They are Pig Iron and they play heavy metal. Simples.
Grumbling about the unfairness of being woken at the downright antisocial hour of 12 noon, it’s time to join the crowd in the second arena for trad metal heroes Pig Irön. It took 5 minutes just to get through the crowd of rockers eager to start the day with a pint and another kicking to the ears, which meant that we missed the start, but they had the crowd (and the airless room) warmed up nicely when we did arrive.
It’s hard to know what to make of these guys. Their laid back attitude is comfortable and easy to get on with (especially at this time of day), but it’s not particularly inspiring. More of a solid start on which to build. We’re informed that there are lots of relatively new songs in the set today, which must be referring to tracks like the outstanding ‘Another Mule’ from their 2008 record as well as a quick reference to a song tentatively heard as ‘Blues + Power = Glory’. The sound is incredibly intense and heavy, without dragging on too much. Johnny Ogle’s harmonica playing is exceptional, and the short set rolls along all too quickly.
“We are Pig Irön and we play heavy metal!” announces bass player Hugh Gilmour. Well, yes, that much is obvious. They do it very well too, if you like your metal stripped back and casual. We get a bit of banter about the fact that bands can’t sell their own T-shirts/merchandise at the front of the stage like most gigs, which is something that’s been puzzling me for a while to be honest, and the thought is temporarily distracting us from the insults being hurled at Hugh from his own band, and the announcement that one song has appeared on another magazine’s cover CD.
Pig Irön have provided us with a very welcome alarm clock by the time the closer ‘Lord, Kill The Pain’ arrives.