Album Review: Skinny Puppy - Weapon

Skinny Puppy
Weapon
Rating: Grrrr

Three decades into their storied career, electro-industrial gods Skinny Puppy return with their latest record Weapon and strikingly jettison their past experiments with dense layers of samples and return to the basics of their earliest releases Bites and Remission to fashion a more streamlined and sleek Puppy. Weapon still has Skinny Puppy in a pissed off mood though, crafting a loose concept record about violence and weaponry in modern society and how this focus ultimately turns our future path to one of self-destruction and irrelevance. While Weapon may lack the intense, sonic collages that informed their best work, it is still a quietly forceful record that seeks its own level. Furthermore, it is also one of Skinny Puppy's most overtly dance-oriented record, foregoing more experimental drum programming for direct beats. Not to say that this record lacks an adventurous nature, it is still Skinny Puppy after all, with several songs pushing at the boundaries of their sound. But instead of the sonic exploration taking over the direction, it is used in connection with the flow of the record.

Weapon kicks off strongly with the electro pulse of "wornin'," its pounding beats buffeted by a sleek whirl of synthesizers, Ogre's vocals surprisingly direct and unadorned, relishing his lower, more guttural register.



This strong opening continues with the blisteringly paced thump of "illisiT" with driving programming and gritty, almost guitar-like synth crunches adding a air-raid sirn like quality to the track,



"saLvo" aches and moans with twisted synth lines and clattering drum machines,



while "gLowbeL" feels almost whimsical, Skinny Puppy pushing forward on a carnival like melody, as the beats threaten to run off the rails.



While the focus on Weapon is a more beat heavy experience, Skinny Puppy do throw in some more texture oriented tracks for the faithful. "tsudanama" is a Rabies-era sounding collage of fractured beats, electronic blips and bleeps, and an undercurrent of menace and terror,



and closing track "terminal" is an elegantly constructed electro-ballad, with its mournful synth lines cascading over an increasingly frenetic bed of clattering drum programming, while Ogre utilizes his frequently under appreciated vocals for dramatic effect.



But ultimately, Weapon is all about brutality and aggression in its approach. From the blunt force trauma of "slovent,"



thick electro pulse of "survivalisto,"



or thumping pace of "paragUn,"



Skinny Puppy engages your brain while getting your feet oriented for the dance floor.

While many will likely bemoan the fact that Skinny Puppy has taken a more streamlined approach to their sound since their return with 2004's The Greater Wrong of the Right, I think it was an extremely wise choice. Skinny Puppy had basically taken their sound to the outer edges, and any more experimenting would have drifted too far into pure, abstracted noise. This more "direct" Skinny Puppy comes to us with a better sense of purpose and direction. With Weapon they continue putting out amazing records that draw on their past glories, but move them forward in new and interesting ways.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.