LIKE watching atoms smash together through a microscope, sometimes it's best to watch chaos theory unfold in front of you.

The lights softened as humidity clung to the air. Silhouettes of young men and women moved as a formless mass in the small space. A screech of guitar heralded a wave of noise. The drums pounded relentlessly, and you could try to keep up in the pit. I chose to stand back and let my senses be consumed, completely invested in the present moment. 

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, stylised as Pigsx7, a doom metal and hard rock band from Newcastle, took the roof off the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal.

Matthew Baty provides lead vocals, Sam Grant and Adam Ian Sykes are on guitar, John-Michael Joesph Hedley features on bass, and Ewan Mackenzie lays down the drums. This five-piece creates a monstrous wall of sound, like a punch to the solar plexus. However, underneath this, a listener can find subtle attention to detail and tight shifts in dynamics. 

The Westmorland Gazette: The moshing crowd came forward into the stageThe moshing crowd came forward into the stage (Image: Brewery Arts)

Doom metal is a genre as old as Black Sabbath and Pigsx7 understands the canon of music that they are part of. However, their lyrics about subjects like killing the ego in songs such as Reducer give a psychedelic surrealist edge which helps them stand out. 

Proceedings kicked off in the Malt Room with support from Luminous Bodies and Loadbath. After these bands exchanged riffs, the crowd was already lively. 

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When Pigsx7 finally came on stage, the mood instantly intensified. Due to the nature of the venue space, the moshing crowd started falling forward onto the low stage. This caused a headache for security and even Matty had to stop the music at one point to teach correct mosh etiquette to an over-enthusiastic audience.

The Westmorland Gazette: It was a sweaty affairIt was a sweaty affair (Image: Brewery Arts)

However this is merely the symptom of a very good rock gig. Particular highlighters were Reducer and Rubbernecker, the singles from their 2020 album Viscerals. Newer material from their recently released album Land of Sleeper also went down well. 

Bringing a metal gig to an unplugged town like Kendal may seem difficult but Pigsx7 successfully amassed the entire alternative community in a thirty-mile radius and then proceeded to knock their socks off.