Skinny Puppy, hanDover, CD Review
SPV/Synthetic Symphony, Release: Oct. 25th 2011
There comes a time in the life of all masters of an art to step down and to allow the next generation to step forward into the limelight. This October, the Electro-Industrial juggernaut created by cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre is here to remind us that such a day is a long way off for them.
Since the release of their first album Remission in 1984, Skinny Puppy has had a handle on the broad scope of electronic music like no other act. Despite the ever-changing standards of what is acceptable (and sadly, what is marketable), Skinny Puppy has maintained a long and storied career despite no commercial appeal or even so much a hint of pulling their punches. After a deeply lamented break-up in 1996 (directly following the release of a troubled album called The Process), in 2004 Skinny Puppy returned with a new album called The Greater Wrong of The Right. For fans, the album was a sigh of relief, and their 2007 release, Mythmaker, began paving the way for a new and exciting time in the band’s history. hanDover continues this tradition; the album is a great place for newcomers to begin and a reminder for long-term devotees to be reminded why these Vancouver noiseniks are the first and last word of their genre.
hanDover is a seamless blend of old and new: “Noisex” brings a break-neck beat and haunting wordless drone, “Cullorblind” and “Vyrisus” utilize the haunting atmospherics that will certainly thrill and bring up miles of goosebumps, while “Brownstone” comes on hard and abrasive, a brutal recall of how vicious these veterans can put together a song.
Skinny Puppy’s hanDover is not, under any circumstances, to be missed. It is best consumed with a good pair of headphones, a dark room, a comfortable chair, and a mind ready to be blown.
Find out more about Skinny Puppy with this LINK:
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