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".
Smogharp
Ohgr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flight breaks the outer limits fade
And inner lights on thin ice slowing undone
Beyond my eyes like deadly infants with limbs
The frequency’s scream begins
I’d like to fall, but the infant’s mind so blind, so dimmed, forever
And mine was gone, smelling bleak
Say it mother what if hey something’s not quite right here, may
Feed the anger, feel what made the midnight sunshine go away
Pain pain go away see the game to see the day
And what was once a monster stays and sees that nothing lasts forever
Men have seen me, have to see,
Men have seen me, have to see me.
The lyrics to Ohgr's song "Smogharp" describe a dark and surreal experience that is difficult to interpret. The first line, "And in the spider’s belly, bones of the butterfly," sets the tone for the rest of the song, which seems to be about the destruction of something beautiful (like a butterfly) by something darker and predatory (like a spider).
The second line suggests that the singer is experiencing a kind of transcendence or release, which is hindered by the "frequency’s scream," which may represent some kind of external or internal pressure. The singer wants to "fall," but is held back by a "blind" or "dimmed" mindset, which may imply some kind of mental illness or emotional trauma.
The third line describes a sense of disconnect from reality, as well as a feeling of helplessness or vulnerability, represented by the "deadly infants with limbs." The fourth line, "I’d like to fall, but the infant’s mind so blind, so dimmed, forever," reinforces the idea that the singer is trapped or stuck in some way, unable to move forward or escape their own limitations.
The rest of the song is similarly abstract and difficult to interpret, although it seems to touch on themes of pain, anger, and transience. Ultimately, "Smogharp" is a song that invites the listener to construct their own narrative or meaning, based on the evocative and imaginative imagery presented in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Flight breaks the outer limits fade
The act of flying breaks the limits of what is possible, but eventually fades away over time
And inner lights on thin ice slowing undone
The inner light or spirit is fragile and is slowly coming apart like ice breaking up under pressure
Beyond my eyes like deadly infants with limbs
The truth or reality that lies beyond what we can see or perceive is like dangerous infants with the ability to cause harm
The frequency’s scream begins
The intense sound or energy of something is starting to become noticeable and overwhelming
I’d like to fall, but the infant’s mind so blind, so dimmed, forever
The desire to give up or lose control is present, but the mind is too inexperienced or damaged to understand the consequences
And mine was gone, smelling bleak
The singer's mind or sense of self is missing, and everything around them feels hopeless
This dies you ain’t god until hush
The idea that nothing is permanent, and one should not act like they have all the answers until they learn to be quiet and listen
Say it mother what if hey something’s not quite right here, may
Asking for guidance and acknowledging that something may be off or wrong
Feed the anger, feel what made the midnight sunshine go away
Giving into anger and negative emotions, causing the loss of brightness and joy in life
Pain pain go away see the game to see the day
Acknowledging the presence of pain to eventually overcome it and see things clearly
And what was once a monster stays and sees that nothing lasts forever
The idea that something once monstrous or challenging remains and endures, but ultimately everything fades away
Men have seen me, have to see
Others have witnessed the artist's struggles or suffering
Men have seen me, have to see me.
Others will continue to observe or bear witness to the singer's experiences
Contributed by Jonathan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Andreas Maxem
This is such an intense song with a really unique atmosphere. The "dull" sound of it makes it even more intense. Personally, this song means a lot to me.
Dirac_dydx
This entire album is pure genius, honestly. Easily one of my favorites of all time; and this is coming from someone who is a fan of Tool and Diablo Swing Orchestra.
Intrafacial86
Honestly kinda want a mashup of this and Room of Angel from Silent Hill.
Nicole Pertusati
RESPECT ohGr. Amitiés. NiVek-K 🎹🎹🎹
Warrior Constellation
Beautiful 💙🦇💙🦇
Tekno Logik
nivek...bravo...another masterpiece..
Distorto Manipulo
flight breaks the outer limits fade
and inner lights on thin ice, slowing
on down,
beyond,
my eyes
like deadly infants
with limbs of frequency scream begins
i'd like to fall
but the infant's mind
so blind, so DIMD, forever
and minE was gone
smelling meek this dies
you need not, a devil.
say it mother, what if they...
something's not quite right, hear me
feed the anger, feel what made
the midnight sunshine gone away
pain, pain go away
see again to see the day
in what was once a monster stays
and sees that nothing lasts forever
grey now see me out to see
grey now see me out to see me
Distorto Manipulo
Rob McCain it may have been me,who is personally writing this now, but it would have probably been a long time ago as I did jump around on message boards back in the day, also the factor of another founding member of the band that may of used the name also.
Distorto Manipulo
Familiar?
"I was a rabbit living in a human world."
"i haven't eaten since later this afternoon"