Skinny Puppy offers final album

Skinny Puppy

The Process

For those of you not familiar with Skinny Puppy's presence in the world of industrial music, their latest (and final) album, entitled The Process, is a whirlwind of vocal samples, grinding guitars and chaotic melodies. For others of you well-versed in the style and abilities of Skinny Puppy, The Process will be a slight diversion from the norm but will most definitely be an affirmation of the strength of one of industrial music's most loved (and hated) bands.

Some industrial music enthusiasts feel that over the years Skinny Puppy has sacrificed substance for style, while others view them as a staple of the industrial music genre. Either way, The Process is a dramatic end to a band that will have a lasting impact on industrial music. As a result of Dwayne Gottel's recent death (vocals, guitars), The Process arrives as a final gesture.

In its final chapter, Skinny Puppy has once again managed to tackle the difficult issue of humankind's relation to technology while being able to use "the machine" to their advantage. But this album is not simply a mish-mash of industrial noise while a vocalist rants about teen angst; The Process is quite the contrary. Skinny Puppy takes advantage of every instrument and permutation of beats available: at times a piano, at others a slow, melodic drum beat, while also being able to implement vocal samples and throbbing beats at crucial moments.

In fact, what's most surprising about this album is Skinny Puppy's liberal use of techno-type beats on two or three tracks, namely the eighth track, "Blue Serge," which is almost entirely backed by techno beats. This style of using a techno background added to their typical industrial edge is a new area of exploration for the band, but they manage to pull off the mix rather well. These beats combined with the shifting, abstract lyrical choices make an excellent combination and only enhance the quality of the music.

In my opinion, this album (unlike other Skinny Puppy albums) contains almost no flaws. From the moment I first put the disc in my CD player to the end 11 tracks later, I was only mildly disappointed in one song, "Curcible." Ogre, the lead vocalist, once again has no trouble handling the requirements of an industrial vocalist without delving into the area of heavy metal screams. Unfortunately, he does make a poor attempt at being an opera singer on "Candle," but it is short lived.

The Process is a very good album, well worth purchasing. The album manages to bring out the best of the band, while also expanding their abilities at musical manipulation without boring the listener. It's unfortunate that this will be the final Skinny Puppy release, because it seems as though they have managed to push the limits a little farther than they did before. Even if you have only a remote interest in industrial music, I highly recommend that you go out right now and purchase the album; it would be an excellent way to explore the genre of industrial music while also satisfying well versed industrial tastes.