Prowler In the Yard

Go and push the "thumbs up" button for that four-star review that starts with "Grindcore..." and ends with "CONTENDER FOR THE LIST" -- with a final verdict after it that says something like "No. Grindcore is a niche genre for speed freaks, and it should stay that way". Not only was that review on-point when it comes to the music, but it was also extremely informative. I've learned a couple of things reading this. Plus, when I browsed through the reviews and galleries of the user who wrote this one review, it is obvious that this person knows their proverbial shit in far more music styles than the umbrella genres of metal and hardcore only. That's the sort of user I could see myself sharing a drink and discuss music with for hours on end... My personal take is not as knowledgeable when it comes to the grindcore scene. Listening to Destroyer's *Prowler In The Yard, I could appreciate the power of the band's sound, their inclusion of subtle metalcore elements proving their technical abilities, and the overall energy of the execution. So, on paper at least, I can understand why the album left such an imprint in its elected genre, to the point where it can be considered as a milestone for grindcore at large. Of course, just like the most "vanilla" music listeners out there, I found three quarters of the LP extremely repetitive, and even tiring once in a while. "Strangled With A Halo" stood out, though. I can't put my finger on the reason why this one song stood out, but given the lack of "general dynamics" in the tracklist, I'll take the few jolts of electricity that I can experience listening to this LP with some amount of gratitude. Another huge point of contention for most listeners would be the neurotic lyrics, that goes without saying. The themes expressed in them indicate the obvious self-indulgence of someone wallowing in their own misery for sure. Yet I have to admit that I found a few turns of phrase strongly evocative, and JR Hayes is obviously a gifted wordsmith and someone who has read stuff. You can sense a bunch of various literary influences behind his songwriting (beat poetry? surrealism?), and that can only be a plus for this type of project. That said, those text-to-speech intros and outros are still cringe as fuck, and some of the "allusive" depictions of women within the songs made me raise an eyebrow at times. Art can help you paint ugly feelings to get them out of your system and move on, I guess, and I hope the thing was at least therapeutic for Hayes. I only wish he took the full measure of his responsibilities as a songwriter back then. Does he *now*, by the way? Let's just say that this thing verges a little too close to misogyny for me, artistic license be damned. Plus, there are some connotations to the word "prowler" that make me feel ill-at-ease when you add them to some of the lyrics... I have just interviewed feminist conceptual hardcore punk band PISS yesterday (lovely people), and I would feel like a hypocrite simply praising the "literary merits" of Pig Destroyer without mentioning what's not so praiseworthy in them. Please check out PISS's incredibly intense debut by the way (it's about to be released at the end of October 2026 as I am writing this). Long story short, there's more than one way to meld "extreme music" and literary intents, and not all of them are equal in my eyes... There is still one thing I truly appreciated in *Prowler In The Yard": the fistful of longer and generally slower songs towards its conclusion: "Hyperviolet", "Starbelly", and "Piss Angel". Not only are the hardcore and metalcore ingredients emphasized more clearly there, but you can also hear the welcome irruption of sludge and drone elements. Those sorts of songs should have been sprinkled earlier in the tracklist to bring it more variety and dynamics from the get-go. Besides, said variety could have also allowed the album to go beyond its probably dated "by-the-numbers" aspects elsewhere. I'd be hard-pressed to tell you what's "trending" right now in the grindcore and grindcore-adjacent scenes, but given how lively and adventurous a lot of metal, hardcore and other strands of extreme music acts are right now, I have a sneaking suspicion Pig Destroyer will sound a little quaint and formulaic for the younger members of their target audience today. Final verdict: this is basically the sort of record that would justify the implementation of a skip button in this generator in my eyes -- because it's not the use of said generator that can make most people understand music styles as extreme as this one anyway. So as benevolent as I can be given how tasteless this sort of submission is bound to appear for the more "normie listeners" out there, there's no way I can go above a polite three stars mark for this grindcore album. As that other reviewer said, you can't have all the micro-niche genres in the list anyway. Otherwise, I would pay to add yet another submission to the generator, choose the complete discography of the "legendary" powerviolence act Charles Bronson (everything fits in one CD, fyi, the full *96* tracks!), and then roll on the floor with laughter as I garner all the one-star reviews. Yet I think I'd rather "prowl in the yard" in *another* way. 2.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 3. 7.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the musicianship and production values + 2.5 for the artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 466 Albums from the original list I *might* select for mine later on: 293 Albums from the original list I won't select for mine: 343 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 124 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 143 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 320 (including this one)

I can't tell when one song ends and another begins but I am not sure I care. I never reach for grindcore but hey, it's definitely something. Invigorating and cleansing in an odd way. The intro track definitely getting skipped on future listens I imagine. Loads going on here, I should stop referencing my previous record in every review but It's interesting to me that I'm finding this way more enjoyable despite being notionally much less of a fan of this genre than Daft Punk's. Preacher Crawling was particularly good here. The longer tracks towards the end also show they can craft a full song (i'm thinking Hyperviolet) as well as the hairdryer one minute or so blasts that make up half the record. I could have done without the otherwise excellent Piss Angel stopping for a chat, but I didn't think that was really going to go on for 8 minutes anyway. Thanks submitter, this is what we are doing here.

Insanely abrasive.... Speed Freaks will love this. Same Grindcore vein as Napalm Death. Should be called Ear Destroyer. These fellas seem to be quite upset about something. Favourite songs: Snuff Film at Eleven, Trojan Whore, Sheet Metal Girl Least favourite songs: Body Scout, Jennifer, Starbelly, Piss Angel 2/5

It’s not the best grindcore I’ve heard this week, but I respect the addition.

So you can judge an album by its cover 😂 These guys must be super capable musicians, so, respect. It’s just not for me.

Killer album. A classic!

Ooh, how edgy.

I'm a fan of metal music, but grindcore is just shit. I had a good laugh at this album though.

No. Just no.

What a disappointment. Every song is a copy of the last one with screaming, speed metal, and lack of talent.

This album is definitely not for me, but I didn’t hate it as much as I hate jazz. To me, this isn’t music, it is noise and I would love to have a conversation with someone who likes this music to see what it is they like about it.

Grindcore. Un tanto insufrible. Un 2.

I guess it's not surprising but is disappointing this is rated so low here. We <3 grindcore

👎🏻

Definitely out there! The album feels really tight and there are some great riffs in there, but grindcore is really not my type of music. I can appreciate what they’re doing, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing back to this one.

Made it through nearly 1700 albums and got to this one. Just can’t do it.

Never got into metalcore or any of the adjacent styles. too much noise for me, too little melody

No.

Yeah grindcore isn't my thing and Prowler in the Yard isn't really a good example of the genre either, at least it's mercifully quick. There are references in the user reviews to the Napalm Death album we had on the main list as one of the few grindcore representatives (I'm not including Slipknot in there because they evolved out of it and showed the skill you can actually bring) and I said that was an atrocious 1/5. This is a recording from more than a decade later and doesn't improve upon it. It has good if unoriginal drumming and really not a lot else. 1.

Grindcore has a niche following in music. Lyrics and optics often reference (self)mutilation, gore, sexual assault, transgressive behavior that flies over the line of legality, suicidal ideations, an overwhelming sense of otherness, and rationalizing that. Not something I really care to listen to on a regular basis, but it has its moments. While not as appealing as such bands as Party Cannon, Cannibal Corpse, or Cattle Decapitation, Pig Destroyer is a highly influential and genre defining band.

I can't do grind core

Glad to have gotten exposure to this. Really not my thing but there were elements I appreciated. I really liked how this was 22 tracks but the listening experience was such that I would have believed it was one continuous piece. There was enough differences to know songs changed but still a constant flow.

Infantile

Has all the metal things you want, some screamin, some breakdowns, some chugga chugga guitars. And 37 minutes. Can't complain but won't write home to mama

Satisfyingly hard. Kind of fun if you don’t take it seriously. Hard to listen to in one sitting even at 35 minutes.

Unbearable. So Much Worse then I expected.

This is not good. And yet, I didn't skip any songs on it, so it has that going for it.

Might have liked this, except for the music and vocals. It doesn't hit me like good metal does. To each his own, but feel free to take my share of this

oh no, grindcore

fuck you

That was about what I expected. I love loud hard music but this is ridiculous... it is just loud and screaming every song. 2/5

Was not surprised.

Just go to a therapist already. Rating: 1.2

Some dirty riffs here

Prowler in the Yard is the second album by American grindcore band Pig Destroyer. It's the f***** up music that sounds like hell on earth. Drivers warning: listening to this album while driving will lead to road rage. It took me an initial listen and four booking to find out. It's a hard and filthy album and it's not too bad.

Grindcore. Un tanto insufrible. Un 2.

Seems ok to listen to once...but it isn't something I'd add to my personal playlist. "I'm too old for this $hit" - Danny Glover is Lethal Weapon 2. 2/5

Goddamn:0 its its own thing at least 4

Grindcore ronde 2. 14 years after Scum you can hear where the genre has changed and where it stayed the same. Good band

A bit too heavy for me, but I do appreciate the skill of the speed and unusual rhythms

Fuck them pigs

Grindcore. Remember that, from the Napalm Death album on the original list? Well, it's back. My hot take is that American grindcore had never been fully realized until this album. Taking Repulsion as a natural starting point, much of American grindcore had been strictly stemming from the then-popular wave of death metal at the time. Repulsion, of course, was the more thrashing death metal style from the mid '80s, but later groups such as Terrorizer, Brutal Truth, and Assück all found themselves sounding more like the death metal bands of their respective scenes (notably New York and Florida) with more grinding/blasting sections. Nary was there a "pure" grindcore group to be found in the United States. Not even New Jersey's Discordance Axis could claim to be a straightforward grindcore band, as they dabbled in a more technical style that was influenced by local mathcore group Rorschach. Enter Pig Destroyer. Guitarist Scott Hull had cut his teeth on grindcore-adjacent projects prior to this (the drum-machine-led cybergrind of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and comedy noisegrind group Anal Cunt), but was ready to deliver riffs for a no-bullshit grindcore band. Unlike the deathgrind bands of the '90s, Pig Destroyer was soley focused on delivering chaotic atonal grind riffs, manic drums with heavy blasting sections, and commanding shouted vocals that would define grindcore for the 21st century. This approach, with a distinctly metal tone, parallels a similar sound crafted by Nasum over in Europe around the same time. Both bands contributed to the larger pantheon of grindcore in ways that other bands would pick up on throughout the 2000s. Insect Warfare, Wormrot, Rotten Sound, and Nails would all find lineage back to either Nasum or Pig Destroyer in some way or another. So, to say that Pig Destroyer is an important band within the world of grind would be an understatement. Prowler in the Yard is Pig Destroyer's breakout album and arguably their masterpiece depending on who you talk to. Frighteningly compelling, every note on this album hits with a complete intensity that sounds shockingly full for a band with no bassist. Beyond the straight-forward grind tracks, Pig Destroyer will occasionally play with droning post-metal ambiance and disturbing dark ambient text-to-speech bookends that set the tone and push the conceptual ideas of Prowler to its fullest potential. It's a rush of unhindered violence that never fails to keep me enthralled. Do I think it's the greatest grindcore album of all time? No, but do I think it's an important grindcore album? Absolutely. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: No. There shouldn't be a single grindcore album on the list in the first place, let alone a second. It's a niche genre for speed freaks and it should stay that way.

I appreciate having this genre explored a bit more since I hated Napalm Death. This was more bearable but still very immature. I read the lyrics and was like "yeah cool story bro". It's got that edgelord energy. Hated the vocals. But at least this thing was short. My personal rating: 1/5 My rating relative to the list: 1.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Grindcore is so fucking funny man.

I'm open to most music. This one didn't hit a mark for me.

Really not my thing - striking me as predominately a pretty uniform high speed thrash. I wasn't differentiating one word in twenty of the supposedly extreme and transgressive lyrics, aside from the robot voiceover bookending it (which didn't Ido a lot for me). But I can't hate too much on a 22 track album that includes one almost 8 minute and another over 5 minute track but still clocks in shy of 37 minutes overall.

I think these boys need some food and an early night. They seem awfully tired and hangry. Perhaps this is useful for primal scream therapy or something. I wouldn't want to actually listen to it for pleasure.

It’s a no from me, dawg.

Relatively bland hardcore without much to distinguish it from the hundreds of other LPs like it out there. All for some heavier adds to the user list, but this has no defining features beyond its adequate execution and already feels pretty dated.

Rating: 5/10

Maybe this hit me at a bad time? Lord knows I've liked things musically worse than this but it came across as a tired and uninspiring attempt to shock.