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.
Tormentor
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
drooling face rips apart cuts to the heart
disease shown let it out movement crosses
crimson light washes darkened corners
gently forces open wide and lingering awhile
pouring thoughts electric fingers blinding pressure
sockets stream matter grey the nerve free fall
safely buried out behind a face let it out
tumors ride the pressing tinted nightmare breeze
mental shock disturbed thoughts rotting
long lasting reaction make it stop stir up the
pot taking away means nothing
distorted moodswing smile altered music shadow
covers melted honey bitter pie she utters
tasting quite lovely motion on towards a truthful
state mincing with words align order form
to multiply mental shock relentless and leaning
compiling the list alone at the top before
before it was not this way i thought...it did
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's song Tormentor paint a vivid picture of a disturbed and violent individual. The first line reads "walls trapped within yellow eyes the cutters", indicating a deep feeling of entrapment and violence festering within the singer's mind. The imagery of a "drooling face" ripping apart and cutting to the heart suggests a sadistic pleasure in causing pain.
The line "disease shown let it out movement crosses" brings up the idea of the singer wanting to express this inner torment and violence but feeling restricted or repressed in some way. The "crimson light" washing the "darkened corners" may be a reference to the release the singer feels when they finally give in to their violent impulses.
The lyrics continue with images of pouring thoughts, electric fingers, and blinding pressure, suggesting a feeling of overwhelming intensity and almost supernatural power. The line "mental shock disturbed thoughts rotting" suggests a severe mental disturbance, perhaps caused by trauma or abuse.
The final lines "compiling the list alone at the top before/before it was not this way i thought...it did" hint at a possible realization by the singer that their violent tendencies were not always present or perhaps that they were not in control of their own thoughts and behavior.
Overall, the lyrics to Tormentor paint a disturbing portrait of a violent, disturbed individual struggling to control their inner demons.
Line by Line Meaning
walls trapped within yellow eyes the cutters
The barriers that surround the mind's eye are threatened by the critical nature of the outside world.
drooling face rips apart cuts to the heart
The unpleasant reality that the person is facing destroys hope and optimism.
disease shown let it out movement crosses
The revelation of sickness prompts a physical reaction and causes the person to realize they've entered an unhealthy space.
crimson light washes darkened corners
The light that exposes the darkness also highlights the depths of despair and desperation in the mind.
gently forces open wide and lingering awhile
A slow and careful approach is necessary to explore the full breadth of the mind's experiences and emotions without causing too much discomfort.
pouring thoughts electric fingers blinding pressure
Intense and overwhelming emotions rush forth and blur rational thought, overwhelming the senses and causing the person to react instinctively.
sockets stream matter grey the nerve free fall
The physical, mental, and spiritual collapse of the person's being is manifesting as a loss of identity, personality, and faith.
safely buried out behind a face let it out
The person's true self is hidden beneath a persona designed to please or placate others, but letting go and unleashing their true identity is necessary for personal growth.
be carefull watching living mask misshapen
The person is wearing a mask that is not true to their inner self, and it's important to observe and be mindful of this unnatural, self-defeating behavior.
tumors ride the pressing tinted nightmare breeze
Negative emotions and experiences accumulate and fester over time, creating a toxic atmosphere that can poison and corrupt the mind and soul.
mental shock disturbed thoughts rotting
Trauma can have long-lasting effects on the mind, leading to a slow decay of mental faculties and a compromised ability to reason or process emotions.
long lasting reaction make it stop stir up the
An ongoing emotional or physical reaction to past events can be debilitating, and sometimes it's necessary to confront and relive them in order to move forward and make peace.
pot taking away means nothing
Attempting to suppress or numb emotional pain can ultimately be ineffective, as the person may continue to struggle with the root cause of their suffering.
distorted moodswing smile altered music shadow
Mental and emotional imbalances can manifest in unpredictable ways, affecting even the most basic social interactions and personal tastes.
covers melted honey bitter pie she utters
Even in the face of disappointment or negativity, the person refuses to fall into despair and instead tries to maintain a sense of hope and positivity.
tasting quite lovely motion on towards a truthful
The person is feeling drawn towards honesty and transparency, even if it may be difficult or uncomfortable to confront the truth.
state mincing with words align order form
The person is struggling to find the right words to articulate their thoughts and emotions, attempting to bring order to a chaotic inner world.
to multiply mental shock relentless and leaning
The person is growing increasingly overwhelmed by the weight of their mental and emotional burden, but refuses to give in to despair.
compiling the list alone at the top before
The person is taking stock of their accomplishments and struggles, trying to gain a sense of perspective and self-awareness.
before it was not this way i thought...it did
The person is reflecting on how their life has changed and evolved, realizing that their previous expectations and assumptions were misguided or mistaken.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DEADJ0E
Melted honey bitter pie she utters tasting quite lovely.
Best lyric ever.
@impulsecoupling
I had the 12" single of this in 1991. The vinyl was translucent blue. So cool.
@marzsit9833
still can't believe this is 32 years old now...
@digijock223
After thinking for quite a while, I think that this is probably the best album that ever happened. Oh yes, Dark Side of the Moon was great. But for me, I think this is the pinnacle of happiness.
@SkinnyEMedia
Best industrial album ever made. Too bad many ignore it in favour of NIN or Ministry.
@ericotto314
I agree, “Too Dark Park” is the greatest industrial album I have ever heard 🖤🔥🖤
@V1VISECT6
Ministry's early stuff is great, and whilst I enjoy the sluginess and misery of Filth Pig up to Anomtisinoma. (I love Rio Grande Blood though. Probably the last Ministry album i enjoyed) SP beats Ministry anyday especially with their coldness and abrasiveness. Nothing beats skinny puppy. I grew up listening to them in the same shithole Vancouver they were until The Process (love it, shoot me.) SP's newer stuff has grown on me after years, I remember seeing Greater Wrong of the Right behind a sealed copy of The Process at HVM and bought it and felt funny when it hit pro-test, but a few it finally grew on me when I started to dig mythmaker. Handover has to be my favorite post-goettel/the process album from them. Rather unique.
@BMCKTN
Or even worse. Wumpscut.
@gigachad192
I mean, it's hard to compete with an album like The Downward Spiral.
@andrewchesler2029
Never liked Ministry :-/