Pig Pen is made up of vocalist Matty Matheson (chef, restaurateur, and actor from FX’s The Bear), guitarists Wade MacNeil (Alexisonfire, Dooms Children) and Daniel Romano, drummer Ian Romano (Daniel Romano’s Outfit), and bassist Tommy Major (Daniel Romano’s Outfit, Young Guv). The music is tough, harsh, intense, noisy, soulful – a blitz of pure hardcore energy.
After warming up with a frenzied, sold-out show at Toronto venue Sneaky Dee’s in late April, Pig Pen now announce their recorded debut. Mental Madness is out now through pivotal hardcore label Flatspot Records, a home for many breakthrough acts including Speed, Scowl, and End It. The first song arrives in “Mental Mentality,” highlighted by stomping rhythms, breakneck riffs, and enraged vocals. Matheson delivers “I have the mental madness. I’m sick. I’m sick. I’m sick.” as a cathartic release begging to be screamed back to.
The video for the song features live footage from recording in the studio and on stage at the band’s first show.
After spending months passing along riffs and playlists filled with inspiration, the ten tracks on Mental Madness were written in a day and recorded the next. With a band made up of career musicians, the do-it-yourself approach for the album was a no-brainer, taking the wheel by self-recording and producing. The tracks were sent off to Arthur Rizk (Cold World, Fucked Up, Power Trip) for mixing and Grammy Award-winning engineer Alan Douches for mastering. The album packs grit and bounce, combining elements of ’80s hardcore with true rock and roll flair. The subject matter on Mental Madness sticks to themes that Matheson describes as “mental health shit:” topics like isolation, loneliness, and “letting your mind destroy you.”
Mental Madness Track Listing:
1. Rabid Beach
2. Heat Wave
3. Pig Pen
4. Power Love Train
5. Mental Mentality
6. Highway
7. Venom Moon Rising
8. Problem Mind
9. Howl & Veil
10. XJXIXDX