Born from the ashes of pandemic-era isolation and lit on fire by lifelong friendship, Pig Pen’s debut album Mental Madness arrives like a fist through drywall. In just two days - one for writing, one for recording - the Niagara-based group of hardcore lifers banged out a relentless 10-track blast that channels the spirit of classic ’80s hardcore through a modern lens.

Pig Pen is as much a reunion as it is a debut. Matty Matheson - yes, that Matty Matheson, chef and restaurateur turned feral frontman, and star of The Bear - on vocals; Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfire and Doom’s Children on guitar; Daniel Romano and his brother Ian Romano on guitar and drums; and Young Guv’s Tommy Major on bass. From the outside it may look like a side project, but one listen shows it’s a passion project. And a loud one.

“It was during the pandemic and we were all back home,” says Matheson. “We wanted to make something heavy and noisy, rooted in the hardcore we grew up on.” So they did. No label deadlines, no industry expectations… just friends, riffs, a shared history, and some Chinese food. “We wrote 10 songs in one day,” Matheson shares. “And the next day, we recorded them.”

That spontaneity translates directly into the sound of Mental Madness, it’s tight, furious, unfiltered. But beneath the blasts of distortion and breakneck rhythms lies something deeper, a record grappling with mental health, self-doubt, and the quiet war that rages behind a confident exterior. On lead single “Mental Mentality,” Matheson roars, “Teach me to hate myself / Teach me not to care.” It’s both a cry for help and a cathartic release, hardcore’s eternal balancing act between breakdown and breakthrough.

Despite the album’s heaviness, there’s joy baked into the chaos. The band’s camaraderie bleeds through every chugging chord. “Our love of each other is what makes it,” says Matheson. “Joyousness,” echoes Daniel Romano. It’s a paradox that makes perfect sense in the hardcore world - music born from pain but powered by community. Mental Madness reflects the lived-in wisdom and weariness of grown men who’ve seen some shit, lived through even more, and still want to scream about it. Together. And that’s hardcore in its purest form.