Raymond Watts pushes PIG into even heavier territory with a brutal new collaboration featuring industrial legends, while setting the stage for a new EP and an extensive North American tour this fall.
Industrial Royalty Reunites for a Ferocious New Single
UK industrial icon Raymond Watts, better known as PIG, has unveiled his explosive new single, “An American Ideal Of Beauty,” available now through Metropolis Records. The track serves as the first taste of the forthcoming Dirt Box EP, arriving on September 4, 2026, just ahead of PIG’s highly anticipated North American Hurt People Tour.
The release brings together an impressive lineup of industrial veterans. Longtime collaborator Marc Heal (Cubanate, C-Tec) co-wrote the track while contributing vocals and synthesizers, alongside Günter Schulz (formerly of KMFDM) on guitar. Watts’ longtime songwriting partner Jim Davies (formerly of The Prodigy and Pitchshifter) also returns, creating a powerhouse collaboration that blends decades of industrial experience into one relentless new anthem.
According to Watts, the goal was to refine and intensify the sound established on Hurt People Hurt.
“I wanted to distil and hone the sound of the current PIG album… inviting my old partners in swine Marc and Günter to join Jim and myself in the studio seemed the perfect blend of brutality and beauty… This new single was the first result of our work as a quartet.”
The result is a crushing blend of industrial aggression, glam swagger, and razor-sharp production that continues PIG’s evolution while remaining unmistakably true to its roots.
A Cinematic Video and a New Chapter
The single arrives alongside an atmospheric new music video directed by E Gabriel Edvy for Blackswitch Labs, expanding the song’s dystopian themes through striking visual storytelling.
The creative sessions that produced the single also generated three additional new songs, each receiving exclusive remixes from respected names across the industrial scene, including Chris Hall of Stabbing Westward, Combichrist, Rabbit Junk, and Cyanotic.
Dirt Box Expands the Hurt People Hurt Era
Rather than simply releasing another standalone single, PIG has collected eight tracks into the upcoming Dirt Box EP, featuring new material alongside exclusive remixes.
Dirt Box Track Listing
- An American Ideal Of Beauty
- Your Reptilian Overlord Presents
- Infidel
- Butterfly
- Your Reptilian Overlord Presents (Cyanotic Remix)
- An American Ideal Of Beauty (Chris Hall / Stabbing Westward Remix)
- Butterfly (Combichrist Remix)
- Infidel (Rabbit Junk Remix)
Riding the Momentum of Hurt People Hurt
The new EP follows the critically acclaimed release of Hurt People Hurt, an album that has received some of the strongest reviews of Raymond Watts’ career.
Critics praised the record for balancing crushing industrial power with memorable songwriting and theatrical flair. Publications across North America and Europe highlighted Watts’ ability to merge industrial rock, glam, electronic experimentation, and dark melody into something uniquely his own.
Much of that success stemmed from Watts’ continued partnership with Jim Davies, whose songwriting chemistry has become one of the defining elements of modern PIG releases.
Forty-Four Dates Across North America
The release of Dirt Box coincides with PIG’s Hurt People Tour, which spans 44 North American dates beginning in late August. The tour includes appearances at Cold Waves XIV, with performances scheduled in major cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin before concluding with four UK performances in December.
Fans can expect selections from Hurt People Hurt, the new Dirt Box EP, and classics spanning PIG’s influential industrial catalog.
A Lasting Legacy in Industrial Music
Few artists have shaped industrial music as consistently as Raymond Watts. Beyond releasing fifteen albums as PIG, Watts helped establish KMFDM during its formative years while contributing vocals and songwriting to many of the band’s most recognizable material.
His career has also included collaborations with Einstürzende Neubauten, Foetus, Psychic TV, Schwein, and Schaft, while his compositions have extended beyond music into film, television, advertising, and internationally recognized fashion productions, including projects associated with the late fashion icon Alexander McQueen.
More than three decades into his career, Watts continues proving that industrial music can remain fearless, inventive, and uncompromising.
With “An American Ideal Of Beauty,” PIG demonstrates that innovation and intensity remain at the heart of the project. Backed by legendary collaborators, an ambitious new EP, and an extensive tour schedule, Raymond Watts continues reinforcing his status as one of industrial music’s most enduring creative forces.
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