Fucked Up - Year of the Pig (Vice)

Fucked up: unpredictable, unrivalled, unparalleled, and with a penchant for really long songs. This song is longer. Coming in at 18.35, and it’s huge in not only length, but both sound and ambition.

For a hardcore punk band, ‘Year of the Pig’ starts off fairly tame, a very Doors influenced keyboard leads into a catchy bass line and a pretty vocal, lending an angelic nature to the whole sound… oh wait, there it is. The unmistakable gravel sanded throat vocal of a man who eats razor blades for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

The chest beating singing drowns out the previous sound that it is layered on as the vocalist, known as Pink Eyes, screams his part loud and proud, building and building before… dropping back. The teasing trick is employed a handful of times. Frustrating or tantalising is completely up to the listener - but it works well, pausing, jerking before returning to a swaying beat.

By the seven minute mark the song is in a frenzy – crashing cymbals, screaming and general mayhem. The wait feels worthwhile. Eventually running out of steam, the track breaks down again, but it does return. It returns heavier and more crass than before beating on and on into an orgasmic climax.

On the whole, this could certainly be seen as tamer recording compared to the Fucked Up we saw on the phenomenal onslaught of the LP ‘Hidden World’. But this bunch of Canadians, who made a name for themselves, releasing 7” after 7” before finally succumbing to an album are in no way watered down. Their live shows are aggressive and intense – purportedly instigating $2,000 of damage at a performance on MTV Canada… Yes, they were on MTV… introduced as “Effed Up”, which is a shame…

Put simply, Fucked Up’s single track masterpiece, ‘Year of the Pig’ is effing great.