by Alan Esher
Pig has gone through many forms in its lifespan. Being the brainchild of Raymond Watts, who has worked with fellow industrial rockers KMFDM and produced for Psychic TV and Einstürzende Neubauten, he has built up quite a collection of musical influences and inspirations. It shows on Wrecked. Expanding on the guitar driven sound experimented with on Sinsation, Watts has created an album that has a much more professional, faster, and harder sound than the earlier one. With the use of grinding synth lines, fast and crunchy guitars (courtesy of Gunter Schulz from KMFDM), and sampling (ranging from epic sounding orchestration on "No One Gets Out of Her Alive" and "My Sanctuary" to insects and machines on "Everything" and "F.F.F"), Wrecked is a powerful and violent album. It may also make Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails a bit jealous. Chaotic in nature, Watts' structures range from the utter nihilism of "The Only Good One's a Dead One" to the melodious string-laden "Save Me" (a song of words left unsaid in the game of love...or lust as Watts might have it). Wrecked is truly a powerful and enchanting album that proves industrial music is very much alive and well.