Band:	Skinny Puppy
Album:	Mythmaker
Style:	Electronica, Industrial rock
Release date:	January 2007
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Magnifishit
02. Dal
03. Haze
04. Pedafly
05. Jaher
06. Politikil
07. Lestiduz
08. Pasturn
09. Ambiantz
10. Ugli

Ah, Skinny Puppy. Truly, few bands out there right now have as much of a legacy to live up to as these industrial pioneers. Skinny Puppy of yore was never commercial or in any way willing to compromise and join the ranks of the emerging early 90s industrial metal scene that they helped create. Then, after they disbanded the hopes of the fans regarding the quality of the band's music after the 2003 reunion were extremely high. 2004's Greatest Wrong Of The Right didn't really deliver in this respect - it was an intriguing and experimental album; however, it was also quite far away from the classic SP sound that the fans adore.

Well, Mythmaker is basically more of the same. The band is still experimenting with all kinds of things - broken-up deconstructed rhythms, cut-and-paste approach to vocals, danceable beats etc; however, there is something missing. Personally I think it is the fact that the band rarely delves into their trademark "Ogre crying, keyboard atmosphere, noise background" formula that after all was what made albums like VIVISectVI and Last Rights so compelling in the first place. A friend of mine once said that "Skinny Puppy sounds best when they bleed" and this is definitely not what is happening on Mythmaker. It's more like they are either dancing or shouting angrily.

Naturally, this comes from the biased point of view of a long time Skinny Puppy fan. For newcomers or people who simply don't have that much of a sentimental attachment to SP's past discography, Mythmaker will most likely seem like quite an interesting and original industrial rock album. And this is because it definitely is! "haZe" does offer one of the most haunting moments since Last Rights and "pedafly" is one of the heaviest songs the band has recorded. Meanwhile, "jaHer" reminds me of the more bare and touching moments of Process. There are also some somewhat annoying moments, such as the weirdly bouncy "Magnifishit"; however, that is to be expected from an album that is filled with experiments.

I hope this somewhat unfocused review will still give you an idea whether Skinny Puppy's new album is worth getting. Frankly, the shape of this review reflects my own lack of clear emotions towards this album. On paper everything is perfect - the band sounds reinvigorated and hungry - but at the same time, something is missing.