Industrial music.

When you hear that genre many acts come to mind. KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Ministry, and of course, Pigface. Pigface was basically everyone in industrial/metal music. If you look up all its members, many familiar faces pop up for their band roster. They were a Wax Trax staple, releasing 18 albums and now after almost a quarter of a century, they’re still a household name for industrial music. The reunion started with an art show here in Chicago that ended up being a hit. So much so, that leader Martin Atkins decided to do a show and donate the proceeds to a music charity. Thus, Pigface 25 performance was born.

They brought in the whole gang as it were and fucking it up as only they know how!  

Being an industrial fan myself, I couldn’t wait to see this show. I’d never caught Pigface live, but I knew many of their songs. And so is the case with many industrial fans. We know the music, but might not know the band behind some of the classic ditties unless they were big like KMFDM, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails just to name a few. Pigface is one of those bands that might remain a mystery to many, but it doesn’t take away any of the appreciation you have for the band.

During this almost four plus hour show that went into the wee hours of the morning, we caught many familiar faces playing their hits from the golden years of industrial. It might’ve been the biggest collection of bands I’ve seen on a stage at once with a headcount of well over 40+ musicians trading instruments and sharing mics. It looked like the kind of party we’d all want to be a part of. It was a spectacle. The crowd was attentive, singing and bouncing throughout the set, albeit on Black Friday, which seemed quite appropriate.

There were guest appearances from Gravity Kills frontman Jeff Scheel, and others as well as performances from Frankie of Thrill Kill Kult and En Esch, formerly of KMFDM who ironically played “Godlike”, a KMFDM classic. All in all, Pigface had one awesome show which is rumored to be their last. They went out with a bang and we were there to witness it firsthand.

Fuck it up Pigface!