Mythmaker

Times change and people change. Everyone has a favorite band(or two) that has left behind a defining sound to try explore new horizons. Skinny Puppy are no different. We should be so glad that we can get the type of variety out of one band in a world(now)filled with banal, boring, and simply generic label-manufactured bands. I have listened to the Puppy all my life and I have rolled with the changes and losses( RIP Dwayne). I think change is necessary to stay relevant. How could a band be less relevant by changing when indeed time is also contantly changing? Anyway, the newer Puppy sound is definitley more modern electronic to be sure. Although, what has not change(and shouldn't) is their core sound. The dark and grim atmospherics are still there. I do miss the horror film samples that I had fun figuring out which film they came from, but the lush complexities in the newer production style gives Mythmaker an epic feel. I notice also an Aphex Twin-esque influence with the trip-hop break-beats. The electronic drums have become WAY more intricate and varied which I think is a good thing. The beats will dance all around your head with this record. The melodicness is also great especially when paired with SP's usual dark themes. There is mild sampling on this album, but obviously not as much as past efforts. Most notable is the sample from Body Snatchers in Dal. Ogre's voice is distorted more than ever, and certainly more than his solo project, but its is more of a robotic distortion and less a monsterous one like the Puppy of old. To make a long story short, if you are a die-hard Skinny Puppy fan from way back AND also have an open mind then you will enjoy this album thoroughly. This is a great album filled with lush soundscapes and production, killer dark synth lines and the usual disturbing and violent lyrical imagery. Please don't even bother comparing this to past releases. This is 2007, not 1988. It is a modern Puppy, but this Puppy (bites) hard and doesnt let go until 48 mins later. Ogre and cEvin have done well. A must-have for true SP fans. Totally worth repeated listens.

I have been a fan of Skinny Puppy for many years. I discovered Skinny Puppy when I was a sophmore in school, Old School Puppy. The first album I was into, was "Remission", but "Rabies" was the most influential album I liked. Al Jourgenson produced "Rabies', which I was already an old school fan of Ministry! Reading some articles / interviews with Skinny Puppy, the members however didn't like the production of "Rabies". I listened to a lot of Skinny Puppy over the years, and then getting into Cevin Key's and Dwayne Goettel's evolving project "Download" (Huge FAN). At first, when Skinny Puppy released new material in 2004, it took a while for it to grow on me... "Greater Wrong of the Right" is a good album! When "Mythmaker" was released, I honestly couldn't really get into it, like previous Skinny Puppy releases, but after years gone by, "Mythmaker" eventually grew on me, and it hold its own with other Skinny Puppy Releases. Years ago, when the new material was released, I had this expectation, because of my experiences with the older material. But, I think the new material is a bit more accessible than like "Too Dark Park" or "Last Rights". "Last Rights" is a good album, but darker. I even think "The Process" is a great Album, but the band still hates that album, because of all the creative differences that hindered the production of "The Process". I would definitely recommend picking up "Mythmaker". "Dystemper" is another great sample of Skinny Puppy, in remix form.

I have been a SP fan for a long time. Rabies, Cleanse fold, Mind those albums were great and were a big part of my youth and I still listen to them regularly. I do, however understand that artists need to grow up, or progress or in SP's case experiment. I originally didn't like The Process, now, it is probably my favorite. I really liked TGWOTR when it came out and I still do. I like this one better.

Skinny Puppy has changed a lot over the years with artistic views, addictions and the loss of a member...Skinny Puppy has also always strived to do what they believe in and march over the wannabes and has beens (NIN, Marilyn Manson) and take industrial and electronic music for what it really should be. Mythmaker is different than TGWOTR, Less poppy and much darker.. This album is great and is exactly what it is expected to be. Beeing a long time fan of SP, i can safely say that no matter what they do, it will always be innovative and different. They have never made an album that sounded like the last... And that's what's great about them.. growth, change, and diversity and not being afraid to do something different.. There are some weak points on the album, and yes i feel it would be better if they reduced Mark Walks contributions but all in all Mythmaker stands out to be exactly what it is, The Next Skinny Puppy Album... Brutal, Dark and heavy along with lush ambiance and bizarre atmosphere This album is good and will stand the test of time. Just like the rest of them. We have to aacept that Ogre and cEvin are different and have grown in ways that go beyond Too Dark Park and Last Rights... This is what they have to offer and it is nothing short of brilliant, get this album...NOW

A very fast shipment of a new CD in perfect shape. I'm happy.

It's been many years since I had listened to SP and this album helped me to reconnect with them. This album had some catchy stuff and some heavy elements just as well. I am about 2 albums shy of having their whole entire collection. Overall, I enjoyed their psychotic industrial vision and this album helps add to it.

I am a long, long time fan of Skinny Puppy just like the majority of the reviewers here. For me, just like Greater Wrong of the Right, I keep giving this album a fair couple of listens, but I'm not immediately overwhelmed like I was with Mind TPI or Last Rights. As a whole it seems very linear and formulaic, unlike the incredible collage work of previous years. The tracks really feel like average "songs": Build ups, somewhat silly chorus lines, etc. No elements of tension or discord, no avant-garde or clever sample use, and most of all I don't need my imagination for this album. I really appreciate the Ain't It Dead Yet album and video for setting moods like that... However, from the way the songs on Mythmaker start, I already know how they will end in formula. Uncharacteristic of SP. SP must evolve, and I will keep buying albums, but the new albums really are comparable to other groups and other sounds, which surprises and saddens me. It's time to move on, but I miss the collage and dreamlike atmosphere that put them above the rest. P.S. The Bodysnatchers sample on Dal is great, but Witchman beat them to it a few years back in his track Red Demon Loco on Heavymental...I guess it's a popular sample.

You could play any track on this disk to a SP fan, and they'd know instantly who it was. And yet it's not a rehash of anything they've done before. It's quite polished, and dare I say, melodic. I'm a long time SP fan, and, in my opinion, they've put out some great stuff and some crap. Mythmaker belongs near the top. Great work.

great price, was shipped well protected

Excellent!

En un mundo sin Skinny Puppy, donde la única alternativa es no dejarlos morir manteniendo su música en nuestras mentes, oídos y corazones, dándome a la tarea de darle una repasada a albumes que no me gustaban tanto como este es que hoy lo aprecio y me doy cuenta que me faltaba escucharlo más para entenderlo, evadir la realidad de que ya no eran más los SP de todo dark park y rabies, albumes en los que me seguía refugiando y esperando un regreso a esos días que nunca sucedió es que me adentré a fondo en sus 4 últimos albumes y por fin me di cuenta que estaban como siempre adelantados a su época, si están en el mismo caso que yo, denle una oportunidad, no es tan malo como lo recordaba, bueno de hecho no lo recordaba

Seit nunmehr Sechs Jahren schon bin ich der Musik von Skinny Puppy ausgeliefert,....... restlos verfallen. Und das hat seine guten Gründe, denn keine Band sonst schafft es, so atmosphärisch niveauvoll verworrene Elektro- Stücke wie " Ambianz " oder " Pedafly " in die Ohrmuscheln zu katapultieren, ohne dass sie nicht ihren Sonderstatus in der Musikwelt untermauern. Wer Skinny Puppy liebt, kann sich wie ich ganz sicher nicht satthören an den überdurchschnittlichen Veröffentlichungen der Kanadier. Skinny Puppy: Nivek Ogres verzerrte Stimme ist nach wie vor ein Markenzeichen der Band- für manche vielleicht gewöhnungsbedürftig, trägt jedoch maßgeblich zur düsteren Atmosphäre von dem Album MYTHMAKER bei. Mein absoluter Lieblingssong hier ist folglich der 5.36 Minuten- Klopper " Pedafly "- dezent ruhig beginnend zelebriert Ogre diesen Track bis zur völligen Ekstase, schreit mir ins Hirn....... ein gitarrenversetztes Industrial- Brett. Ein unberechenbares Wechselspiel, kalt wirkende Drums and Synths, völlig wild und sich schließlich entladend. Was für ein Song............................... ********************************************** Zehn Tracks= 49.01 Minuten! ********************************************** Mein Fazit: Ohne wenn und aber muß ich anerkennen, dass Skinny Puppy mit ihrem Wahnsinns- Album MYTHMAKER, das ich ziemlich oft höre und schön längstens hätte lobrezensieren sollen, erneut ein großer Wurf, wenn nicht sogar DER große Wurf, gelungen ist. Ein idee(n)reiches Album, das stellenweise fast schon ungewöhnlich sphärisch und zahm für Skinny Puppy erscheint. Ohne dabei aber auch nur im Ansatz zu enttäuschen. Es ist doch gerade die Kunst, die Skinny Puppy auszeichnet; die Kunst, Eingängigkeit mit charakteristischer Einzigartigkeit zu paaren. Und sich trotzdem nicht zu wiederholen. Und das sind halt meine Skinnies- mystisch, melancholisch....... und trotzdem voller Drive.

基本的にパピーのアルバムは全てかっこいいと思っています。 復活後のパピーは確かに80年代代後半に見られたブッ飛んだ極悪サウンドではなくなりましたが、常に新境地を求め進化し続けています。 しかも駄作は一つもありません！！あとはリスナーの好みの問題なのです。 全盛期のパピー云々関係なく最高にかっこいいアルバムだと思います。 全てのインダストリアルファン必聴です。