"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> Skinny Puppy
"hanDover"
By Michael Rys
The was a time I was pretty convinced all electronic music was lite fluffy crap. Made for teenage boy n girls will to be spoon fed unimaginative music. But along came two bands in the mid 80's that grabbed my attention Detroit's Shock Therapy and Vancouver's Skinny Puppy. My intro to Skinny Puppy was hearing a track called "Dig It from the Mind-The Perpetual Intercourse" record on a Windsor Ontario college station. I could get in across the river in Detroit. Rattled my perception of what was possible with synths ,keyboards and other effects given they were in the right twisted hands. Skinny Puppy was and remains the kings of of this realm. I seen more shows than I can count and Skinny Puppy hands down put on the best live show I have ever seen a band put on.I'm not usually a fan of big theatrics, but this band puts on a show that would leave Alice Cooper,GWAR and Marilyn Manson drooling with envy. Its down right sensory overload,stunning ,beautiful and revolting all at once.
hanDover is Skinny Puppy's first record since 2008 and continues to build on the legacy constructed,deconstructed,blown up and reincarnated by Nivek Orge and Cevin Key over three decades. All the hallmark bass braps are there, the barely audible loops,pulsating electronic beats, manipulated analog synths, and complicated vocal gyrations meld together seamlessly to create a sonic equivalent of a twitching,blood encrusted dancing corpse. Classic Skinny Puppy ..... thick smoke rolling,through strobes,shadows lurking in there,are the shadows going to cut you to ribbons or fuck your brains out. That's what this music does to the brain,and the body. Two of the best way to listen to hanDover is on headphones with all distractions cut off or in a dark club with hundreds of other dark shadows( like City Club in Detroit) Political,calls for justice,calling out the fakes not only in your government but in your own life. Ahhh yes and ever present odes to addiction. Truly a record I've lost myself while listening to it.I just close my eyes and away I go on a trip of glorious horror.
14 Full length records into the career and countless albeit somewhat horrible re-remixes Skinny Puppy's has yet to put out a turd of a record. Skinny Puppy deserves to be recognized not what they did for electronic or industrial music but what the did to it. They made it hard!Skinny Puppy will probably never make it into the so called rock n roll hall of fame but they deserve to be there as much as The Clash, The Ramones, and Sex Pistols for what they have done to create a whole entire genre. hanDover is just one more step up in their ever evolving twisted musical dream. Favorite tracks on this 11 track record are Cullerblind,Icktums,Vyrius, and Village. All these cuts tens to be the more throbbing driving cuts on the record.hanDover will release in the US on SPV on 10/25/11 just in time to scare the shit out of the kiddies with on Halloween. You can find out more about Skinny Puppy and their complete list a releases here-http://skinnypuppy.com/
If you would like your music reviewed by me send to Michael Rys
4557 Willys Parkway Toledo Ohio 43612
Pictures Courtesy of Freeman Promotions