Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse

Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse is a departure from the minimalism of Bites. Its unsettling, aggressive songs are constructed from countless layers of punishing samples and sounds. Mind marks the first appearance of R. Dwayne Goettel, and it's fair to say that his keyboard and effects contributions throttle the band toward their chaotic future masterworks. Album-opener "One Time One Place" gets things started with demonic glee. Its bubbling and festering stew of crunchy bass sounds and weird high-pitched synths is a sign of the disturbing riches to come over later albums. Many of the remaining tracks get mired in cacophony when compared against cuts from Too Dark Park and Last Rights, and Nivek Ogre screeches and wails like an ambient devil in places where he'd later sing/snarl to melodies. But even if the songs aren't as darkly catchy as those on the band's next albums, there's some truly inspired experimentation at play. "Stairs and Flowers" is a particularly unsettling noise accomplishment, as distorted sounds mesh and battle with voice samples from a Canadian radio play and then clash further with Ogre's spoken-word delivery and bizarre cackling. The subject matter is about as dark as it could possibly be, with "God's Gift (Maggot)" perhaps taking home the Most Twisted trophy, and that's how things should be with a Skinny Puppy album. If the Exorcist dialogue in "Burnt With Water" falls flatter than it should, at least the creepy Twilight Zone samples in "200 Years" display the band's trademark wicked artistry and perfectionist craftsmanship. The addition of "Deep Down Trauma Hounds" and "Addiction" needlessly complicates the Skinny Puppy discography, as both of the songs make more sense on Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate. The weak dub remix of "Stairs and Flowers" is a near aberration. Like Rabies, Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse isn't the sound of Skinny Puppy at their peak, but it's another brutal cog and vital detail in the band's overall blueprint.