Review Summary: A heavy, disturbing, synth-laden classic.
I noticed the lack of Skinny Puppy reviews on this site, and decided it was time to add one. So why not start with the classic 'VIVIsectVI'? The Canadian trio truly shone here, with multiple layers of beats, bass, vocals, noise and electronic sounds, all swirled together to make a truly lasting impression. I'd reccomend you to listen to some easier to listen to industrial before heading into this, [L]Nine Inch Nails[L], [L]Rammstein[L], and [L]Atari Teenage Riot[L] should do the trick.
I'm gonna review this album in track by track format, mainly due to the fact that all the tracks are quite different (plus I'm not great at reviewing :D).
1. Dogsh*t
The song starts with a minute or so of noise, building up. When the beat kicks in, you can tell that this isn't the most accessible of music, with piercing screams distorted, and detuned bass, all over a pounding synthline. A cool start to the album, but not really one of my favourites. 8/10
2. VX Gas Attack
This song depicts the gas attacks commited in the 80s during the conflicts between Iran and Iraq. It begins with samples of a news reporter reading, over a machine like beat, and the occasional burst of sound. When Ogres vocals start, the tempo changes and it becomes more like a traditional song. The snares are very prominent, as is the little synth fill every 2 bars. The song switches between the samples and the vocals frequently, until an interlude occurs around 3 minutes in. The song builds up and up in another verse, then trails out with some distorted samples of singing from a mosque, which is very creepy. One of my favourites. 9/10
3. Harsh Stone White
This song doesn't really cut it for me, although I'm sure many will agree. It has a prominent synth line during the early song, with some quite haunting vocals. Further into the song, there is some great machine gun drumming by cEvin Key. From here the song doesn't change much, only adding some strings, and more emotion added to the singing. Still quite a good song however. 7/10
4. Human Disease (S.K.U.M.M.)
Hell yeah! Probably my favourite track off the album. It begins with a closed hi-hat line, before some very distorted kicks and snares come in over it, along with some subtle power chords on guitar which are barely audible. The song then bursts into a wall of drum sounds and little beeping noises, along with Ogres distorted vocals, before then bursting into a little interlude with distorted bass and a slower tempo. The song then switches back into its previous form, then once again into the intro section. There's ANOTHER section change, that has a funky bassline, along with some piercing vocals by Ogre and some interesting drum fills. The bassline then changes, and the song builds up and up before cutting out completely, leaving the bassline, and a distorted "Human, Diseeeeaaaassseeeeeeee". Takes a long time to digest, but a fantastic song. 10/10
5. Who's Laughing Now?
A more simple song, after the jumbled distorted mess of Human Disease. It's very drum orientated, with some great improvising on the drums by cEvin. It features lots of samples from various horror movies, and a catchy synth bassline. Ogres vocals are a little plain in this song, but they're still not bad. There are also some cool synth string parts by Dwayne. It ends with a held out note, and fades into the next song. 8/10
6. Testure
The Skinny Puppy anthem. It's an anti vivisection song, and was the lead single from the album. It's a very synth heavy song, some of the less tolerant will call it dated sounding, but it's still a great song. There's a sample from 'The Plague Dogs' several minutes into the song too, "I hope you make sure we're properly dead before you start Old Ripbeak!". It's a pretty straightforward song, so enjoy. 8/10
7. State Aid
One of my favourites, and very very noisy. It begins with the sound of Ogre choking himself, over the bass heavy drumming. The vocals are pretty incomprehendible, distorted beyond recognition, but sound very cool. The song basically speeds up, and the bass drum kicks become more rapid throughout the song, until Ogre is basically randomly screaming over very fast bass drumming and random noises. Definitely not an accessible song, but I love it. 10/10
8. Hospital Waste
A distorted bassline, and a kick heavy drum beat opens this song, until Ogre joins in with his barrage of short phrases, screams, and breathing sounds. There's a little interlude not very far into the song where a cool sounding high pitched synth line comes in, before reverting back to the previous state. Like most Skinny Puppy songs, it basically switches between these two sections, changing slightly each time, and more fills being added with each instrument.
9. Fritter (Stella's Home)
An extemely creepy song. The first half is samples from 'The Tenant' by Roman Polanski, along with string sections. It's an extremely disturbing song to listen to in certain situations. A little over half way through, a very machine-like beat comes into the song, and there are no more samples. The strings continue though. Although contrasting a lot with the first half of the song, it's still very creepy to listen to. 8/10
10. Yes He Ran
This is a very interesting song. It revolves around drum fills and a distorted sample of "Yes, he ran". There are some vocals pushed right to the back of the mix, very distorted, and the lyrics aren't very clear at all (although virtually every Skinny Puppy song has very encrypted meanings). There's a bassline for part of the song, although it cuts a while after it begins. From there, the beats just intensify for the rest of the song. Another straightforward song, but still great. 9/10
11. Punk In Parks Zoo
An instrumental track. It's very straightforward, as it's only 2 and a half minutes long. It's basically some screechy noises and snares to form a beat, and a droning noise going on and off throughout the song. I quite like it, although some would see it as a filler track. 8/10
12. The Second Opinion
This song revolves around two samples, and a beat. It's probably the closest thing to a filler on this album. It has a drum beat which keeps changing a little throughout the song, and the samples "ONE TWO THREE FOUR" which is quite army like, and "This machine has got to be destroyed!" which is exclaimed by a scared sounding girl, probably from a horror film. It has some creepy synth parts, but is mainly heavy beats for 4 minutes. 7/10
13. Funguss
The final track starts out with a loud, high pitched feedback sound. The song is virtually completely industrial beats, mixed with tribal drumming and whirls of noise. It doesn't really leave a lasting impression but it's great to listen to put you into a trance of some kind. An interesting song really, and quite appropriate as a last song. 8/10
A fantastic album. I'd reccomend downloading 'VX Gas Attack', Human Disease (S.K.U.M.M.), and 'Yes He Ran' prior to buying it.
Thanks for reading.
