A new music talent show is in production.
So You Think You Can Pig Squeal? is an ‘extreme metal’ version of the usual music talent shows.
“Whenever some brave soul tries to sing a metal song on any of those shows, they’re treated as a novelty or something to be laughed at,” said …Pig Squeal producer Luke Malakite. “The judges have no idea what’s going on and the audience react as if they’ve been forced to sit through the Terrifier trilogy. It’s pretty insulting! Metal music deserves better than be to treated as a carnival sideshow!”
…Pig Squeal is a two-month series (airing for free on YouTube on the Darkest Timeline Records page) that will showcase emerging extreme metal bands – with weekly performances, eliminations, and the top six bands playing in a special mini-festival that will tour around the United States.
“I’m a metal journalist and have been to countless local shows. There’s so much talent out there that gets ignored and the bands fade away. Our show will represent all styles of extreme metal. I just chose the Pig Squeal name because it sounded sick.”
Though there is one rule to get on the show: the bands must be active and have released either an EP or an album (physically or on Spotify).
“I chose that rule because we can plug their work on show and hopefully drive up sales. Ideally, viewers can hop onto the band’s website, social media pages, or Spotify and snap up or stream their records.”
And unlike the mainstream talent shows, …Pig Squeal will be catered to metal audiences.
“Our production team found an old metal club in Philadelphia that is perfect for our show. The judges will sit in the bar area and there’s plenty of room for fans to mosh to the bands.”
As for the judges, Malakite is still deciding.
“Obviously it’ll be people from the extreme metal community, both bands and journalists. I’ve been exhausting my contact list looking for the right people.”
And while Malakite will also host the show, he’s happy to step aside if someone with a bigger profile comes along.
“Hopefully that happens, but if not then I’ll host the whole thing. It doesn’t bother me. I just wanna see this show succeed. We’ve been handing out free tickets at locals shows, so there should be a good turnout for the first few episodes.”
So You Think You Can Pig Squeal? starts in early January 2025.
