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.
Salvo
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
exist on to disappear
some ties flip to ever cave
is this what . all it takes
stand fast for tonight is change_do iT
pushed up from what we've been framed_screw iT
is this what we can live down _is this what i'm at stake_dowN
overhear signs to clear vertigo so surreal_drowN
over fear dust and clear push deceive: the new deal
all the people say .screw iT and you people say . screw iT
SCREW IT
is this what i can take calm down all the people say_do iT
dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
is this what i can take down
is this what i'm at stake down
DOWN_do iT_screw_iT _DOWN
is this what i can take come down all the places steal_screw iT
is this what you can play dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
calm down all the people say
run down just to keep on payinG.
i'm the weapon with a lot to say
freedoms end in armed displays
amend the bullet given life
a metal casing with more rights_than we bE guN
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's song "saLvo" are intentionally vague and open to interpretation, but there are a few key themes and ideas that come through. The first few lines suggest a sense of impermanence and the idea that interference can lead to disappearance. The next few lines talk about flipping ties and changing things, with the singer urging others to stand fast and make a change. However, there is a sense of uncertainty and concern as to whether what they are doing is enough, or whether they are putting themselves at stake. The chorus reveals a sense of frustration and defiance, with the repeated refrain of "screw it" indicating a desire to move beyond the current situation and find a way to break free. The final lines bring up the idea of being a weapon with something to say, and the need to take action before freedoms are taken away.
Overall, the song seems to be about taking a stand against something oppressive or restrictive. The repeated use of "screw it" suggests a desire to shake things up and break free from whatever is holding the singer back. However, there is also a sense of fear and doubt, as well as a feeling that time is running out. The lyrics are intentionally vague, allowing listeners to insert their own meaning and interpretation into the words.
Line by Line Meaning
Translation to interfere
Trying to decipher and make sense of the situation
exist on to disappear
Living and then eventually dying
some ties flip to ever cave
Some relationships change and crumble over time
is this what . all it takes
Questioning whether this is all there is to life
stand fast for tonight is change_do iT
Be prepared for change and embrace it
pushed up from what we've been framed_screw iT
Rebelling against societal norms and expectations
is this what we can live down _is this what i'm at stake_dowN
Wondering if we can overcome our past and the risks involved
overhear signs to clear vertigo so surreal_drowN
Hearing and seeing confusing messages that make us feel overwhelmed
all the the people say_screw iT and you people say . screw iT
Others are also rebelling and rejecting what society expects of them
over fear dust and clear push deceive: the new deal
Not being fooled by the new changes being presented
SCREW IT
Rejecting and rebelling against societal norms
is this what i can take calm down all the people say_do iT
Deciding whether one can handle the upcoming changes and the encouragement to embrace it
dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
Others are blindly following and not thinking for themselves
is this what i can take down
Questioning if one has the strength to endure
is this what i'm at stake down
Wondering if one's future is at risk
DOWN_do iT_screw_iT _DOWN
Encouragement to persevere and rebel against norms that are causing harm
is this what i can take come down all the places steal_screw iT
Wondering if one can handle the pressures and the encouragement to rebel
is this what you can play dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
Calling out those who are blindly following without questioning
dumb down all the people pray_screw iT
Rebelling against those who are blindly following without thinking
calm down all the people say
Encouraging everyone to stay calm and level-headed
run down just to keep on payinG.
Feeling trapped and struggling to keep up with societal pressures
i'm the weapon with a lot to say
Feeling like a powerful force and having important things to communicate
freedoms end in armed displays
The fight for freedom often leads to violence and conflict
amend the bullet given life
Trying to change the harmful and destructive nature of guns
a metal casing with more rights_than we bE guN
Guns, which are inanimate objects, seem to have more rights and power than human beings
Writer(s): skinny puppy
Contributed by Zachary N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
dudebro69
Love.
Kevin White
Reminiscent of Too Dark Park somehow: Rash Reflection in a way. Vocal effects and droning beat doing it for me. Weapon has been the most solid SP album since The Process. Having said that though, they have had some phenomenal tracks on every album they have ever put out! Long Live the SP!
TehPearlheadf
I got more Bites era vibes more than TDP, which is def not a bad thing
Glokas7
God yes. This album has everything I've been wanting for a long time
Sandra Ring
friggin brilliant album
Katharsis
Best track on the album
adamswierczynski
"I'm weapon with a lot to say.
Freedoms end in armed displays.
Amend the bullet given life;
metal casing with more rights,
then we be gun."
eric bryant
true shit but no dissarment for private citizens for self defense ploy for police state martial law strategy
Plantspotter69
This song reminds me of the background music on "How it's Made" which in turn, reminds me of Smothered Hope.
dddux
Great track, brings back memories. d= :) =b