Nine Inch Nails... Further Down The Spiral...

I've gone on a very long stint, of not listening to Nine Inch Nails... but the last couple of days, I've been really enjoying them! I think it was probably good that I hadn't listened to them in a while, cause listening to Nine Inch Nails these last couple of days is reminding me why they are my favorite band of all time! Today, I was listening to "The Downward Spiral" and the various singles and EP's that came off this album... and something that came up in the playlist was "Further Down The Spiral"... now, "Further Down The Spiral" is a remix album... but as it came on... I realize I really enjoy this... when I was younger, I remember hearing "The Downward Spiral" at a friends place, and when I went to go and purchase it, I couldn't remember the title of the album, and mistakenly picked up "Further Down The Spiral"... I remember popping it into my CD player and realizing it was not "The Downward Spiral", I didn't return it to the music store and exchange it though... I kept it, cause I liked it.

The first thing that stood out for me, was the abrasive sound it had throughout the album... it was noisey! (A side story: After I purchased it, I remember taking it over to an girlfriend at the time, parents place and popping it into the CD player, and her mom said "...wow, they must have been on some serious drugs to write something like this!”)... This remix album has several collaborators on it, including Aphex Twin, members of Coil, J.G. Thirlwell, as well as Nine Inch Nails live members! Now listening to this remix album... it really is further down the spiral... like I feel like it takes the songs off "The Downward Spiral", and really fucks them up! I feel like this is the last statement of "The Downward Spiral", and pushes the songs into a deep and dark territory! Kinda like a last gasp of breath before drowning.

So, I guess... I'm just really enjoying it, and remembering why I like this remix album... I kinda feel like out of all the remix albums that Trent has done, this one stands out, cause there was a list of collaborators, as well, I feel like... when you listen to traditional remix albums... there really isn't an artistic statement associated with it, typically it's just other bands doing remixes and that's it... with "Further Down The Spiral" I feel like there's an artistic statement, that takes the story of "The Downward Spiral" and expands on it... and goes deeper.

Yeah, really enjoying it right now!

What do you folks think of "Further Down The Spiral"?

Keluar... My Current Music Obsession...

Well, as of the last couple of days, I've been listening to the band Keluar! Keluar was the project of Zoe Zanias (vocals, lyrics) and Sid Lamar (music composition, and production)... I guess lately, it's been my current obsession... I'll turn it on at work, I'll listen to it at home... and I can't seem to get enough of it! I just love the way it sounds... I've been pretty much having it on repeat the last couple of days! I'll even turn on their live performance videos and such (I prefer live performances over just studio produced stuff... Aaaand, out of all honesty, I'm really curious what gear they used for their live shows, as it looks quite minimal [Lot’s of live inspiration! We are retiring some pieces and trying to pair down our live kit... to something small and really quick to set-up, but also fun and interesting to play with live too])!

(You can see some of their gear here... so I guess my above question was answered, lol!)

I'm not really sure how to describe their sound, it's definitely darkwave(ish), with elements of EBM and minimal synth, and maybe some industrial elements thrown in there as well! Whenever I hear the various songs, it kind of reminds me of old 80's television... there's an aesthetic to the way it sounds, and the way it is presented... and whenever I listen to it, for some reason I feel like I'm looking at an old 80's TV show or something... not sure if that really describes it very well, but that is what the music evokes in me. Like, a distant memory, but I can't quite place it for some reason... I love their sound because of that! Whenever I see their live performance videos I'm trying to understand what they are getting across, and I feel kinda like they are trying to drive that "distant memory, old 80's TV show" aesthetic... I will be honest, I almost feel they are living in the past, but it's modern times... and maybe that is the point of what they were trying to get across in their videos and performances, they loved that older sound and aesthetic... and that they were trying to live in it... but that's what I get from it, it's not a criticism, just an observation of what I see... Like I said, I love their sound because of the images it evokes in me! I think my favorite song of theirs is "Instinct" off their EP "Panguna", don't know why... just love this song! Love the way it sounds, love the "distant memory that I can't place" feeling I get from it!

(Instinct)

(Surface)

What do you folks think of Keluar? What images and feelings does the music evoke in you?

Prong: Rude Awakening

Well, while we are on the topic of Prong, I thought I would talk about my favorite Prong album... "Rude Awakening"... why do I like this album, well... first of all... the first time I saw this album, was in a music store in Saskatoon, SK... I saw it, and I thought the cover artwork looked cool! There was no doubt in my mind that this album was going to be excellent... If I'm not mistaken, I think I first heard and saw the video for the song "Rude Awakening" at some point after I had moved into a step-dad figure's house in Saskatoon (1996 or 97). I found out soon after that it was directed by Rob Zombie, who is also a favorite artist of mine! It wasn't until years later that I would pick it up digitally (wish I actually picked up the physical, cause I would've loved to have the booklet and all that shit)! This album really stands out for me cause, it was very angsty, very dark, they were going in a more industrial metal direction... more so than their previous efforts, I feel this album was probably their best! I love the way the guitars sound, the bass in it is nice and chunky, everything is down-tuned... It had all the industrial tropes for the time, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... Tommy Victors trademark voice. If you read our last blog, you would know that we really love the guitar sounds that Tommy has produced over the years... especially the dissonant chords and such! I think my favorite song off this album is "Rude Awakening", it sounds soo dissonant, and Tommy fuckin howls out the lyrics... yeah, love this song!

(Rude Awakening)

(Caprice)

For a crossover band, they are definitely, excellent! I would love to see them live at some point!

Prong: Why I like 'em...

Well, here's a band I've been into since my mid teens... I think the first album I heard of their's was "Cleansing", of course the first song I heard was "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck", matter of fact, I probably saw the video for "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" before actually listening to the album. The one thing I noticed and remembered from this album, is they really had a semi-thrash kind of sound mixed with a darker feel. Something I didn't realize until my adult years, was that Prong, maybe not in their early days, was influenced by darker, industrial sounds... they started to add samples and synths and such to their albums (around the "Prove You Wrong" era), and the "Cleansing" album was definitely influenced by industrial metal (I loved this album as a teenager)... and then they would carry on and go deeper into the dark angsty industrial metal sound with their album "Rude Awakening" which is probably my favorite album by them. I just love the way it sounds... so dissonant and so bleak. The main man, Tommy Victor (vocals and guitars) would end up working with Danzig as a live guitarist, and eventually as a co-writer on an album (You can see him in the Danzig video "Sacrifice"), Tommy Victor would also end up falling into the Ministry camp with Al Jourgensen as a live guitarist as well as a co-writer on "Rio Grande Blood" and "The Last Sucker". 

(Who's Fist Is This Anyway?)

Why do I like Prong..? They've always been on the periphery of industrial music, and Tommy Victor has influenced a lot of bands in the scene... granted they may not be the most popular band in the industrial scene... but they've always kinda been doing something in the background, whether it was releasing their own albums, or Tommy playing roles in Danzig, or Ministry... they were even influenced by post-punk band Killing Joke... I know a lot of folks may not consider them a part of our scene, but I really do think they belong there at least as a crossover band... like I said, they've always been on the periphery. They've even influenced our own sound in the past... I love their guitars, not really sure how to describe them... they're kind of dissonant, and when you hear a Prong song, you know it's Prong, just for the sheer fact that they kind of have their own sound, and Tommy Victor's trademark vocals! Yeah, even though Prong is more on the industrial music periphery, and they are more of a crossover band, I do like their sound and darkness!

(Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck)

Would you fit Prong in the scene? Where do they land on your periphery?

Here's our latest mixtape: "Here My Army Comes... Yeah, Fuck It... Let's Go!!"

Skinny Puppy: The Process

Well, I'm listening to an older Skinny Puppy album called "The Process" today, and I absolutely love this album! I started listening to again recently, and I just love the way this album sounds... not just musically, but the production and sound design that went into it. This album certainly sounds different than all their previous efforts... If you haven't followed Skinny Puppy for very long and you're interested in their history, you can find the wiki here! I will touch a little upon this album... Ogre and Cevin Key, and Dwayne Goettel were fighting with each other, Ogre was trying to stay clean, and get off drugs, and from my understanding Cevin Key and Dwayne were using drugs excessively, which made the process recording it very long... which in turn their label at the time, reduced their contract of three albums to only one. A lot of the process of recording was plagued with fires, and floods as well. Ogre moved to L.A. in this period and was finishing up "The Process"... then eventually Goettel and Key went back to Vancouver with the master tapes... and Ogre quit the band... it was a couple months later that Dwayne Goettel died of a heroin overdose. Eventually, the album would be released... and dedicated in the memory of Dwayne Goettel. The circumstances surrounding the album are very sad, this would be Skinny Puppy's last album, until they rejoined forces in Dresden a few years later... I do love this album, just for the sheer fact that it sounded soo different than their previous efforts... the production and song structures, it is definitely more accessible than their previous efforts, and probably their most "poppy" endeavour to date! This was either the second Skinny Puppy album I picked up or the third... I remember popping it into the disc player and listening to it for the very first time and being surprised by the way it sounded... it sounded soo much different than "Brap 3 + 4"... at first I wasn't sure what to make of it... but listening to it now, I realized I really do love this album, it may not be my favorite Skinny Puppy album, but, if I haven't said this enough, it sounds soo different than their previous efforts, that it really stands out as something different for me!

Here's "Hardset Heat" off of "The Process":

and here's "Jahya" off of "The Process"

What do you think of "The Process"?

Here we are adding some patches to some combat military fatigues, and here is our stage outfit so far: