Disco de Skinny Puppy: “VIVISectVI”

Sometimes I'm amazed by the albums that I haven't yet reviewed. I was sure I had done this before; after all, my user name just might be based on this album. At any rate, this is a masterpiece of the genre and for creative music in general.

The output is both surreal and nightmarish, fueled by angst, doubt, fear, rage, uncertainty and unrelenting introspection. Imagine being inside a world designed by Edvard Munch and Salvadore Dali while a horror movie is projected on the wall and a radio turned up too loud spits out war coverage news. The sound often intentionally lacks cohesion allowing the music and lyrics to wildly ramble along to some bizarre stream of consciousness. Chopped phrases are parsed together to form a sort of dark poetic montage as opposed to even attepting sentence structure. The music follows a similar process whereby spoken samples, noises, electronic stabs and harsh, often reverse sounding, beats come together forming a wicked, evil brew. To the neophyte listener the sound is imposing ans scary barely bordering on "music". However it really does start to make sense with time. I think that is the true brilliance of this album; after hundreds of listens the hidden beauty is not only apparent, it's glaringly obvious. My friends are always amazed that I can clearly hear every word and discern each melody. Somehow this album that at first seems like a wall of noise and chaos seeps into your soul and becomes as clean to you personally as though it were a single violin.

If you find that the album is just too dense and impenetrable then focus on the first half which is slightly more direct. The singles "Who's Laughing Now?" and "Testure" have fairly accessible beats. Another favorite from the first half, "Harsh Stone White", is very creepy but there is also clarity. Industrial heads revere this album as one of the all-time greats; it has always been a Puppy fan favorite probably 2nd only to 'Too Dark Park'. The album, and the band in general, will be difficult for newcomers, requiring a conscious effort to fight through the madness. This isn't easy listening, but nothing that matters is easy.

Note for those who might be interested: "Who's Laughing Now?" was featured in the movie 'Bad Influence', a psychological thriller starring Rob Lowe as a psycho pulling a pretty cool mindscrew on James Spader.

This 1988 album, VIVIsect VI, is one of the most highly recommended works by Skinny Puppy (the other is 1990's Too Dark Park). Years ago, I wrote my original Amazon review and argued that the album, while great, was actually rather uneven, and definitely not my favorite. While I still place their later work, Last Rights, at the top of my favorite musical recordings of all time, in the past year I have also developed a new appreciation for this particular record.

The opening track does indeed start off a bit awkwardly, as the first audible vocals are distinctly atonal (that is, more atonal than Ogre usually is) and they don't begin on the particular beat I always seem to want them on. It does all fall into place eventually, but you'll immediately know you're in for a typically unconventional listening experience. Actually, this austere opening song sets up the mood for the rest of the album perfectly.

All the elements are here for a classic Skinny Puppy recording: heavy on the complex, metallic sounding industrial drumming and layers of analogue synths, a light sprinkling of reverb-laden guitar riffs here and there, interjecting snippets from films, and on top of it all, Ogre's inimitable ranting and raving.

Where the music of VIVIsect VI is straightforward you'll find catchy and memorable tracks. The highly political (and still relevant!) "VX Gas Attack" along with the plaintive and morose "Testure" are indeed Classic songs, played live at concerts to this day. The former is composed with an infectious dance-floor one-two beat. The latter is an emotional mood piece, lyrically comparing animal testing to satanic rites and Nazi experiments. It's keyboard driven, sounding more than a bit like Joy Division's equally sad-sack "Decades." Given that Ogre has cited Joy Division as an inspiration for his work, I guess that's no surprise.

But it's those songs that aren't so straightforward that give this album its distinct nature. "Harsh Stone White" and "Human Disease" aren't too post-modern(y), but those songs either mutate half-way through or evoke a uniquely bleak mood that couldn't be mistaken for the work of any other band. Then you have tracks like "Who's Laughing Now," and "State Aid" which are very difficult to describe. They are cryptic; complex and fluctuating collages of drums, samples, Ogre, and various sounds arranged in difficult ways. I hate to call them "experimental" because that would imply that the band didn't know what they were doing. I assure you they did. It took me a long time to realize that tracks like these are what really set Skinny apart. Previous albums began to incorporate these odd instrumentals, but never with such complexity and aggression as what you'll find here. The back end of VIVIsect VI is fully loaded with these wilder abstract tracks.

Overall, VIVIsect VI is a very dark, dense record, filled with unconventional songs, some classic and catchy (like "Testure"), others nerve-racking and bizarre (like everything that happens after "Testure"). The music is often grating, its tone dark and harrowing, the lyrics are inscrutable word mishmashes, with rasping, processed vocals that whisper and shriek, but never sing. Some people will hate Ogre's style. I love it, personally,though I do still admit I still wouldn't necessarily expect everybody to fully understand or appreciate what the band was trying to do. It is also in many ways a product of its times. The analogue synths are a bit dated, as are the drum machines, and the stream of old horror film clips has become a bit of a genre cliche. However, if you give this a listen, you'll hear something that even now exemplifies Skinny Puppy's sheer originality and uniqueness, something that has often been imitated but never surpassed. Skinny Puppy is my favorite band for a reason, and this is for better or worse, one of their defining works.

Although Skinny Puppy broke up several years ago due to the death of Dwayne Goettel, their music continues to be one of the foundations of todays industrial music. This album, "VIVIsectVI", contains some of their greatest works. True to their well known sound, their music is at once chaotic and noise-ridden as it is melodius and haunting. The best song on this album, "Testure", floored me the first time I had heard it. "Testure" is simply one of the most haunting, yet fantastic, songs I have heard in a very long time. This album is a must have for anyone.

This album just spews venom and is possibly the most corrosive industrial album that could easily stand up with the industrial pioneers such as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. Anybody who loves industrial music would be a fool not to get this album - it might take a while to get into but it's a certainly stood the test of time better than some records

This CD is quite good. If you're into hip-hop beats or something that has a stand-out melody, this isn't your CD, but if your a fan of industrial music, this is an essential part of its history.

The first song is very appealing, especially after the first minute goes by. Then Ogre's voice pops in and you say to yourself "Wow. This guy sounds awesome." The second song uses alot of samples, and has a great soundscape, although it does sort of sound like song 1.

"Human Disease (S.K.U.M.M)" is also a very good song, with great electronics, and their is a message in this song that I like. The song "Testure", which is about vivisection, is good lyric-wise, but I think it fails with the music. It's just not too catchy.

The last few songs are only music, but are GREAT! You have to listen to "Fritter (Stella's Home)" with headphones at night in the dark to get the full effect. It makes you feel like something is breaking into your house. The next song "Yes He Ran" has some catchy music and a sample that says what the title is. You wouldn't think they could do much with just 1 sample, but they can!

You must get this CD, but only if you like greatness. If you've never heard of Skinny Puppy before, I reccomend this CD, or "The Process", which sounds different but is still good. However, heed my warning: "Not for pop music lovers." This has meaning, and was created by people who had purpose, not looks.