"Pigs of the Roman Empire" was a great idea: get the Melvins and Lustmord, two sonically different bands from opposite ends of the musical spectrum together and listen to what comes out of it. At the very least, two projects that until now have catered themselves to specific audiences could have a chance at creating something universally appealing.
It's not bad, but it falls a little short. Lustmord rarely gets rowdy by normal terms, obviously excepting rowdy relative to itself. The Melvins never really calm down, excepting calm relative to themselves. What "Pigs of the Roman Empire" essentially does is alternate placidly calm with heavy metal rowdy, providing a sense of bizarre stalker mix-tape. Again, this isn't such a bad thing.
The album is a fun listen. Lustmord provides more than enough odd sounds to steal the show and the Melvins' King Buzzo doesn't let up from his standards of guitar wizardry. What the album is missing are some more ubiquitous tracks and something a little more unexpected. A critic isn't an artist and cannot mandate art, but "Pigs of the Roman Empire" promised Kool-Aid and dished out water and sugar separately. The sound leaves minds adequately hydrated and properly buzzed, but with the knowledge that it could be better.
"Oh, sorrrrrt of," Mr. Kool-Aid would say.
