History Music / SkinnyPuppy

SkinnyPuppy were not the first band to take Throbbing Gristle's attitude and approach ElectronicMusic with it. Arguably, ThrobbingGristle did this (albiet their work was more eclectic and less electronic than Skinny Puppy's), and Cabaret Voltaire (as well as many other acts associated with early 80's SynthPop) did it as well. But SkinnyPuppy took these ideas into much DarkerAndEdgier territory and were easily the most influential partly because they had a truly gruesome stage act and never refrained from the use of NightmareFuel.

* [[BannedInChina Banned From MTV]]: The above-mentioned "Worlock" video because all the film clips are the nasty bits from various horror flicks.

* CreatorBreakdown: ''Last Rights'' and ''The Process''; the former was written and recorded when Nivek Ogre's heroin addiction pretty much reached critical mass and the lyrics reflect this. ''The Process'' meanwhile was a major debacle as far as keyboardist Dwayne Goettel's own heroin addiction ultimately overwhelming him and ultimately taking his life, as well as massive squabblings with the band and its label and climaxing with cEvin Keye and Nivek Ogre dissolving the band over the two being divided on whether or not to produce the mainstream Nine Inch Nails-type album that the label was demanding from them.

* [[DeletedScene Deleted Song]]: "Left Handshake", (aka "Song 10"), omitted from their "Last Rights" album because they couldn't get permission to use a lengthy sample of Timothy Leary's voice (Leary himself was fine with it, incidentally, but he did not own the rights to the sample). The original CD shipped with track 10 clocking in at 0:00 and with the liner notes reading SONG 10 IS MISSING? It later surfaced as a limited-edition single and has since been widely bootlegged.
* DevelopmentHell: "[=hanDover=]" languished here for quite some time.
** ''The Process'' was originally set for release in late 1993. It didn't see the light of day until 1996, no thanks due to the TroubledProduction.

* OneOfUs: Their names are/were Kevin, Kevin and Dwayne, and all of them are complete technology geeks. Yep, they're OneOfUs.

* TroubledProduction: ''The Process''

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: From 6 (e.g. "Pro-Test") to 8 bordering on 9 (e.g. "Worlock") throughout the entire career.

In 1989, Skinny Puppy released the album "Rabies," which was (upon release) considered a NewSoundAlbum because it contained metal-style guitar riffs on three tracks, courtesy of {{Ministry}}'s Al Jourgensen (who had struck up a friendship with Nivek Ogre when the two bands were touring together). In hindsight however, most SkinnyPuppy fans have got over the 'surprise' and embraced the album, partly because the song "Worlock" is considered one of Skinny Puppy's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments]] and to this day remains one of their [[SignatureSong Signature Songs]]. Unfortunately, it was during this era that Al introduced the band to heroin.

* WordSaladLyrics: All the time.

In the early 2000's, Skuppy did a one-off reformation show in Dresden at that "Doomsday" festival. The two Kevins performed in front of a screaming crowd of goths and rivetheads; they left a spare spot on stage for Dwayne out of respect. This reformation resulted in new albums; 2004's "The Greater Wrong Of The Right" followed by 2008's "Mythmaker." and 2011's much delayed "[=hanDover=]", which incorporated more minimalist IDM elements.

* PunBasedTitle: Frequently. "Lust Chance", ''Last Rights'', "Knowhere?", ''[=VIVIsectVI=]'' (an association of vivisection with SixSixSix), etc.

* LighterAndSofter: Arguably their best songs, "Worlock," "Testure," "Nature's Revenge" are all more accessible than the majority of their songs and these songs are generally fan favorites.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: From 6 (e.g. "Pro-Test") to 8 (e.g. "Worlock") throughout the entire career.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 6-borderline 7 throughout the entire career.

* TheBandMinusTheFace - Subverted during their live reunion in Dresden; it was The Band Minus The Keyboardist.
* [[BannedInChina Banned From MTV]] - The above-mentioned "Worlock" video because all the film clips are the nasty bits from various horror flicks.
* CanonDiscontinuity - The "Too Dark Park" backing videos: the band made 14 high quality music videos songs performed on the "Too Dark Park" tour, most of which were songs that lacked an official video. Many fans consider the videos (God Gift Maggot, Tin Omen, etc) to be official music videos for said songs, a view not shared by the band sadly.
* ConceptAlbum - ''The Process'' is about a religious cult called The Process Church Of Final Judgement. ''Last Rights'' is a loose concept album based around life and death as well.
* CreatorBreakdown - ''Last Rights'' and ''The Process''; the former was written and recorded when Nivek Ogre's heroin addiction pretty much reached critical mass and the lyrics reflect this. ''The Process'' meanwhile was a major debacle as far as keyboardist Dwayne Goettel's own heroin addiction ultimately overwhelming him and ultimately taking his life, as well as massive squabblings with the band and its label and climaxing with cEvin Keye and Nivek Ogre dissolving the band over the two being divided on whether or not to produce the mainstream Nine Inch Nails-type album that the label was demanding from them.
* DarkerAndEdgier - The basic concept of their work is DarkerAndEdgier (in the sense of being more bizzare and experimental) SynthPop.
* [[DeletedScene Deleted Song]] - "Left Handshake", (aka "Song 10"), omitted from their "Last Rights" album because they couldn't get permission to use a lengthy sample of Timothy Leary's voice (Leary himself was fine with it, incidentally, but he did not own the rights to the sample). The original CD shipped with track 10 clocking in at 0:00 and with the liner notes reading SONG 10 IS MISSING? It later surfaced as a limited-edition single and has since been widely bootlegged.
* DevelopmentHell - "[=hanDover=]" languished here for quite some time.

* EightiesHair - [[http://www.last.fm/music/Skinny+Puppy/+images/4161234 Yes]].
* EpicRocking - The live noise jam "Spahn Dirge" is 16 1/2 minutes long. The final track on ''Last Rights'', "Download", while not really so an example of rocking due to the fact that it's mostly ambient, certainly is epic at eleven minutes long.
* FollowTheLeader - The LighterAndSofter sound of ''The Process'' was intended by American Recordings to capitalize on the success of NineInchNails.
* FreudianTrio - Especially in [[http://www.waste.org/~skumm/AP2.html this interview]], it's easy to see Ogre as TheMcCoy, cEvin as TheSpock and Dwayne as TheKirk.
* GaiasVengeance - ''Nature's Revenge''
* {{Gorn}} - The stage show and most of the music videos. And sometimes the lyrics.
* HarshVocals - The growling, raspy sound of the Ogre's voice arguably counts, helped by the [[IndecipherableLyrics indecipherableness of most of it]]. And they were doing it [[UrExample a while before Metal bands were, to boot.]]
* HemoErotic - Their live shows often involve quite a bit of that, yes.
* {{Improv}} - A frequently-used compositional technique. Often done [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs on drugs]] in a process the band called "Brap."
* IndecipherableLyrics - And '''HOW!'''
* {{Music/Instrumentals}} - "Riverz," "Stairs And Flowers," other examples.
* LastNoteNightmare - Inverted with the album ''Last Rights''. The majority of the album is [[HellIsThatNoise dissonant]], terrifying industrial noise, but the last several minutes of the song "Download" (the last song on the album) are serene ambient music that you could probably sleep to.
* LighterAndSofter - Arguably their best songs, "Worlock," "Testure," "Nature's Revenge" are all more accessible than the majority of their songs and these songs are generally fan favorites.

* MindRape - What ''many'' of their songs can induce.
* MoodWhiplash - "Scrapyard" has a break in the song with a sample from the move UncleBuck of Buck getting beaned by a bowling ball. And then the song restarts in all its nightmarish glory.
* MrFanservice - Nivek Ogre in a nutshell.
* NewSoundAlbum - "Rabies" was originally seen as one, but now isn't. "The Greater Wrong Of The Right" ''is'' one however.
* OneOfUs - Their names are/were Kevin, Kevin and Dwayne, and all of them are complete technology geeks. Yep, they're OneOfUs.
* OneSteveLimit - Averted. The band has two Kevins.
* PunBasedTitle - Frequently. "Lust Chance", ''Last Rights'', "Knowhere?", ''[=VIVIsectVI=]'' (an association of vivisection with SixSixSix), etc.
* {{Sampling}} - Of any bizarre sound (but rarely other songs). Said sample is then warped to be made even ''more'' insane, then is spliced together with all the nasty bits from various Italian horror films, THEN a drumbeat and bassline are added, THEN you have a SkinnyPuppy song.
* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic - Subverted. Their appearance is frightening, but their rig appears harmless... until they play it.
* SdrawkcabAlias - Nivek Ogre.
* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll - Subverted, in that they're more Drugs Drugs And Industrial. [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] tragically when Dwayne Goettel died of a heroin overdose. This deconstruction is subverted in [[BlackComedy a blackly comic fashion]] by the fact Goettel's overdose occurred in his parent's house rather than in an expensive hotel room or a supermodel's bedroom. OneOfUs indeed.
* StageNames - Kevin Crompton = cEvin Key, Kevin Ogilvie = Nivek Ogre

* SurrealMusicVideo - All of their music videos are this as well as terrifying.
* {{Theremin}} - Occasionally one of these is used.
* TortureCellar - Skinny Puppy is the soundtrack for locales such as these.
* TroubledProduction - ''The Process''
* VideoFullOfFilmClips - "Worlock."
* WordSaladLyrics - All the time.
* XMeetsY - Their sound is arguably ThrobbingGristle meets Music/{{Kraftwerk}}.

* SdrawkcabName - Nivek Ogre.

* EpicRocking - The live noise jam "Spahn Dirge" is 16 1/2 minutes long.

** ''The Process'' was originally set for release in late 1993. It didn't see the light of day until 1996, no thanks due to the TroubleProduction.

* HarshVocals - and they were doing it {{UrExample a while before Metal bands were, to boot.}}

* SignatureSong - "Worlock" to name just one.

In 1990, the band released "Too Dark Park," which is arguably considered their artistic high point by the majority of their fans. The album is not the ''most'' bizzare and innaccessible of their works (that honor is reserved for 1988's "[=VIVIsectVI=]" (pronounced "Vivisect Six")), but it manages to approach it, with tighter songwriting, catchy basslines, and surprising sonic range that went from pure MindRape rhythmic noise (songs like "Convulssion") to dark ambient (like "Reclaimation") to danceable, melodic and bizzare industrial (like "Tormentor") to darker and more minimal industrial (like "Nature's Revenge") to going between all these various different styles ''within the same song'' (like "Shore Lined Poison").

* EpicRocking: The live noise jam "Spahn Dirge" is 16 1/2 minutes long.

* FreudianTrio: Especially in [[http://www.waste.org/~skumm/AP2.html this interview]], it's easy to see Ogre as TheMcCoy, cEvin as TheSpock and Dwayne as TheKirk.

SkinnyPuppy were not the first band to take Throbbing Gristle's attitude and approach ElectronicMusic with it. Arguably, ThrobbingGristle did this (albiet their work was more eclectic and less electronic than Skinny Puppy's), and Cabaret Voltaire (as well as many other acts associated with early 80's SynthPop) did it as well. But SkinnyPuppy took these ideas into much DarkerAndEdgier territory and were easily the most influential partly because they had a truly gruesome stage act and never refrained from the use of HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

* LastNoteNightmare - Inverted with the album ''Last Rights''. The majority of the album is [[HellIsThatNoise dissonant]], [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel terrifying]] industrial noise, but the last several minutes of the song "Download" (the last song on the album) are serene ambient music that you could probably sleep to.

* SurrealMusicVideo - All of their music videos are this as well as HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

* EpicRiff - The strings during the chorus of "Worlock."

* {{Sampling}} - Of any bizzare sound (but rarely other songs). Said sample is then warped to be made even ''more'' insane, then is spliced together with all the nasty bits from various Italian horror films, THEN a drumbeat and bassline are added, THEN you have a SkinnyPuppy song.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs - Subverted. Most of it ''was'' made on drugs and a copious quantity thereof.

* ConceptAlbum - "The Process" is about a religious cult called The Process Church Of Final Judgement.
* CreatorBreakdown - Last Rites and The Process; the former was written and recorded when Nivek Ogre's heroin addiction pretty much reached critical mass and the lyrics reflect this. The Process meanwhile was a major debacle as far as keyboardist Dwayne Goettel's own heroin addiction ultimately overwhelming him and ultimately taking his life, as well as massive squabblings with the band and it's label and climaxing with cEvin Keye and Nivek Ogre dissolving the band over the two being divided on whether or not to produce the mainstream Nine Inch Nails-type album that the label was demanding from them.

* [[DeletedScene Deleted Song]] - "Left Handshake", (aka "Song 10"), omitted from their "Last Rights" album because they couldn't get permission to use a lengthy sample of Timothy Leary's voice. The original CD shipped with track 10 clocking in at 0:00 and with the liner notes reading SONG 10 IS MISSING? It later surfaced as a limited-edition single and has since been widely bootlegged.

* PunBasedTitle - Frequently. "Lust Chance", ''Last Rights'', ''[=VIVIsectVI=]'' (an association of vivisection with SixSixSix), etc.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted. The band has two Kevins.

In 1996, the band sufferred CreatorBreakdown after switching to a new label. They released what was believed to be their final album, "The Process" (a ConceptAlbum about a psychotherapy cult known as the Process Church of Final Judgement), after Dwayne Goettel's fondness for heroin caught up with him and left him as a corpse in his parent's house.

In the early 2000's, Skuppy did a one-off reformation show in Dresden at that "Doomsday" festival. The two Kevins performed in front of a screaming crowd of goths and rivetheads; they left a spare spot on stage for Dwayne out of respect. This reformation resulted in new albums; 2004's "The Greater Wrong Of The Right" and 2008's "Mythmaker." The band is currently sorting out insolvency issues with their label in order to release their new album tentatively titled, ironically, "In Solvent See".

* DevelopmentHell - Skinny Puppy's tentatively titled album "In Solvent See" is currently in limbo even though it's recorded, mixed and mastered, ready to ship, ironically, due to insolvency issues with the label.
** No longer, the album (Called ''[=HanDover=]'') is scheduled for release in September.
* EightiesHair - [[http://www.last.fm/music/Skinny+Puppy/+images/4161234 Yes]].
* ElectronicMusic - One of the most influential electronic bands ever.

* IndustrialMetal - Hugely influential on this genre, but not a part of it-though the album ''Rabies'' comes pretty close.

The band was formed when Kevin Crompton (a.k.a. cEvin Key), drummer for the SynthPop band Images In Vogue, got bored with making SynthPop and wanted to make new and groundbreaking ElectronicMusic. He got his friend Kevin Ogilve (a.k.a. Nivek Ogre), to provide vocals. Along the way, various other members have provided the role of third member, such as Bill Leeb (who went on to form FrontLineAssembly), and most famously Dwayne Rudolph Goettel (who died of a heroin overdose in the mid-90s, causing the band to break up for almost a decade), and most recently Mark Walk.

* StageNames - Kevin Crompton = cEvin Key, Kevin Ogilve = Nivek Ogre