Pigmy Love Circus

By Peter Hemminger

Forget about the prog-rock pretensions and pseudo-mystical philosophizing. Despite the presence of Tool drummer Danny Carey, there’s nothing remotely cerebral about The Power of Beef. Pigmy Love Circus started playing their biker metal in the late ’80s, recruited Carey in the early ’90s, and went on hiatus for a decade when Tool’s success left them without a drummer.


With Power of Beef, Pigmy Love Circus, every member of which could kick your ass several times over, delivers 11 tracks of nothing but Sabbath-inspired sludge (if Sabbath were from the U.S South) and Michael Savage’s bark. It’s the type of metal where choruses consist of the band shouting the song’s title repeatedly, where the “swamp creatures” and “headless horseman” meet in the “bone orchard.” Frankly, it’s dumb as all shit.


But Pigmy Love Circus know exactly how ridiculous they are. They’re having a good time–playing balls out rock and roll–no sense of melody or dynamics required. It’s not smart, it’s not pretty, but there’s a bit of variety in the tracks and a bit more swagger than your average sludge.


Behold the Power of Beef doesn’t live up to Carey’s other band, but at least it’s meaty.