Contaminated Tones: Shemale Penetration / Pigtails

It took me longer to come to a decision relating to the manner in which I present my coverage of this 7" that was sent to me, than to have an opinion on the music. I am vehemently against censorship of any form, as should be obvious and I also do not want to have an age-verification window pop up when someone comes to try and look at the website simply because it may deter visitors - whoever that may be. I link to the site in my email and I am involved in other groups which communicate through email where members may potentially report content should they stumble on it. It was never a question of actually doing the review. And it was never a question of whether I would show the artwork or not - the Pigtails cover of the split is not egregious in any way. It was more about the inner sleeve specifically, whether to show it, and how to discuss the content, specifically the Pigtails background imagery, which appears to show underage girls being photographed in a sexually provocative manner. The more I thought about it the more fierce my intent to show the entire release became. As offensive and taboo as the subject matter covered is, showing the content openly is necessary to confront topics which, as sad as it is, are part of our societies, species, and - for some - human nature.

So I am showing the full release artwork. This includes both sides, uncensored, as well as the inside. Unless done so by our digital dictators, I will eschew personally putting any age verification gate on the site for any reason. If an adult comes across the content and takes offense and is affected and wants to report the site, so be it. As if that person has never had thoughts worse than the artistic depiction of a female religious figure with a schlong; as if someone offended by sexual taboos doesn't deeply harbor their own unfulfilled kinks and desires they dare not speak about. I am, honestly, more concerned about an under aged child stumbling upon the content. It is this concern that left me with reservations but ultimately, I feel imagery such as that shown below is more likely to result in questions and an opportunity for parents to educate and have a mature conversation than anything else. Additionally, it is not my place to answer for under aged children surfing the web unsupervised without parental controls any more than it is the government's place to answer for parent's allowing / unable-to-supervise their children from seeing gory movies or playing violent video games. I know how I would explain the topics to my kids if I had children - openly and honestly - and that is all that matters to me.

And to be honest, there are way more horrific album covers, jacket artwork, offensive topics, subjects of a taboo nature circulating in the extreme underground scenes. If simply a momentary glimpse of a painted female with a penis or the sad reality of the sex trafficking of barely legal teenagers from third world countries is enough to upend all inner stability and cause endless trauma, I dread the result of such a person tripping over Peter Sotos' Buyers Market, which exists uncensored on Youtube or reading even basic news reporting on the treatment of women by Isis fighters.* Is the artistic representation and presentation of topics any worse than their coverage in the news, or on Dateline with Chris Hansen? The attempt to purify information to only be that which gatekeepers believe is acceptable is an affront to open discourse, the free flowing of information, and ultimately, solutions to the world's most difficult problems.

Pigtail's side of the split concerns the legal case against Gloria Trevi, a Mexican pop-star who had married Lifehouse bassist Sergio Andrade and was accused of recruiting underage teenagers to have sex with him.+ The Mexican legal system found them innocent and released them. Pigtails offer a tight regimented style of pornogrind which is clear and precise in many ways. Vocals are quick burps of sound over thick downtuned guitars. Each of the songs begins with samples in Spanish, which I can't understand, but are never-the-less mood setting. Sharp minimalist drums define the three songs rhythmically and simple repetitive riffs fill in between. For example, "Orgias, Violacion, Sumision, Dominacion, Musica, Esclavitud Abuso, Explotacion, Y Diversion, Eso Era Clan, Que Perfecto Plan", the second of their three tracks, has a singular repetitive riff in lockstep with the tinny crisp snare drum that is so pronounced in their songs. The combination is nothing unique, but the tightness of it all is very well done. The heavy contrast between the gurgling vocals, the downtuned simplistic riffs, and the tight upfront sharp snare is a strong combination.

Where as Pigtails is near militant in feel, Shemale Penetration gives a distinctively more upbeat and looser atmosphere. Shemale Penetration's three tracks are noticeably more elaborated in their arrangement and construction. This relative increase in complexity is mainly due to the inclusion of numerous vocal techniques used throughout their songs. While the opening track is an introduction track with a sample - a wasted opportunity to include a more substantial offering in my opinion - it's their two full length tracks which serve to highlight the subtle difference between the two bands. At first listen, "Sentimiento Binario" appears to follow in suit to the Pigtails tracks, but as the song comes to it's halfway mark, it devolves into a breakdown riff with another vocal sample acting as a transitional guide, before being plastered with pig-squeal vocals. The ease at which Shemale Penetration maneuvers this is an example of sampling used with structural purpose to strong effect. Their second song "Tres Cuios" follows with a similar structure. The song gives us the higher pitched hardcore / punk vocals, pig squeals, ultra low guttural vocals, as well as myriad oral noises in between. The end of the track has a weird keyboard solo which was unexpected and bizarre; I enjoyed it as such.

Both bands offer short bursts of music; the entire split is only eleven minutes long. This short playtime makes the release very palatable for someone such as myself, someone who does not spend a huge amount of time listening to grindcore or even brutal death metal. The presentation of the split is well done on multiple levels. There is a definite level of extremity reached on the visual and thematic side of things; sexuality, especially taboo subjects, is often an uncomfortable subject to broach and both bands throw caution to the wind with a full-frontal assault. It is more difficult for me to go deep into the Shemale Penetration tracks on this thematic level, since the lyrics are all in Spanish and I honestly am not sure if there is an overarching theme or concept to the band. A listener who lives day and night for pornogrind might find the release banal or hardly provoking, but I feel the tracks have some merit and character worth a listen.