Customer Reviews

Sinsation

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For most albums (read: pop), the 'age test' is simply one or two months, past which the public forgets and moves onto the next hyped thing. And why not? Most music that comes out today is fabricated pap with good marketing and nothing else behind it.

I purchased this album when it came out almost 9 years ago, purely on a whim. It was on Reznor's label; I liked the Nine Inch Nails sound and I felt this would be a good horse (swine?) to bet on.

Damn, am I happy I did.

Sinsation is probably PIG's closest to the NIN sound. It's a marriage of his symphonic tendencies, jazz influences, and snarling guitars into a cohesive unit. It's less eclectic than his past albums, more experimental than his later work, and definitely his biggest release (being on a major label) - it's a wonder it wasn't more well received.

My favorites, at first, were "Serial Thriller Killer," "Hamstring on the Highway," "Painiac (Nothing Touches Me)," "Volcano," and "Hot Hole" - the lineup of heavy, orchestral rock songs. They pack a punch that still resonates with me today - in large part because they're not simple rock fare, but rather beautifully structured compositions with spoken samples (Beetlejuice and George Bush Sr. are ones I caught).

Later, I grew to appreciate the soundscapes that Raymond Watts utilizes so well as 'cooling' periods between the aggressive songs: selections such as "Golgoth," "Shell," "Analgesia," and "Transceration." If I want to sit and relax, I think nothing of programming my CD player to play just these tracks, which offer no hint of the aggression they sandwich. The moods on this album are like night and day.

Even after 9 years, I still play this album fairly regularly, and I love it every time. The only reason I give this album 4 stars is because Praise the Lard and The Swining/Red Raw & Sore are even better albums, and therefore deserving of the full rating.

I hate to make this comparison, but I honestly think that a fan of NIN (especially The Downward Spiral and perhaps Broken) would do himself/herself well to pick up Sinsation, too. It all goes up from there.

Why Trent Reznor didn't want to distribute any more of Pig's album is beyond me. The music is oustanding, and this probably Pig's most famous album. It has a balanced mix of instrumentals and orchestrated metal that's so heavy it makes Slayer look like Elton John.

1. Serial Killer Thriller - 9/10 - It opens with samples from Beetlejuice, and has a very sinister guitar. The guitar solo is a knockout.
2. Hamstring on the Highway - 10/10 - Tied with Painiac for best song on the album, it's very hardcore. It opens with eerie opera-like vocals, and some interesting samples. Afterwards, it hits you with a heavy guitar rift. There are also some interesting electronic and orchestrated work throughout the song. The lyrics are great and the chorus is blunt and in-your-face. I think there's some samples of George H.W. Bush in this song, although I'm not sure.
3. Golgoth - 8/10 - A short, dark instrumental, not really a song on its own, it's more like a build up to The Sick.
4. The Sick - 9/10 - It uses guitar noise to create a very cool, Marilyn Manson-like opening. The chorus features female vocalists, which is makes it different from the rest of the album. The guitars are very abrasive and heavy.
5. Painiac (Nothing Touches Me - 10/10 - The most famous song off the album, it's hard not to like it. Great, straight-to-the-point lyrics, and awesome guitar and electronic work. There's some samples of Ailen Wuornos near the end, as well as samples from NASA.
6. Shell - 7/10 - The most low-key song on the album, the music is minimal, but the vocals are the best on the album, and the lyrics are very memorable.
7. Analgesia - 10/10 - A hauntingly beautiful instrumental, it's the best of its kind. It combines ambience with echoing pianos, accompanied by some techno sounds and interesting sound effects.
8. Volcano - 10/10 - Unlike most of the non-instrumental songs, this really isn't heavy, but an awesome song nonetheless. With a great techno hook in the beginning, and catchy lyrics, this could have been a pop hit. The guitars add a nice flavor to the song, and the orchestra is reminiscent of John Williams.
9. Hot Hole - 10/10 - The heaviest song on the album. It has some weird tribal chanting in the beginning and middle of the song, but is strangely appopriate. The awesome lyrics are delivered with powerful, angry vocals over grinding guitars.
10. Transceration - 9/10 - A peaceful instrumental, and a perfect way to end the album. It has a New Age feel to it, and is great for relaxing and/or meditating after the powerful punch this album packs.

OVERALL SCORE: 9.2/10
CONCLUSION: If you like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, or Fear Factory, you'll love this album. It's out of print and quite valuable, usually worth between $30-$100. Luckily, sometimes generous sellers list them for only $15. If you find it, GET IT.

Raymond Watts can be described in one word, "Genius". His music travels from his more jazz/swing based album praise the lard to more of a metal. His instrumental pieces are to be described as beautiful and haunting. Before there was Manson and NIN there was Raymond Watts in one form or another, whether it was as one of the original members of KMFDM or his work with countless other bands. lol i may sound lame, but its hard to find the words to accuratly describe is brand of music

Some other reviewers were right, I got this album for less than 7 bucks but it was worth much much more. Pig, an overlooked and underrated band that MUST be heard by any fans of KMFDM, NIN, Ministry, Fear Factory etc. Maybe Trent Reznor didn't want to distribute any more of this album because they were making him look bad. Pig is harder, heavier and more original in so many ways. I love KMFDM, but Pig seems to be a darker alterego of them that continues to grow on me. Time for me to stop typing. Words don't do this band justice. You need to hear them. Buy it. Pay more than 7 bucks if you have to.

If you liked old school KMFDM with a mix of NIN/Ministry creepiness then you'll love Pig. I had these cd's when I was 15 and am now 25 going on 26 and these Pig albums still deliver. Best tracks on Sinsation are Analgesic, Hamstrung on the Highway, The Sick. Quality :)

This was one of the first cds I ever bought. I was a member of BMG music service, too young to be prosecuted by the law for not paying... life was good. Being that this album literally built the backbone to my music collection, I might be a little partial.

I'll just lay it out plain and simple. The first two songs are some of the most fun you'll ever have listening to "quasi-industrial" music. They're fast, aggressive, mean and violent! Good times all around. There are a few songs that kinda slow the album down, like "Shell" and "Volcano." They are more artsy and slow. The lyrics are great but they unfortunatly keep this album from getting 5 stars.

Luckily there are several saviors on this album as well. If you like NIN's "A Warm Place" with it's ambient depression mixed with a hint of danger, well my friends you will go monkey bones for "Analgesia" and "Transcretion!" These two songs combined with the first two are worth $18! These are pure soundscapes that 100% eclipses anything I've ever heard before or since. I wish that Pig would realease an album of nothing but this ambient fluff, it's so amazing!

The rest of the album is above average, especially when pitted against what's being cranked out these days. Pig's "Sinsation" is still an unbelievable album that I will always listen to, even when I'm old and moldy. A great listen from start to finish.

A while ago I bought a CD on blind faith. It was called "PIG-Sinsation" I listened to it and now Raymond Watts is among my favorite artists. His work can be easily compared to the likes of Trent Reznor, Rob Zombie and other great artists. So I recommend this album to EVERYBODY. LATER LITTLE PIGGIES!

I SAW <PIG> PERFORM WITH KMFDM ON THE US TOUR IN 1997 AT THE BIRCH HILL NITE CLUB IN OLD BRIGDE NEW JERSEY AND THEY ROCKED . I LOVE THIS CD <PIG> ROCKS

Raymond Watts is a genius with KMFDM and then he did a darker turn with Pig. Darker in a good way, of course. Pig definetely has a more introverted, isolated, and darker atmosphere, especially with Sinsation. From start to finish, this a delight. Instrumentals are mesmerizing as well.

Sinsation. A beautiful piece of work I must say and to think I owned it for a good two years or so before I really bothered to listen to it. I've been a KMFDM fan for a while now, and when an ex-coworker of mine found this out, he handed me Sinsation and told me to keep it. I forgot about it. So stupid! Stupid! This CD is easily one of the best modern music scores in existence; a total eye opener for me.

Originally when I wrote this review in 2002, I spouted off about being reminded of film noir and Blade Runner and while I'm still reminded of those things, I think I now have a better understanding as to why. Watts employs film scoring tricks all through this album. The intro track, Serial Killer Thriller, begins with a symphonic lead-in that's meant to evoke this sense of dread (much like suspense films) and clue you in as to the fact that something is not right here. Throughout the album there are elements like this in each song that accompany some crunching guitars, heavy bass lines, crashing symbols, mechanical/popping drums, some keys, soundbites and of course, Watts' trademark fevered vocals. It's a melting pot of sound; metal, dance, world, symphonic, noise and it all comes together as a magnificent industrial specimen. Track two, Hamstrung On The Highway, is a relentless song and it manages to capture the listener despite there being some repetitive soundbite samples. This, I feel, translates to Watts doing his job WELL; the samples propel the song rather than distract from it. Track three, Golgotha, is one of the instrumental tracks on the album which rely on some combination of noise and symphonics. There's only three tracks like this though and one of them is track ten, an outro. After the first two tracks my favorite cuts would have to be Paniac (track five), Volcano (track eight) and Hot Hole (track nine).

I'd easily recommend this album to any fan of KMFDM but don't expect the exact same kind of song formulas here as Watts definitely has a style that's all his own. Much less emphasis on catch phrase style lyrics. In listening to Sinsation again I also caught some similarities to Pretty Hate Machine too. Six years later and this album still makes me want to drive REALLY fast and while it definitely elicits an emotional response, I feel more like skulking down dark alleys than I do getting into a fight. Maybe I'm getting old.