The Greater Wrong of the Right

The Greater Wrong of the Right is the ninth studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, released by SPV on May 25, 2004. It is their first full-length record since 1996's The Process. It is also their first album since 1985's Bites without the support of keyboardist Dwayne Goettel, who died in 1995, and their first album since the departure of producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie. It was produced by Cevin Key and is Ohgr-collaborator Mark Walk's first appearance as an official member of the band. The album's artwork was created by longtime collaborator Steven R. Gilmore.

After the difficult recording of The Process, band members Key and Nivek Ogre chose to focus on solo projects before accepting an offer to perform as Skinny Puppy at the Doomsday Festival in 2000. Afterward, Key and Ogre reformed the band with Walk and recorded new material throughout 2003. Stylistically, the album is a departure from their earlier work as the band wished to explore more melodic song structures. It also features contributions from musicians such as Danny Carey and Wayne Static. The album was promoted by the single "Pro-test" and by a world tour.

The Greater Wrong of the Right received mostly positive reviews from critics, who complimented its style and production. The album reached number 176 on the Billboard 200, and appeared on several other charts.

Background

Following the troubled recording of their 1996 album The Process, which ended with the death of keyboardist Dwayne Goettel, the surviving members of Skinny Puppy disbanded and sought alternative musical outlets. Nivek Ogre began work on his Ohgr project with Mark Walk and recorded the album Bedside Toxicology with Martin Atkins; Cevin Key made Download his primary focus and also released his first solo album, Music for Cats, in 1998; and producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie began working with acts such a Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and David Bowie.

In 2000, Key and Ogre reunited for a one-off performance as Skinny Puppy at the Doomsday Festival in Dresden. Ogilvie declined an invitation to participate in the show. Afterwards, the pair traveled to Prague where they discussed the possibility of producing a new Skinny Puppy album that would take the band's sound in a new direction. Until they could produce the album, they took to contributing to each other's solo projects. After scoring a deal with SPV, the pair officially reformed Skinny Puppy in 2003 with Walk. Their first new song together, titled "Optimissed", was included on the Underworld soundtrack.

Key and Ogre both observed how positively their relationship had developed since their reunion, noting in particular a respect for each other's opinions which had been absent in the past. Key attributed his rekindled partnership with Ogre to their sobriety from hard drugs, saying "we have a few drinks, and we smoke weed. Every other drug only pulled us away from being better at what we could have been." Ogre remarked, "why hold to your grave these irrelevant reasons not to have a relationship with someone you shared so much of your life with?' I spent a lot of time with this guy making music, you know?" Ogilvie formed his own band, Jakalope, in 2003 and did not return to Skinny Puppy.

Composition

The band avoided external influences when recording the album, instead opting to seek inspiration from their previous work and hone elements that they thought they could expand on. This included using synthesizers that had been employed in the recording of 1984's Remission, some of which were utilized in the song "Past Present". Other inspiration came from shared experiences; the song "Goneja" was inspired by a trip Key and Ogre took to Jamaica. Key worked with guest musicians one-on-one to avoid "making it an overwhelming situation with too many cooks in the kitchen". The band dropped the jam session style of music making they had used in the past and adopted a more focused style of writing, where one member would come up with an idea and the others would take turns expanding on it.

Commenting on the album's sound, Key said he knew people would be divided on the band's direction. He continued, "I've heard some people complaining, like, 'Ohhh, there's just not enough pure hardcore noise or completely discombobulated beats,' and it's like, well, maybe we'll get there again! We could have made a solid noise album, but that would have been an album that sounded like not so much of a progression to us". The album was released as a digipack with a cardboard sleeve. The German promotional release came in a jewelcase and included the early working titles for songs. The Japanese release was distributed by Nippon Crown and came in a jewel case with a cardboard slipcover. It included a foldable booklet with a biography of the band and song translations in Japanese.

The album reached number 176 on the Billboard 200 and the number one position on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. and Heatseekers Albums charts, respectively. The band released a music video for the song "Pro-test" directed by long-time collaborator William Morrison. The video depicts a rivalry between two groups of breakdancers and was inspired by Morrison's previous video work documenting the dance style.

Tour

thumb|right|alt=A photo of Skinny Puppy performing live in London in 2005|Skinny Puppy performing live in August 2005

Following the album's release, Skinny Puppy embarked on a large world tour which included shows in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. An additional 20 date North American tour began in October 2004. Supporting musicians included Chris Vrenna's solo project Tweaker and Otto Von Schirach, who worked on the album. Key performed keyboard duties while Morrison joined the band as guitarist. Justin Bennett was hired as the band's live drummer. Key's custom made drum kit, dubbed the "drumasaurous", was not utilized as it had been on previous tours. According to Key, several shows, including a date in Israel, were cancelled due to the financial costs of transporting their gear. The band returned to Europe in 2005 for several festival dates including appearances at the Sziget Festival and M'era Luna Festival.

The costume used at the beginning of each show was designed by Ogre and built by a company called Cyberoptics. Ogre wanted the suit to invoke images of both a canine and a plague doctor, but admitted it resembled "more of a soldier like character". The anti-Bush administration stance presented during the stageshow, which included caricatures of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney performing a mock execution of Ogre, prompted the conservative group Patriot Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood to attempt a boycott of college radio stations that played Skinny Puppy. Over the course of the tour, Ogre suffered several allergic reactions to the fake blood he used onstage and received chemical burns in his eyes at a show in Seattle. He said the reactions were likely caused by the flour he used to make the fake blood.

Critical reception

The Greater Wrong of the Right received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with an average score of 79 based on 7 reviews on review aggregator Metacritic. Scott Schinder of Entertainment Weekly said that "While its accessible sound may alienate longtime fans, Greater Wrong suggests this Puppy is heading for a rewarding adulthood", Paul Robicheau from Rolling Stone magazine wrote "They're no longer the scary Puppy of the Eighties that inspired Nine Inch Nails. But there is still enough edge - musical and political - to fuel this streamlined return".

Mark Adair from Exclaim! criticized the album's first two songs for being too radio-friendly, but praised the closing tracks, concluding that "This disc goes from commercial to brilliant in ten songs. It is a more accessible sound than previous efforts, but still a solid entry to the band's discography". In a review for Billboard magazine, Christa L. Titus described the album as "a riveting set that draws from the act's complex, mechanical palette".

Some critics were less positive, such as Nick Lewis from the Calgary Herald who stated that while the album was "not essential", it "showcases a band that, 22 years later, is still relevant and ahead of its peers". AllMusic's David Jeffries described the album as The Process "done right", but criticized songs such as "Neuworld". However, he continued that the album sounded "more inspired" than their previous effort and concluded that with "stunning structure from Key, it beats most of the current industrial music competition".

Track listing

Notes

Early promotional materials listed the working titles for these songs as: "Immortal", "Streets", "Empty", "Lip", "Ghostman", "Dogpound", "Past-Present", "Useless", "Otto Thing", and "Partee w Mee"

Personnel

Nivek Ogre (vocals)
cEvin Key (various instruments)
Mark Walk (various instruments)
Ken Marshall (additional production)
Traz Damji (synthesis – 1)
Pat Sprawl (guitar – 1, 2)
Otto Von Schirach (sound design – 1, 9; synthesis, programming – 5)
Statik (synthesis, programming – 1, 2, 3, 6, 8)
Omar Torres (synthesis, programming – 2, 4, 5, 7)
Saki Kaskas (second guitar – 8)
Danny Carey (acoustic drums – 8)
Wayne Static (second vocal – 8)
Cyrusrex (synthesis, programming – 9)
Dre Robinson (synthesis – 10)
Brian Gardener (mastering)

Chart positions

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (2004)

! scope="col"| Peak<br>position

! scope="row"|German Alternative Albums (Deutsche Alternative Charts)

|align="center"|1

! scope="row"|US Billboard 200

! scope="row"|US Independent Albums (Billboard)

! scope="row"|US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)