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Archived Reviews
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If someone had said to me at the turn of the new millennium that Skinny Puppy were to release a new album I'd have shook my head in disbelief! Seven years on and they have released their second. 'Mythmaker' is by all means no follow up to 'The Greater Wrong Of The Right', in fact it's a very different sounding album, and as all Puppy fans have come to expect, the Industrial giants of cEvin Key and Ogre have reinvented themselves yet again. Straying away from social and global issues as with previous outings, Ogre's lyrics are more personal in direction, as he stated himself that the concept of 'Mythmaker' was about different levels of relationships and how people portray themselves to others and the world around them, making this 'Myth' about themselves as it were. Key's music is still as inventive as ever, but at once seems very focused and realized, stating himself that this was possibly the hardest album he'd worked on for Puppy. 'Master of it all...Oh Yeah!' chants Ogre in the form of some dry rasp as the album opens with 'Magnifishit', a track that at once seems like a continuation of 'The Greater Wrong' but has a looser, more laid back approach, as does the track 'Pasturn'. It's this vibe that sets the rest of the album on it's course of largely atmospheric tunes, rife with harmony, with the production talents of Mark Walk, who's utilized Ogre's voice into a virtual instrument of it's own accord, tweaked with effects and the perfect accompaniment to Keys experimental dabblings and twisting metamorphosising tunes and rhythms. Mark Walk was regarded by the Puppy fanbase as maybe polishing the bands sound a little too much, taking it further from it's origins, but Key's 'Download' side project is evident on the later half of 'Mythmaker' with the tracks 'Lestiduz', an amalgamated mish-mash of hypnotic drum patterns and what seems incidental glitches of harsh noise and 'Ambiantz', a track that flutters along like some strange lullaby with it's organ sounding synth lines and chilled out rhythm of beats. For the more discerning fan of their heavier moments, you'll find the stompy 'Pedafly', but even this is a million miles away from the ultra intense 'Last Rights' album and is more akin to 'I'mmortal' or 'Pro-Test'. The dialogue sample used at the end of this track though is prime Puppy material that even the late great Dwayne Goettel would have been proud of. In fact, the only track that resembles anything truly close to what has gone before is 'Jaher', an acoustic guitar and haunting synth line medley that would have sat perfectly on 'The Process' snuggled somewhere between 'Candle' and 'Cult'. But as I've said before, Puppy are renowned for altering their direction somewhat with each record and 'Haze' is definately no exception. Tweating bird samples, rising drum rolls accompanied by chimes (yes chimes!) and Ogre in a perpetual state of personal reflection adds a daring and interesting highlight on the album. 'Ugli' for me was the hardest song to take in, maybe for the monotonous line 'Jesus wants to be ugly', or maybe I'm missing the point with this one, like that's the whole irony behind it? 'Mythmaker' on first listen may make you question 'What the hell is this?' even with Puppy's older audience, but this was all said before with albums like 'Rabies' and 'Too Dark Park', now regarded as classics. So, don't expect a 'Greater Wrong Of The Right' part 2 as the concept is from a different perspective altogether, lyrically and musically. More emotionally charged, with a few repeated listens I found it a definate 'grower' and heralds Puppy at their most personal harrowing best. Masters of it all? They're still ahead of the game! |
