Unlike Ogre's earlier Skinny Puppy work, ohGr has a more conventional structure to its music as well as a lighter tone, lyrically and musically.
The band was officially formed in 2001, although the material for the first album, Welt dates back to the mid-nineties, having been held up due to legal trouble with American Records. The first work produced by the band was actually the soundtrack for the computer game 'Descent II', but it was a number of years before their first album was released. Welt was originally the title of the group, a long standing acronym from early Skinny Puppy years when, shortly after Bill Leeb (of Front Line Assembly) left the band, Ogre graffitied "Wilhelm Eats Lunch Today" around Vancouver due to their then-acrimonious split. It was then refined to the less antagonistic "When Everyone Learns Truth". It was later discovered that in the interval, the name had been taken by a Californian punk band.
ohGr's third album titled Devils in my Details was released on October 17th, 2008 in Germany, October 20th in the United Kingdom, and October 21st in the United States. ohGr toured in support of the album release during the autumn of 2008. At Comic-Con 2008, Ogre announced that Bill Moseley will be contributing to the new ohGr album, as a result of them becoming friends through Repo! The Genetic Opera. It was tentatively revealed in a chat with the band that an album of B-sides from Devils in my Details (entitled "D-Sides") and an album of unreleased material from the 1990s (entitled "Dfault") was due to be released. In October 2009 a link to www.wdihtf.com appeared on Skinny Puppy's website. When users sign up to the mailing list they receive a link to the song COLLIDOSKOPE which starts with many different voices saying "Welcome to Collidoskope".
ChemTale
Ohgr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keeps all things separate
Within this place its fate is fixed
And oil and peace don't mix
Abandon me abandon me
In my war
In my war
Painted light dark burnt
In my war
Ever turns the screw
In my war
There's no space to grow
How many people keep coming together to come into to this
The bushman wants them dead
A world of Christ unlit
We buy and sell the dread from which
The skull and bones commit
Abandon me abandon me
Is this does it think about my missiles, no
Abandon me abandon me
I want to be close to this
The song "ChemTale" by Ohgr (Nivek Ogre's musical project) appears to be a commentary on the destructive effects of industrialization, particularly of the petroleum industry, on the environment and society. The first stanza mentions a "home grown homeland fix" that keeps things separate and suggests that this misguided attempt to control fate has resulted in a situation where "oil and peace don't mix," implying that the pursuit of oil wealth has come at the expense of peace and stability.
The second stanza is more abstract and includes the repeated phrase "In my war," which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the struggle to reconcile the destructive effects of industrialization with our desire for progress and growth. The lines "Painted light dark burnt" and "Ever turns the screw" suggest a downward spiral of destruction, where each new development or innovation only exacerbates the problems that came before.
The third stanza seems to suggest that the consequences of our actions are often ignored, as people continue to flock to the sources of profit and power even as they contribute to the destruction of the environment and the erasure of other cultures ("How many people keep coming together to come into this / The bushman wants them dead / A world of Christ unlit"). The final two lines, "Abandon me abandon me / I want to be close to this," suggest a kind of ambivalence or resignation in the face of these problems, as if the singer is both horrified by the destructive forces at work but also fascinated by their power.
Line by Line Meaning
The home grown homeland fix
The local solutions that people create and depend on
Keeps all things separate
Maintains a distinct demarcation between different aspects of life
Within this place its fate is fixed
The destiny of this place is predetermined and unchangeable
And oil and peace don't mix
The exploitation of natural resources is often a source of conflict and violence
Abandon me abandon me
A plea for disconnection from a distressing reality
In my war
The internal battle one faces in a hostile environment
In a right white world
A society that favors a certain race and culture
Painted light dark burnt
The picture of a gloomy and bleak world
Ever turns the screw
The oppressive and oppressive system is relentless
There's no space to grow
The absence of opportunities for personal, societal or economic growth
How many people keep coming together to come into to this
The influx of people into this undesirable environment
The bushman wants them dead
The hostile elements of the environment seek to harm or eliminate newcomers
A world of Christ unlit
A society devoid of spiritual guidance or enlightenment
We buy and sell the dread from which
The economy thrives on the anxiety and fear of the populace
The skull and bones commit
The rulers and powerful elites are responsible for perpetuating the cycle of dread and despair
Is this does it think about my missiles, no
The realization that the powers that be are not concerned about one's welfare
I want to be close to this
A desire to face and endure this harsh reality despite its unpleasantness
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Kevin Graham Ogilvie, Mark Walk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind