Inspired by the groundbreaking music of Chrome, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Portion Control, The Legendary Pink Dots, and others, Skinny Puppy experimented with electronic recording techniques and methods. the band composed multi-layered music generally using keyboards, synthesizers, found sounds, drum machines, live percussion, tape splices, samplers, and conventional rock music instruments. Whereas many contemporary remixes and re-edits of songs were created in order to make a song more suitable for dancing or different radio formats, Skinny Puppy approached remixing and re-editing as an artistic process of reinterpreting compositions, often using remixes to push their sound into styles of ambient, dub and techno. Skinny Puppy's often informal, improvisational approach to musical composition is indicated by use of the term brap, coined by them and defined as a verb meaning "to get together, hook up electronic instruments, get high, and record".
Skinny Puppy's first two proper releases, Bites and Remission, fall somewhere between the found-sound chaos of early Cabaret Voltaire and the abrasive, futuristic synthpop of the Units or Crash Course in Science. While the intense synth programming, abstract rhythms, and surreal samples--all Puppy trademarks--are present here, the albums owe as much to new wave as to industrial.
A subsequent EP, Chainsaw, featured a remix of Bites's "Assimilate" that earned the band some attention from club DJs. 1986's Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse earned Skinny Puppy greater attention, as "Dig It" and "Stairs and Flowers" became alternative club and college radio hits; the video for the former was played occasionally on MTV. The album is arguably less club-friendly than its predecessors, as the band continues to refine a claustrophobic, almost surreal sound that buries rhythm and melody. The follow-up, Cleanse, Fold, and Manipulate treads similar territory.
VIVIsectVI was a breakthrough for the band, with "Testure" becoming their biggest club hit to date, and the album itself was received warmly by college radio. The title of the album was a pun intended to associate vivisection with Satanism (ie. the "666 sect"). The album shows SP integrating more political and social themes: "Testure" is an animal rights song; "VX Gas Attack" concerns the use of chemical weapons; "State Aid" promotes sexual abstinence to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV.
Ogre had become very interested in Ministry and Al Jougensen's side projects, and he persuaded the rest of the band to allow Jourgensen to produce Rabies. While "Worlock" (a track Jourgensen didn't produce) remains an industrial club classic, the album was received coolly, as many thought Jourgensen's heavy metal guitar-based signatures did not compliment SP's more complex, intricate sonic sculptures. The band briefly disbanded afterward.
They reformed and returned to their electronic roots with Too Dark Park, a hallucinogenic album that owes as much to psychedelia as industrial music. Two years later, "Last Rights" covered similar territory, culminating in the epic sound sculpture "Download." Although their sound had moved away from industrial dance, these albums expanded the band's audience, and provided the template for many industrial bands of the 1990s.
Following "Last Rights", the band, poised for a major breakthrough in the wake of Nine Inch Nails' commercial success, left their longtime label Nettwerk for American Recordings. Their highly anticipated followup was unfortunately marred by personal tragedy - the death of Dwayne Goettel - and the band's inability to agree on a direction for the record. Numerous producers, including Martyn Atkins (PigFace/Invisible Records founder) and Roli Mosimann (Swans), came and went without success; finally the band regrouped with longtime collaborator Dave "Rave" Ogilvie to finish "The Process". The band expanded their range, working with gothic pop and heavy metal, alongside their familiar electronic textures. While seemingly rushed to completion following Goettel's death (it sounds half-finished in parts), it is an interesting change for the group. Unfortunately American Recordings, tired of waiting for the record, did little to promote it. Skinny Puppy broke up afterward.
With interests in filmmaking, they made a number of music videos, each attempting to further the theme and concept of the composition at hand. Most of these videos received little air play by major music video networks such as MTV (USA) and MuchMusic (Canada) and some were outright banned. For example the video for "Worlock" was universally banned because it is a "non stop gore fest" of clips from various horror movies. Because none of these clips were authorized for usage in the video it has never been commercially available.
Their concerts have been marked by their bizarre and bloody conceptual performance art, which for every concert was planned with the intention of challenging the notions of all who observed. Their music had some acceptance in dance clubs because of its danceable beats, but had little play on commercial radio. Skinny Puppy had little commercial success outside of Canada, but their influence on industrial music is immense.
The band began with the intention of doing something "raw" and "real." Ogre's vocals, one of Skinny Puppy's most recognizable features, are typically roughly growled snarls of half-sentences and fragmented stream of consciousness. Lyrical themes included animal rights, politics, religion, horror, drug abuse, disease, and environmental degradation; these themes were often lyrically and conceptually intertwined. Other core aspects of the Skinny Puppy sound include the mixture of heavy sampling and experimental noise with softer musical styles sometimes approaching synthpop.
Post-punk politics are a recurring theme utilised by Skinny Puppy. Some say the meaning of their name is that their music and lyrics give a view of the world from the eyes of a starving animal. They have long had an interest in animal rights; this is most obvious in their song Testure, which is about vivisection and other animal testing being scientific fraud. During many of their concerts Ogre would take the role of "scientist" and experiment on a stuffed animal. In 1988 they were arrested for their mocked-up vivisections, and found it ironic to be arrested for a parody of what was happening for real across the street from their concert. During their TGWOTR tour, criticism of the Bush regime was a recurring theme, particularly during their performance of VX Gas Attack, a song about atrocities perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, originally released while he was still considered an ally of the United States.
The last two studio albums are points of contention for old school Puppy fans. During the recording of The Process, the band broke up. Even more tragically, Dwayne Rudolph Goettel died, from an apparent heroin overdose at his parent's home, soon afterwards. Some people say that cEvin, Nivek, and Dwayne didn't connect as well on this album as they had earlier because their respective musical interests were diverging at the time, others claim it was the heroin.
Key and Ogre later reunited as Skinny Puppy for a one-off concert in Germany in 2003. Afterwards, they decided Skinny Puppy should continue as an ongoing project. The newly reconstituted Skinny Puppy released The Greater Wrong of the Right in 2004, their first studio album in 8 years, and have been continuing since, constantly evolving their sound.
There have been a number of Skinny Puppy side projects, both before, and after the breakup in 1995. The Tear Garden is a collaboration between cEvin and Edward Ka-Spel (and later most band members) of The Legendary Pink Dots. Other noteable side projects include Download, Hilt, Plateau, Cyberaktif (a collaboration between Key & Goettel and Bill Leeb, a.k.a. Wilhelm Schroeder), Rx (one-off collaboration between Ogre and Martin Atkins), ADuck (Goettel's side project), A CHUD Convention (one-off collaboration with a;GRUHM...), Ogre's contributions to Pigface, Ogre and Mark Walk's band ohGr and solo releases from cEvin Key.
Deep Down Trauma Hounds
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trauma hounds run to corrode integrity whatever matters and it would
They fail to see they make believe reality helpless deaths
Ignored to be judged as juvenile head caves in growing pains no time
Remains for fantasy tyranny exists shrink beneath the ingrown thorns forced
To accept pledge allegiance to a flag tested to forget you must
Resist they want you dead feels emptiness eternity keeps swallowing
Decease and miss to pierce a point objects and lessons to realize
It's not the way what's the point of giving up leaving won't change anything
Political resentment to push away all growth within puzzles me offers
Soul to nothing the message screams it's purity that those with no rights
Display the right to have no life do have respect they must accept
A world committing suicide
The lyrics of Skinny Puppy's Deep Down Trauma Hounds delve into the idea of being trapped in a hopeless situation, where one's destiny is crushed and the sense of integrity corroded. The "Trauma Hounds" represent the constant barrage of pain and despair that the singer feels, and how they fail to acknowledge the realities of the situation. The "injured plea" could be seen as a cry for help, but ultimately goes unheard, as "helpless deaths" remain ignored.
The idea of "pledge allegiance to a flag" connotes a sense of blind patriotism and loyalty to a country that may not care for its citizens. The singer is forced to accept this as the reality, but it's clear that they can see the flaws in the system. Despite this, the world around them continues committing "suicide," and there seems to be no way to escape the cycle.
Line by Line Meaning
Injured plea crushed destiny deep down
A plea for help that was ignored has caused tremendous emotional pain and has impacted their destiny in a negative way.
Trauma hounds run to corrode integrity whatever matters and it would
The emotional trauma being experienced is allowing negative thoughts and feelings to control their lives, eroding their sense of self-worth and everything they care about.
They fail to see they make believe reality helpless deaths
Their inability to cope with their emotional distress has led them to believe in a false reality, which is causing them to feel helpless and desperate.
Ignored to be judged as juvenile head caves in growing pains no time
Their cries for help have been dismissed and they are belittled for struggling with their emotions, causing them immense pain without any support or guidance.
Remains for fantasy tyranny exists shrink beneath the ingrown thorns forced
In their search for an escape from their reality, they are being forced into a world of oppression and tyranny, a world where their sense of self is suffocated by external forces.
To accept pledge allegiance to a flag tested to forget you must
They are expected to conform and be loyal to a system of beliefs, even if it means they must forget who they truly are.
Resist they want you dead feels emptiness eternity keeps swallowing
Standing up in defiance is met with a desire for their demise, leaving them feeling empty and hopeless.
Digested benefactors whose silence deafens anything all of whom
The powerful forces that are supposed to provide support remain silent and indifferent, effectively ignoring their cries for help.
Decease and miss to pierce a point objects and lessons to realize
By succumbing to their emotional distress, they are missing out on valuable life lessons that could help them grow and improve.
It's not the way what's the point of giving up leaving won't change anything
They realize that giving up is not the solution and it won't bring about any positive changes.
Political resentment to push away all growth within puzzles me offers
The political climate is creating a negative atmosphere that is hindering their personal growth, leaving them feeling confused and isolated.
Soul to nothing the message screams it's purity that those with no rights
Their sense of identity is being stripped away, and the message being conveyed is that only those with power and privilege have the right to exist.
Display the right to have no life do have respect they must accept
It seems that those in power believe that some people have the right to a meaningless existence, and they are expected to accept this fate with respect.
A world committing suicide
The world they are living in is slowly destroying itself through violence, oppression, and neglect.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
maxeypad
Industrial at it's absolute finest imo of course.
M MFKZT
Agreed
Zane Goodeker
Raven Strahd Skinny jumps between the different subgenres quite a bit.
Raven Strahd
maxeypad More specifically, EBM...
VAMPWULF
I used to replay the openning part "I don't wanna talk about it", on phone calls when I got bored with the person I was talking to. xD
Bianca Seeley
I'm gonna try that😆 I like your style 👍🏼
Isaac 88
Okay
Dementional
Would make for a great voicemail. Probably 6 years to late.
SweetSweetWaldo
Trauma Hounds is one of my favorite Puppy songs. The Sherwood mix goes overboard with the samples, but otherwise it's great.
roadrunnerfirebird
2019 still a MASTERPICE!!! 🤘😎👍