The Skinny Puppy renaissance of the 21st Century began in 2004 with the release of The Greater Wrong of the Right, their first new studio recording in eight years. Ten years later and the band is better than ever and even more potent releasing one of their best to date with last year’s Weapon. In 2004, though, they were still finding their sea legs if you will on an album that was also the first without Dwayne Goettel and longtime producer Dave Ogilvie.
As a whole the album was a welcome return for the reigning industrial giants but it shed most of the ferocious bile they spewed in their early years. Jarring guitar lines are mechanically cut and pasted throughout and not much of a presence overall (Most noticeably on opener “I’mmortal”) while the ringmaster himself, Nivek Ogre, doesn’t quite sound like Ogre. That unmistakable snarl doesn’t rear its’ ugly little head until closers “Goneja” and “DaddyuWarbash” actually. The surprises continued with the overly lush, almost Pop, sound of “Use Less” featuring Wayne Static and Tool’s Danny Carey.
Is this a watered down version of SP then? Far from it! Instead, TGWotR presents a band falling in love with creating progressive industrial music all over again and a sign of what was to come. If you were a fan of the band previously, TGWotR just made you appreciate them more. If you were a new fan looking for a jumping on point then there was no better gateway drug then TGWotR.
The Greater Wrong of the Right re-issue is out on January 28th through Metropolis Records, pressed on heavyweight vinyl for the first time ever. Reserve your copy here, but act fast as the vinyl is limited to 1000 copies! You can also get the album on CD and digitally.
For more on Skinny Puppy (And to see where you can catch them on their upcoming tour) head on over to their Official Facebook Page and don’t forget to “Like” us at the Rock And Roll Fables page, too!
http://youtu.be/aS-gGYaA8F0