There is a persistent conflict in heavy metal: that of silliness versus profound seriousness. Extreme metal sees the most self-serious, philosophical bands win critical favor and masked bands are, again, taking the top of the charts. The most complex and challenging musicians in the metal sphere are still prone to wearing corpse paint, writing songs about murder or weed, or pushing nihilism to hyperbolic extremes. Thankfully, there is a sweet spot that brings balance to this dynamic, and it is most often found in death metal.
Davenport’s Pit Lord have never had any pretense about being serious. From their inception, they have dedicated their death metal arts to the macabre savagery of barbecue. Yeah, barbecue. Death metal themed around summertime grill-outs may seem like a gimmick quick to burn out, but Pit Lord is unleashing their third (and best) full-length album Massive Grilling Capacity on July 18. The project features perfectly smoked and slightly charred metallic musings covering all things cooked meat.
Under all the sauce, Pit Lord rips. Though they are a two-piece (Dan Frietag and Lyndon Ehlers), they don’t sound like it. They perform and record all of the instruments on the album, letting a fog-machine-equipped grill stand in for the backtracked drums when they play live. Their musicianship, paired with their album title, prove that Pit Lord are ardent students of death metal. Massive Grilling Capacity is a nod to Dismember’s Massive Killing Capacity — even in the album art, which shows a similar war machine, though Pit Lord’s art also invokes Bolt Thrower’s chaotic comic-book inspired art from Realm Of Chaos.
Their sense of humor is enhanced with samples from movies, television and… cooking videos? Where they get some of these samples is known only to a well-used grill brush or set of tongs. Songs like “Mandatory Burgercide” and “Done As Shit” pay homage to other metal bands (Slayer and Sanguisugabogg) while other songs amplify Pit Lord’s own chops. “Kings Of The Carnivorous Creation” features some outstanding black metal moments and a ripping guitar solo coda. “The Matter Of Platter” approaches tech-death territory, balancing blast beats and complex riffs while the duo share vocal duties like a grill sizzling both hot dogs and hamburgers. There is even a doom section on “Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,” adding to the variety.
Pit Lord reminds us metalheads that there is a lot of fun to be had in death metal. You can melt listeners’ faces off while still leaving them smiling. Massive Grilling Capacity easily escalates the band into the upper echelons of Iowa extreme metal with its searing tracks and succulent odes to old-school death metal. So fire up the smoker, grab a beer and headbang your way to dinner.
Upcoming event:
Massive Grilling Capacity Record Release Show w/ support from Bear Mace, 12 Gauge Autopsy and Dirt God, Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m., Raccoon Motel, Davenport
This article was originally published in Little Village’s July 2025 issue.
