As a founding member of industrial messiahs KMFDM in the early 80s, Raymond “Pig” Watts is a seasoned producer, performer and musical engineer with the ability to morph styles with ease. Pigs’ latest solo effort, Genuine American Monster, fluctuates between aggressive industrial to ambient trance.
After teaming up with Sascha Konietzko and Tim Skold for KMFDM’s recent come-back recording, Attak, Pig strikes with his sixth solo endeavor and his debut for Metropolis Records. While the KMFDM influence is still with Watts – most notably the use of female back-up singer to cushion the blow – he has a much unaided sound which is far removed from the band that put him on the map.
Genuine American Monster, as past Pig projects, extracts from many sources making for a diverse and eclectic album. Whether distorting his vocals as he does on “Prayer, Praise & Profit” or mixing distortion with a robotic effect on “Riot, Religion & Righteousness”, there is literally a surprise from track to track. Flexing his creative and rather warped muscle, Raymond adds salsa beat amongst the chaos and disorder on “Salambo”. The recording slows down with a Trent Reznor experimental rock atmosphere with the song “Whore” whereas “Black Brothel” has an Orb mood with gentle piano playing amongst mind bending swirls and ambient soundscapes The KMFDM ‘sound’ rears its ugly head on “Disrupt, Degrade and Devastate” and “F.O.M.,” however, it is most unmistakable on “A Fete Worse Than Death”.
While Raymond “Pig” Watts continues to be an undiscovered industrial treasure in comparison to Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, or even KMFDM, Genuine American Monster is this artist’s most varied piece of work thus far and will be treasured by Pig fans around the world.
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