Skinny Puppy

At one point it looked like it would never happen, but Nivek Ogre and cEvin Key made nice and put Skinny Puppy back together again. The first thing to know about Greater Wrong of the Right is that it's their last album, The Process, done right. Not an innovative album, not a visceral album, but there are bits of the old Pup here -- more scary-movie samples than The Process had, and a lot more of the stuttering beats of yore. Ogre is still singing rather than barking, while Key has just exploded when it comes to expansive production. Key's given Ogre a lush and dark world to deliver his serviceable lyrics over, but it's not always menacing and that's where old fans might cry "sellout." With freaky vocal manipulation "Ghostman" recalls the band's earlier work for the better, while Ogre's passé chant of "New World Order" on "Neuwerld" recalls it for the worse. Too bad they're done making Matrix movies, because the driven and melodic "I'mmortal" would have fit on the soundtrack and the memorable "EmpTe" is just as poppy. Odd to think that Skinny Puppy now sound more inspired when playing it straight -- or at least as straight as a band that wears pancake makeup and stage blood to its photo shoots can be -- but the album really comes alive when Ogre croons. "Use Less" -- with thunderous drumming from Tool's Danny Carey -- is Ogre's great moment and the best evidence he can keep up with Key's evolution. Get ready for the hardcore fan backlash, but Greater Wrong of the Right at least makes up for The Process, and with stunning structure from Key, it beats most of the current industrial music competition. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi