a full-length album, since it's clear that it would completely rule, like the giant, horrifyingly oderous, monumentally satisfying dump you take after a night of drinking beers with your favorite homebros.
All Pigs Must Die's self-titled album is out now, and can be easily found for purchasing. Since nobody would ever do that for any reason, here's a place you can steal it from (I should really stop being so fake-judgemental when I link you to the places where I acquired the listening material in question).
Tune in tomorrow where I check out the band Ghoul and decided whether I am too Ghoul for school or too cool for Ghoul (I've been sitting on that stupid-ass punfest for way too long now).
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