Head Cage

Head Cage is the sixth studio album by American grindcore band Pig Destroyer. The album was released on September 7, 2018 through Relapse Records.^[12] The album features vocal cameos from Richard Johnson and Kat Katz from Agoraphobic Nosebleed, along with Dylan Walker from Full of Hell.^[3]

Head Cage
Studio album by Pig Destroyer
Released	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Recorded	December 2017 – February 2018
Studio	Visceral Sound Studios (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)
Genre	Metalcore,[1] grindcore[2]
Length	30:55
Label	Relapse
Producer	Scott Hull
Pig Destroyer chronology
Mass & Volume (2013) Head Cage (2018) the octagonal stairway (2020)
Singles from Head Cage
"Army of Cops" Released: July 10, 2018 (2018-07-10)[3]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Consequence of Sound	7.5/10[6]
Exclaim!	9/10[7]
MetalSucks	[8]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[9]
Sputnikmusic	8/10[10]
Metal Storm	8.0/10[11]

The band commented in an official description of Head Cage:

"Across twelve tracks, Pig Destroyer weave together harrowing tales of philosophical dualities, touching on mortality and depression, fear and violence, and the darkest complexities of the human condition, all told through the distorted lens of delightfully transgressive vocalist/lyricist JR Hayes."^[3]

Background

It is the band's only album with bassist John Jarvis in their line-up, and the last to feature Blake Harrison, who would leave in 2022 and die in 2024. MetalSucks called the album an "immediate frontrunner for the best metal album of 2018."^[13] The band released a teaser for the album on June 27, 2018.^[14][15]

Reception

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
Decibel	Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2018	10	[16]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by J. R. Hayes; all music is composed by Scott Hull.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tunnel Under the Tracks"	1:21
2.	"Dark Train"	1:11
3.	"Army of Cops"	3:18
4.	"Circle River"	2:45
5.	"The Torture Fields"	2:55
6.	"Terminal Itch"	1:13
7.	"Concrete Beast"	3:21
8.	"The Adventures of Jason and JR"	2:12
9.	"Mt. Skull"	1:37
10.	"Trap Door Man"	1:15
11.	"The Last Song"	2:40
12.	"House of Snakes"	7:07
Total length:		30:55

Personnel

Pig Destroyer

• J. R. Hayes – lead vocals
• Scott Hull - guitars
• John Jarvis – bass, gang vocals
• Blake Harrison - noise, samples, gang vocals
• Adam Jarvis – drums, gang vocals

Additional musicians

• Richard Johnson − guest vocals (track 3), gang vocals
• Kat Katz − guest vocals (tracks 6, 7)
• Jason Hodges − guest vocals (track 8)
• Dylan Walker − noise (track 11)
• Aaron "Baron" Kirkpatrick − gang vocals

Production

• Scott Hull − recording
• Will Putney − mixing, mastering
• Mark McCoy − artwork, layout
• Mark Valentino − photography

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17]	146
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18]	100