Pig Destroyer – Galatos: September 12, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
It’s been 17 long years since Pig Destroyer last graced the shores of Aotearoa. That was the Phantom Limb tour where they played the windowless bunker that we used to call the Transmission Room. I’ve long been haunted by the fact that I missed this gig. My regret compounded further with each Pig Destroyer release that saw the band maintain intensity whist evolving skilfully.
As I stroll up to the venue, I’m greeted by a merch line that snakes out the door and up the street past several residences. How far up Galatos Street the merch line extends is in fact the correct and objective measure of anticipation for a metal gig in Auckland.
Sawn Off
Nelson’s Sawn Off kick the evening off and they waste no time in showcasing their brand of heavy. To my ears they sound like a hardcore punk band taking death metal to task. The riffs are slam-dance friendly as evidenced by the frequent movement of elbows and limbs across the pit, but there is a darker, sinister edge to Sawn Off that propels their sound.
Sawn Off’s drummer earns my pick for most valuable player with patterns that bridge the rhythms of multiple aggressive genres without ever monopolising the overall sound. Sawn Off sustain my full attention for the entire set. My partner’s concise summation of their set: “legitimately pissed off”.
Imperial Slave
Imperial Slave up next. Another group that is new to me. These 5 dudes from Palmerston North give me an old school death metal feel. They have the precision and technical chops, yet it never feels clinical or laboured. There is something about Imperial Slave that is really fucking fun. Maybe it’s the singer’s cowboy hat, microphone chain or fist of Lion Red? More likely it’s their accomplished thrashy guitar solos and the band’s ability to switch with ease between pummelling blast beats and more straightforward riffage that makes me want to drink beer and bash around the pit. Wholesome stuff.
Pig Destroyer
Pig Destroyer takes the stage around 10.15 accompanied by a sound sample that I’m pretty sure is a variation of the familiar blood boiling noises that open the Terrifier record. True to the hint, they launch into several songs from that album. It a strong way to commence the set, punters appearing entirely familiar with the material.
It’s worth noting that on Terrifier and everything before, the band was a mere three piece of drums, vocals and guitar. The addition of a noise-maker guy and a bass player to these songs sound seamless to the overall sound while enabling greater visual chaos on the stage. Noise maker Alex Cha earns the badge of ‘most likely to injure himself’ with his windmill headbangs and physical abuse of his own equipment.
At some point between songs, a punter kicks off a rousing group sing of Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi. Naturally the ‘aue!’ moment of that waiata gets the most enthusiastic yell from the room of metal heads. Vocalist J.R Hayes responds with a warm laugh and acknowledgement that he has no idea what is happening. This moment is characteristic of the ease displayed by the band throughout the evening, all smiles and gratitude for the audience, the bands they watched play earlier, and for whoever it was that fed them beef brisket earlier in the day.
The set proceeds to lean heavily into a run of songs from both Book Burner before cuts from Head Cage, Painter Of Dead Girls and Phantom Limb. It’s a welcome representative spread of the catalogue. We are even treated to two brand new numbers, both around one minute in length, suggesting Pig Destroyer’s next release might hark back to grindcore origins.
Being in ‘reviewer mode’ by trying to place the title of each song played is futile. Instead, I find it more helpful to notice moment to moment how the sound is unfolding in front of me. One moment it’s a claustrophobic blast beat drenched in incomprehensible screaming. In the next, a groove guitar riff from Scott Hull has bolted the gate, before the band grabs that same riff by the scruff of the neck and smashes it back into submission with doom loaded dissonant monotony.
It’s thrilling and it doesn’t feel as though any one song is better than any other. They are all intense and expertly executed. Notably, J.R Hayes vocal’s sound especially full and deranged as ever. Are his vocals getting stronger as he ages? That’s a wild feat in this genre.
Two thirds through the set, a heightened sense enters the room when a monotone robotic voice comes over the PA describing an arousal of pale limbs and licked eyeballs. It dawns on us that there hasn’t yet been anything from Pig Destroyer’s breakthrough classic Prowler In The yard. As J.R announces, it’s nothing but prowler from here on out! True to their word, the band plays a final run of songs and it’s glorious, the familiar riffs cathartic and the overall energy frenetic. We all leave as happy as destroyed pigs in shit.
Pig Destroyer are playing again tonight in Christchurch and Sunday in Wellington. Get on it!
Chris Warne
Click on any image to view a photo gallery:
Pig Destroyer:
Imperial Slave:
Sawn Off:
