Pigface is an industrial music collective directed by remixer/producer/drummer Martin Atkins, who prior to forming the group in 1990, had lent his talents to such outfits as Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Killing Joke, as well as heading his own record label, Invisible. During Ministry's 1989-1990 tour in support of their classic The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste album, Atkins came up with the idea of Pigface along with then-Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin. For each album, Atkins would assemble a new lineup of alternative superstars, reflecting the anarchistic ideals of the original punk rock bands of the mid-'70s. Beginning in 1990, Pigface has created albums that range from bracing industrial noise to punk ravers to trance-like atmospherics, including such titles as 1990's Gub, 1991's Welcome to Mexico Asshole, 1992's Fook, 1993's Truth Will Out, 1994's Notes From Thee Underground, 1995's Feels Like Heaven, 1997's A New High in Low, and 1998's Eat Shit, You Fucking Redneck (all of which were issued via Invisible). Since the group's inception, Pigface has seen countless renowned members of the punk/alt-rock community pass through its ranks, including Steve Albini, Martin Atkins, Paul Barker, Jello Biafra, Chris Connelly, Danny Carey (Tool), Duane Denison (the Jesus Lizard), Flea, Chris Haskett (Rollins Band), cEvin Key, Shonen Knife, Lydia Lunch, John Lydon, Trent Reznor, Geordie Walker, Andrew Weiss, and David Yow, among countless others. March of 2001 saw the release of a double-disc, 35-track long compilation, The Best of Pigface: Preaching to the Perverted. The 2003 album Easy Listening... was followed by five remix albums, all incorporating the word "head" into the title (Dubhead, Clubhead, etc.). Fook was reissued in 2005 with two bonus discs. The limited-edition Head Remixes followed a year later. ~ Greg Prato & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought Atkins, Nivek Ogre and Chris Connelly. Also on the tour was Rieflin, regular Ministry drummer at the time. While Atkins enjoyed the dynamic of playing with a second drummer, he felt that the lineup was capable of doing much more than being, what he has frequently called, "a Ministry cover band." Once the tour was over, Atkins and Rieflin decided to continue working together and recruited several of their tourmates from the The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste tour. Pigface was born with the intention of keeping a revolving-door style collaboration with many experimentally-minded musicians, many of whom, especially early on, had recorded for the influential industrial music record label Wax Trax!.
Trent Reznor was also an early partner, before Nine Inch Nails became a household name. "Suck," co-written and sung by Reznor, was something of an underground hit, and Reznor later re-recorded the song for the Broken EP.
Rieflin eventually left Pigface, leaving Atkins in charge. The hundreds of musical collaborators to record and perform with Pigface have ensured that each album, and each song, is unique. However, this practice has led to some negative criticism due to a perceived lack of continuity.
Pigface concerts are characterized by high-energy performances. Frequently there will be upwards of 10 musicians on stage at any time during the show. In addition, members of the audience are occasionally invited on stage for the encore.
In 2009 Detroit-based label Full Effect Records announced[1] the signing of Pigface.
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