Last Rights

Skinny Puppy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Indent Series
• ASIN: B000005JP6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,137 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, why do I love thee?, July 31, 2006

By 

Scott Bresinger (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Rights (Audio CD)

By most reasonable standards, Skinny Puppy should be one of the worst bands in history. Their highly theatrical act borders on performance art--pretentious performance art at that. Their version of Grand Guignol makes Alice Cooper at his peak seem like a small town community theatre production of "Dracula." Ogre's vocals are usually atonal, distorted and almost entirely bereft of melody. If he played a monster in some horror movie, it would impossible to take him seriously. The band never had much use for songs, anyway. They preferred soundscapes or agit-prop. Ah, yes, which brings us to the politics! Never mind that their animal rights schtick is anti-science, their presentation of it comes off as nothing but heavy handed harangues. They're also somewhat lacking in the sense of humor department, too.

But...

I always marvel at how they turned their electronic "dance" music into full-throttle heavy rock of the most ferocious order; when Skinny Puppy screams, you're compelled to listen. As their albums progressed, they started adding on more and more samples, until the average "song" was so choked with extraneous white noise it's like listening to a dozen radio stations at once--none of them getting clear reception. What holds it all together are the beats--gigantic arse-quaking hammers that hit you like you were a cow in a slaughterhouse (how's that for animal rights?). Skinny Puppy helped make me into the noise-hungry mutant that I am today. I've seen 'em live three times, and each show has been distinctly memorable, even if my hearing (and sanity) has been badly damaged as a result.

All of which brings me to "Last Rights" (thought I'd forgotten about the very item I intended to write about, did you?). Although "ViviSect VI" remains my personal favorite SK album, this one, which was originally intended to be their final album*, is their most dense and hard-hitting effort. Here, the samples not only augment the music, they frequently interrupt it. Sometimes, as on the 10-minute plus closer "Download," the samples ARE the song. This was of course a preview of one post-Puppy project, but it's still one heck of an experimental sound collage, one of the best pieces of musique concrete ever done by a bunch of Canadian eco-terrorist synth-geeks. The most pop friendly moment on the album is "Killing Game," which features, among other things, an actual chorus, not to mention a firm grasp of dramatic tension. It's also probably the closest they ever came to a "love song," though with its typically stream-of-conscious lyrics, it's hard to tell exactly what it's about. That song leads into "Knowhere?," one of the biggest and nastiest assaults of their career. It's like being attacked by an entire scrapyard, with Ogre howling and growling like a demented demon-spawn all the while. Really, there's practically no relief from the onslaught for the rest of the album. It's admirable if only for its sheer monolithic force. This is why, despite all their arty goth posturing, I still love them. "Last Rights" is probably best suited to hardcore fans, but with Skinny Puppy, you just don't dip a toe into the acid bath. You dive in and enjoy your flesh being seered from your bones.

*They did eventually reconvene for "The Process," which most fans and even the band itself considered their weakest release, capped off by the death of longtime member Dwayne Goettel. This seemed to do them in entirely, but they eventually gave into the temptation to reunite, taking the opportunity to let people know where they stood on the Bush administration (hint: the resulting album was titled "The Greater Wrong of the Right."). Maybe you can't teach an old puppy new tricks, after all.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Missed The Warning, Skinny Puppy's Hidden Gem!!!, May 25, 2005

By 

Mike (North Bergen, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Rights (Audio CD)

I have to get to the point and tell all SP fans who don't have Last Rights, head out and get this magnificent cd. It is, arguably, their best from beginning to end. The band hold no punches whatsoever in this round. Much can be said about the cd's extreme darkness and the like. However, I'm just going to say that it isn't just really dark, it really rocks. It is probably their loudest cd to boot.

Nivek, Cevin, and Dwayne, have never been tighter in their respected positions in the band. All the instruments, voices, lyrics, hit their pinnacle here. They manage to come up with well-formed, adrenaline-noise (Knowhere, Scrapyard) and well-focused, emotional torment (Mirror Saw, Inquisition) for starters. Download is just one great demonic tape loop that has to be heard to be believed.

They really kick ass in tracks like Love In Vein, Riverz End, and Circustance. These are among my favorites from the band's entire catalogue. Plenty of things are going on in these cuts.

Real darkness comes through in their music and more so in this cd than many others in their career. I still get chills from listening to it over and over again.

Killing Game is my personal fave here, a haunting, melodic piece of tormentation. It's sooo introspective and menacing that once the song ends it will leave the listener dazed and uncomfortable. Yet it's sooo worth hearing. It is also just as relevant today as it was more than 13 years ago. This cd alone will kick ass against much of the "hardcore" music that's out today.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darker Than the Park, May 31, 2006

By 

Xander Xavier Xymox "Black metal rivethead an... (Frederick Co :() - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Rights (Audio CD)

When I discovered Too Dark Park I new that I had a masterpiece. I was doubtful that Skinny Puppy could ever come up with a cd that was even close to the Park. I read the reviews and decided to make this my third puppy cd. I was blown away by how great it is. I actually think that it may be on equal ground with Too Dark Park. For now I will just call it their second best. The big difference is that Last Rights is significantly darker. Maybe the Darkest Industrial cd that I own.

Love In Vein 9 This one creeps up on you with sinister synths and deranged incoherent mumbling.Ogre's vocals start with a low malicious whisper. Then beats, noises, samples, and plenty of shouting and screaming take over.

Killing Game 8.5 This song has a very depressing and gloomy atmosphere. Softer than all the other songs on the cd. Lots of organ and piano keys.

Knowhere? 10 Holy $h!t! Absolute devastating sonic carnage. When I first listened to it it gave me a migraine. It is a very complex sculpture of noise. On first listen you don't really grasp the structure of it. With some open minded patience it unravels and draws you into a realm of nightmares and pain.

Mirror Saw 20/10 So far my favorite Skinny Puppy song that I have heard. I could listen to it forever. I actually have listened to it on repeat for a whole day. I never get tired of it. Their is a brief part in particular that ensnared me. It is a depressing melody that first appears in the background behind the noise about a minute and a half into the song. Than at 2:36 it starts again. It is a simple yet beautifully depressing melody. The whole song before it gradually builds up to this point. The whole of the song is like sex, and this melody is the climax. By the time the song is ending it explodes in a crescendo of sorrow and emotion.

Inquisition 10 A awesome song that puts to shame most of today's industrial music. Very good chorus. The lyrics are great too. This song has a very good balance of beats, noise, and melody.

Scrapyard 7 The name says it all. Opens with some noise, and than their is this brief acoustic melody. Than out of nowhere the noise comes and crashes down all around you. As far as the noisier songs are concerned I think that Knowhere? blows this one away this still is a very solid song, but not my favorite here.

Riverz End 9.5 Very haunting synths give this the atmosphere of a gothic cathedral. There are several parts of this song that have a really catchy noise. I don't know what they used to make this noise but I wish I did. Imagine early Delerium( Euphoric EP) mixed with Einsturzende Neubauten. Its my second favorite skinny puppy instrumental after Stair's and Flowers.

Lust Chance 8.5 Very good beats. This song has a fragmented feal. It is full of beats, abrasive noise, and melodies. There are some good samples that sound like they were taken from a porn film.

Circustance 9.5 I love this one. The melody at first has this cosmic atmosphere. Than it descends into a nightmarish circus freakshow. Ogre sounds more possessed than usual.

Download 10 Musical version of a haunted scrapyard. Its like all the nightmares you ever had morphed into noise, and crammed onto this 11 minute ride to hell. Most will hate this track. It is only meant for those who are deranged beyond repair.

I don't see how anybody can be a Skinny Puppy fan, or even a industrial fan without having this cd.