PIG PEN release debut album Mental Madness on Flatspot Records

PIG PEN release debut album Mental Madness on Flatspot Records

Photo Credit: Patrick Moore

“This is heavy, straightforward, ’80s-style hardcore punk — played with conviction, absent of irony.” – Stereogum

“Embracing a real DIY DNA, the band’s ability to act on impulse and refine it, results in a potent meld of 80’s, time-tested hardcore executed with rock music sensibility.” – Knotfest

“The band’s impulsive writing style and sense of brevity results in quick, measured blasts of adrenaline.” – Consequence

“There are echoes of bands such as Black Flag and Minor Threat in the instrumentation, but it feels like Pig Pen is doing more than just raging: they’re offering a noisy, cathartic outlet to get bodies thrashing in the mosh pit.” – CBC

The plan was to start a band that was all longtime friends.

The idea was to embrace the scene they grew up in.

The result is Pig Pen and Mental Madness.

The Canadian outfit, comprised of Matty Matheson (vocals), Wade MacNeil (guitar), Daniel Romano (guitar), Ian Romano (drums), and Tommy Major (bass), combine their love of ‘80s hardcore and rock ‘n’ roll into a grimy, introspective album. 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 ten songs are tough and harsh, dark and noisy, and pack depth within the lyrics. 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.” It’s built on pushing through negative mindsets with positive energy and profound friendship, latching onto formative years of the hardcore scene the members of Pig Pen participated in.

Mental Madness can be streamed HERE and purchased through Flatspot Records.

Pig Pen have two sold out record release shows in July – a headliner on the 3rd in Welland, ON, and Brooklyn, NY on the 5th with labelmates Jivebomb. The band will also make their first festival appearance in October at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, AL. More info below.