SKINNY PUPPY

"Mythmaker"

Synthetic Symphony - 2007

CD / 2 LP

With "The Greater Wrong Of The Right", Skinny Puppy definitely returned on the scene, starting a process of redefinition of their sound and identity after Dwayne Goettel's death and the reformed partnership between çevin Key and Nivek Ogre. "Mythmaker" is then the second full-length release of the Puppies' second life, eagerly awaited by both old and new fans, those who welcomed their rebirth and loved the previous CD, as well as those who hated it. The new album is also available as a double LP, with bonus tracks that include an extended version of the "Politkil" single, as well as remixes by The Humble Brothers and Husly.

The ten songs featured on the CD show a band full of energy and ideas, ready to try new roads, elaborate and update its past sound and show a vitality unknown to many younger names. Opening "Magnifishit" welcomes the listener with a sinister and epic anthem, made of pulsating rhythms, bells, almost orchestral samples and Ogre's superbal vocal interpretation. "Dal" could be described as a sort of tribal cross between EBM and IDM, with an extensive use of the vocoder, which is one of the album's main features. The first milestone arrives with "Haze", where the epic, desperate likeness of "Last Rights" or "Too Dark Park" are used as inspiration and recreated in a more melodic form, with spectral keyboards and alienating vocodered vocals that lead to the final orgy of voices and percussions. Undoubtedly, a new Skinny Puppy master hit.

Another magnificent moment is represented by "Jaher", a dark crepuscular electronic ballad enlightened by string samples, Ogre's delicate yet desperate voice and dramatic effects. This song stands without problems next to "Killing Game" and "Nature's Revenge", and wouldn't have disfigured at all on the relative albums. The rocking "Pedafly", one of the most aggressive of the album, combines hammering military-like drums and a heavy guitar with Ogre's "rapped" vocals, developing what the band did for the first time on "TGWOTR". This track, anyway, sound a lot better than its predecessors, introducing dramatic pauses and sinister melodic elements in the middle, assuring so a wider amount of complexity. The slightly similar and striking "Politik" is a far superior example of EBM / guitars formula, and a perfect dancefloor hit for 2007. Other powerful even if not as convincing tunes are the breakbeat assaults of "Pasturn" and "Ambiantz", while final "Ugli" is a slaughtering industrial madness, the most evil track since the days of "Too Dark Park" and with nothing to envy to likes of "Spasmolytic" or "T.F.W.O.".

It's hard to argue about the quality of this new album: production is perfect, each song seems to explore a style on its own, assuring an incredible variety of sounds and making the listener enjoy the CD in its full running time over and over again. The only not convincing elements of "TGWOTR" have been definitely left behind. "Mythmaker" is an excellent album, far superior to its predecessor and to be fully enjoyed by any open-minded Skinny Puppy fan, as well as by anyone who loves powerful electronics and electro-rock contaminations. It's just a pity that this time the lyrics are not included, since the general concept about control and its effect on individuals sounds very interesting and worth of a deeper investigation.

- Simon V.

Website: http://www.skinnypuppy.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/skinnypuppy