Mental health, noise, and total destruction – Pig Pen’s ‘Mental Madness’ is coming in hot.
Pig Pen, the all-star hardcore unit featuring The Bear‘s Matty Matheson and Wade MacNeil (Alexisonfire) have officially announced their debut album, Mental Madness, due out June 27 via Flatspot Records.
They’re kicking off the chaos with lead single “Mental Mentality”, a gnarly, full-tilt banger that lands somewhere between a breakdown and a breakdown. It’s all slamming drums, pummelling guitars, and Matheson’s unfiltered roar: “I have the mental madness. I’m sick. I’m sick. I’m sick.” The track arrives alongside a gritty video packed with footage from the studio and Pig Pen’s recent debut live gig, setting the tone for what’s to come.
Check out the music video and track below:
Rounding out Pig Pen’s lineup Attack In Black’s Daniel Romano on guitar, drummer Ian Romano and bassist Tommy Major, turning what started as a band of “all longtime friends” into a genuine hardcore crew. Mental Madness was written in a day, recorded the next, and self-produced before being sent off to Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Cold World) for mixing and Alan Douches for mastering.
Sonically, the record is described as part old-school stomp, part wild-eyed punk experiment. It’s got bounce, grime, and real emotional teeth – touching on themes of mental illness, self-sabotage, and the way your brain can drag you down no matter what’s going on around you.
“You can be having a beautiful day, surrounded by friends,” says Matheson. “And your brain can continuously ruin it. No matter how good or bad your life is, you can still hate yourself.”
Pig Pen’s Mental Madness is pure catharsis – ten tracks of primal, ugly truth delivered with the volume cranked and no safety net in sight. If “Mental Mentality” is anything to go by, the full LP is going to hit like a brick wall. And we’ll be standing front row for it.
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