EPK – Hog Meets Frog – humANIMALization (Echotunes)
Publicist – Jon Asher – Jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“The EP is a non-conceptual concept record under the motto of the title: ‘humANIMALization’.
And, as it happens, when the animal in the human awakens, then, for example, one turns into a bigot monkey and the other becomes an insecure piggy, one becomes a peeping control bear and the other becomes a greedy stock market bull.
Just this behavior – sometimes silly, monkey, or also clumsy, bearish – is told in the lyrics, as well as through the wide range of sound worlds and riffs. There it goes from the cheerful, funky ‘I’m about to pee’ slap sound to the broad, massive, ‘the world is so evil’ New Metal sound to fuzzy-bassy and distorted-guitary sound with a sip of kick-ass drums.
You can call it progressive if you want or metal funky or whatever you want⦠in the end itâs nothing less than HOG MEETS FROGs SQUEAQUACKmusic!!
I think that most people will first notice the cheerful, funny, sick side of HOG MEETS FROG. But a few will remove the mask and then let themselves fall into the deepest depths of the music and lyrics and see what thoughts lie dormant there: Stories that life writes.” – Peter âPETZâ Schwabl – Hog Meets Frog
For fans of Primus, RHCP, System of a Down, TOOL, Frank Zappa
Band: Hog Meets Frog
EP Title: humANIMALization
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Label: Echotunes
Hogmeetsfrog.com | Facebook.com/hogmeetsfrog | Twitter.com/hogmeetsfrog | Youtube.com/@hogmeetsfrog | Instagram.com/hogmeetsfrog | Tiktok.com/@hogmeetsfrogÂ
Sales Links: Hogmeetsfrog.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music
[Download EP Cover | Download EP Lyrics]
EP Title: humANIMALization
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Label: Echotunes
Track Listing:
1. Of Snakes ânâ Moles ânâ Bulls ânâ Dough (4:32)
2. Peeping-Bearâs Exegesis of Not Peeping (5:10)
3. Apes Donât Smoke Cigars â Just Pipes (4:47)
4. Stuff(ed), Cage(d) & Enslave(d) (3:25)
5. ZIGGY The Unpigcorn (3:46)
EP Length: 21:42
(ghost track to find â number 23. It is called âthe rabbitâs cryâ)
EP Recording Credits:
⢠All songs performed by: HOG MEETS FROG
⢠All songs written by: HOG MEETS FROG
⢠Produced by: Peter âPETZâ Schwabl & Lukas Wiltschko
⢠Mixed by: Lukas Wiltschko (lwsonics.com)
⢠Mastered by: Lukas Wiltschko
⢠EP Artwork by: Attila Zsolt Tornyi (LaMañana, lamanana.net)
EP Band Lineup:
Ivo MatuÅ¡ â Drums (peeping-bearâs exegesis of not peeping  ||  apes donât smoke cigars â just pipes)
Christoph âfizlâ Hehn â Drums (of snakes ânâ moles ânâ bulls ânâ dough  ||  stuff(ed), cage(d) & enslave(d)  ||  ZIGGY the unpigcorn)
ARIYAN Rezaei Jahromi â Guitar
Peter âPETZâ Schwabl â Bass, Storytelling
Live Band Lineup:
Christoph âfizlâ Hehn â Drums
ARIYAN Rezaei Jahromi â Guitar
Peter âPETZâ Schwabl â Bass, Storytelling
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The EP as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
The EP is a non-conceptual concept album under the motto of the title: ‘humANIMALization’.
And, as it happens, when the animal in the human awakens, then, for example, one turns into a bigot monkey and the other becomes an insecure piggy, one becomes a peeping control bear and the other becomes a greedy stock market bull.
Just this behavior – sometimes silly, monkey, or also clumsy, bearish – is told in the lyrics, as well as through the wide range of sound worlds and riffs. There it goes from the cheerful, funky ‘I’m about to pee’ slap sound to the broad, massive, ‘the world is so evil’ New Metal sound to fuzzy-bassy and distorted-guitary sound with a sip of kick-ass drums.
You can call it progressive if you want or metalfunky or whatever you want⦠in the end itâs nothing less than HOG MEETS FROGs SQUEAQUACKmusic!!The best approach to serious topics is fun.
I think that most people will first notice the cheerful, funny, sick side of HOG MEETS FROG. But a few will remove the mask and then let themselves fall into the deepest depths of the music and lyrics and see what thoughts lie dormant there: Stories that life writes.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Of Snakes ânâ Moles ânâ Bulls ânâ Dough (4:32)
The text tells of a friendship between a snake and a mole and a greedy bull who is addicted to the madness of money-making and wants to break up the friends to get more money himself. In the end, of course, friendship wins.
Starting with a stonerous riff the music then slides into a dry, narrative stomping and further into a spherical reverberant sound delirium, to finally once again – as already at the beginning of the song – get the stones and rocks rolling.
2. Peeping-Bearâs Exegesis of Not Peeping (5:10)
The reason for writing the story of the peeping bear was the intelligence services and control freaks of this world, starting with the NSA scandal up to the possibilities of digitally utilized psychometric tools used for influencing elections by corporations or rich power-hungry people and warmongers.
This and much more we have packed into the sleeve of the sympathetic voyeur bear, who on top of that smilingly believes that he is spying, spying, and eavesdropping on everyone with good reason and only with the best of intentions.
From the left, from the right, from above and underneath, there comes this funky oriental punch right in your ears that represents the toe-dancing voyeur-bear, who sympathetically elated but unerringly sneaks into your mind and makes you join in. This absurdly groovy riff – in all its variations – opens a brief window in the middle of the song to a ponderous 7/8 schizophrenia that provides a prime breeding ground for a guitar solo. When the window closes, the slap bass hand in hand with the drums and the guitar do their fat oriental play again, until the song takes freaky punky forms to finally end in a massive slow groove.
3. Apes Donât Smoke Cigars â Just Pipes (4:47)
Let me explain the tendencies to write the text for ‘apes don’t smoke cigars – just pipes’ as follows: If the natural sciences are to be believed, the average commonality of human DNA and chimpanzee DNA is 98.5% – in some cases, it is as high as 99.4% congruent. So many a man has more in common with a chimpanzee at the DNA level than with a human woman.
Thus it has lent itself to transferring the behavior and attitude of some humans to monkeys. In this sense, bigotry and hubris fit our DNA relatives with the operating thumb like a glove. If I may quote myself at this point: âthe pride of gods creation, the candle in the dark, above reproach superior, enlightened by the spark. admired by all livings, the sun but out of sight, infallible, benignant, a special kind of weight.â
4. Stuff(ed), Cage(d) & Enslave(d) (3:25)
“stuff(ed), cage(d) & enslave(d)” describes just three scenarios on which a part of humanity perpetuates itself in history.
Does it make sense? No! Would there be other ways? Yes!
Panda girls being caged in boxes, dolphin teenagers being stuffed into tuna cans, human children being enslaved on cocoa plantages and all this just to guarantee fun, tradition, and pleasure for a few people on this earth â and they never ever give a damn about where it comes from.
Does it make sense? No! Would there be other ways? Yes!
guided by a funky, slappy bass beaten off by the drums and licked by a weirdo guitar the voice tells the story in a sick way until the âthree-nstrumentsâ in the back suddenly – just for a moment – jump forward and punch a distorted brute hole in the sound to immediately retreat right away again next to the voice, clear and distinct. But then, after some time, everything crosses over to a biohazard chorus – something that tells the listener what not to do what has been done very often for much with his mind too long while listening to it: “stuffed, caged & enslaved!”
5. ZIGGY The Unpigcorn (3:46)
BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. HOG MEETS FROG play their music in honor of the holy spirit SQUEAUQACK. He created everything with just one fart and then fell into a deep sleep, on the edge of infinity. Maybe one day he will come back and – hand in hand with Kthulu (the misunderstood savior), the flying spaghetti monster, and some characters of the HOG MEETS FROG family – make the world a place of love, peace, and joy.
2. After a show, PETZ was asked by some fans if he wanted to drink liquor or whiskey with them or smoke a joint. PETZ thankfully declined, saying that he doesn’t drink or smoke, whereupon he was asked, “Really? And how do you get ideas like that without alcohol or drugs?”
3. HOG MEETS FROG seems to be funny⦠but it isnât.
4. HOG MEETS FROGs music was defined as âavant-garde funkâ.
Top: | Peter âPETZâ Schwabl (bass, storytelling)
Photo Credit Vicky vanSane
Hog Meets Frog is nothing short of humorous and entertaining with its diverse, wacky music. They have a new EP âhumANIMALizationâ coming out in February. A non-conceptual concept record, it explores offbeat stories about several intriguing animals including a bigot monkey, an insecure piggy, a peeping control bear, and a greedy stock market bull. Their high jinks are detailed through storytelling and interesting music that is cheerful, funky, fuzzy, and progressive. The band explains further:âEvery person has his or her own world of experience, which we do not want to give a framework. Everyone should see in the album what he or she sees in it. It is always a nice compliment when people tell us that they had fun listening to our music. Because we also want to convey fun. We are also happy when people not only see the music or the obvious sides of the stories, but also go through the looking glass to look for the deeper meaning behind it, which can be found in almost every number. In any case, interpretations are not only allowed but encouraged. For those who want to know what we were thinking, we are happy to talk about it.ââhumANIMALizationâ is the third EP from Hog Meets Frog, two of the tracks including this single were released previously, but itching to have another physical offering, they gathered five cohesive songs that offer metaphors into current events and provide commentary on social systems in place, in this case, the NSA scandal.
Influenced by a range of genres including progressive metal, death metal, funk, and world music, Hog Meets Frog is only defined by itself and is unexpectedly contagious. They are recommended for fans of Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and System of a Down.
âhumANIMALizationâ is due out on February 24, 2023, and available for pre-order – Hogmeetsfrog.bandcamp.com
Christoph âfizlâ Hehn â Drums
ARIYAN Rezaei Jahromi â Guitar
Peter âPETZâ Schwabl â Bass, Storytelling
2023 â humANIMALization (EP)
2019 â apes donât smoke cigars â just pipes (single)
2018 â peeping-bearâs exegesis of not peeping (single)
2012 â holy spirit SQUEAQUACK (LP)
2006 â RUN tha FREAKS (multimedia single)
2004 â FREAKY RITES (EP)
2003 â infernal promotion (EP)