Artist: Skinny Puppy
Title: The Greater Wrong Of The Right (Re-mastered)
Genre: Industrial/ Electronica
Release Date: 28th January 2014
Label: Metropolis
Album Review
Canadian Industrial legend SKINNY PUPPY seemed to be dead and buried since their 1996 album 'The Process' when literally out of the blue a single reunion show at a festival in Dresden, Germany, was announced in the year 2000. A major event for all fans but the keenly devoted SKINNY PUPPY followers had to wait four more years for more to come. Finally Cevin Key and vocalist Nivek Ogre teamed up with producers Mark Walk and Ken Marshall to record the first SKINNY PUPPY album since 'The Process', released in 1996, which was also the first album after the tragic death of keyboardist Dwayne R. Goettel, who was a pivotal band member from 1986 up to his passing in 1995 due to a heroin overdose.
This first album in eight years was called 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' and released via German label Synthetic Symphony/ SPV on May 25th, 2004. It is now re-released in a re-mastered version by the American Metropolis Records label digitally and on vinyl. This is the first time that 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' is available on vinyl and fans will be delighted that it is released as heavy weight vinyl in a gatefold jacket with a digital download card enclosed. However, there are regrettably no bonus tracks featured on any of the re-release formats.
As the title indicates, 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' was a politically charged album at the time of its release. 2004 marked the end of the first presidential term of George W. Bush and his campaign for his second term. Being one of the most controversial US presidents, Bush's first term saw the USA going on a “war against terror” after 9/11, waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and in general a shift to the political (and religious) right of the US society. Some would say that the US started to become more and more a paranoid, fearful nation.
The impressive tour accompanying the release of 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' – by the way the first SKINNY PUPPY tour since 1992 – just underlined the socio-political messages of the album, which were less in-yer-face as MINISTRY's rants, for instance, but rather a disconcerting audio-psychological trip through the mind-set of a new era. On the other hand 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' is musically a rather accessible record, at least in SKINNY PUPPY terms. Most significant example here is the single 'Pro-Test', which features almost PRODIGY-like break-beat rhythms, a pretty catchy guitar hook and Nivek Ogre hysterically rapping the verses. The single release went along with a rather unusual video clip that features a Goth and a Hip Hop gang being involved in some kind of break dance battle on the sunny streets of California. This is surely quite a departure from the former visual aesthetics of SKINNY PUPPY!
Back then there were a few SKINNY PUPPY fans who moaned about the more club-oriented and more melodic approach of the album but the re-release now, ten years later, just proves that 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' stood the test of time and is still a cracker of an album. With this album SKINNY PUPPY re-invented themselves, which probably was crucial after a long hiatus and the decease of an essential band member. And after all it has always been SKINNY PUPPY's attitude to head for new artistic shores and push the borders of their genre, leaving dwelling in the past and repetitions of old styles to their numerous copycats. But as songs like 'Ghostman', 'DaddyuWarbash' or 'Neuwerld' prove the more experimental and noisy side of SKINNY PUPPY was still there.
With 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' the band successfully laid the foundation stone for their new incarnation, which later would spawn brilliant albums like 'Mythmaker' (2007) or 'Weapon' (2013) and put SKINNY PUPPY back on the map as one of the world's most awe-inspiring live acts. There are some fans, however, who consider 'The Greater Wrong Of the Right' as the finest output of the “new” SKINNY PUPPY – and I'm actually one of them. 'The Greater Wrong Of the Right' is a must-have and the re-release is a great chance to add it to your collection in case this album isn't already on your “favourites” rack of your shelf. Die-hard fans and collectors will surely be thrilled to take hold of the wonderful vinyl version!
SKINNY PUPPY will be on tour in North America from 24th January 2014 until 5th March (hopefully followed by European tour, though there are no news yet) and it will be interesting to see if this re-release means that SKINNY PUPPY is going to perform a few more songs from 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right' on this tour. I surely wouldn't mind this, at all!
Tracklist
01. I'mmortal
02. Pro-test
03. EmpTe
04. Neuwerld
05. Ghostman
06. dOwnsizer
07. Past Present
08. Use Less
09. Goneja
10. DaddyuWarbash
Line-up
Nivek Ogre (vocals)
cEvin Key (various instruments)
Mark Walk (various instruments)
Ken Marshall (additional production)
Guest musicians on particular tracks:
Traz Damji (synths)
Pat Sprawl (guitar)
Otto Von Schirach (sound design, synths, programming)
Statik (synths, programming)
Omar Torres (synths, programming)
Saki Kaskas (guitar)
Danny Carey (acoustic drums)
Wayne Static (second vocals)
Cyrusrex (synths, programming)
Dre Robinson (synths)
Brian Gardener (mastering)
Website
http://www.skinnypuppy.com / https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSkinnyPuppy
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Extras: -
Total: 10 / 10
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