Gregory C. Jones and Iosif H. Neitzke Take:
Tracks:
Overall opinion: sacrilege
Stephen Klusza's Take:
1) Rodent - Ken does a kickass job with Rodent, making it harder-edged than the original, yet you still easily discern Ogre's vocals, a plus in that the vocals were kept intact and not rearranged. Great way to start the disc. Grade = A 2) Addiction - Gunter schultz did an okay job with this one, it seems like it would be good only for the dancefloor and not for listening pleasure. I like the intro to the song, but then it gets a little repetitive and too poppy. Grade = B - 3) Smothered Hope - It indeeds takes an amazing track to surprise the hell outta me even after hearing everyone talk about it in Epilogue. I love it. It is daring and brilliant and sacreligious. I cannot wait to hear Ogre and Mark Walk work together. Also Ogre's cover of Madonna's Borderline. Grade = A+ 4)Killing Game - This one is weird. all this tempo shifting, sudden stops, weird bleeps. It sounds great though. Grade = B 5) Love in Vein - I have yet to listen to any of Neotropic's work, but after hearing her remix of Love In Vein, i will be sure to check her out. This is one of my favorite tracks on RDT. It sounds like ambient, moody oriental music over a killer network of beats. I hope to see her remix another one of Skinny puppy's songs. Grade = A+ 6) Worlock - As Worlock is a favorite among a lot of puppy people, and mine too, Rhys Fulber has managed to create an awesome remix of Worlock, where the guitar and synth work beautifully with Ogre's vocals. As previously mentioned, keeping the lyrics intact, as Rhys has done, is a plus. Grade = A 7) Spasmolytic - This one didn't bother me as much as some of the other Epiloguers. Still, this has a trip-hop influence but it is repetitive a lot of the time, and the vocals are annoying and plodding. Grade = C - 8) Tin Omen - I like this remix of Tin Omen, how much of the music is in a lower pitch than the original, making it more intense and morose, imho. But one minor complaint: adrian sherwood tends to chop up some of the vocals and rearrange them around, hence the "ohio ohio" "Way back, way back" etc etc. It grates on my nerves sometimes, but is not too much of an obstacle here though, and it sounds quite nice. Grade = B 9) Testure - This one is okay, but i find myself missing the original melodies that made it so wonderful to begin with. Moral of the story: Drum-n-bass is not always the best direction to remix a song. Grade = C 10) Dig It - 5 words here - Mark Walk is very intriguing. Grade = A 11) Assimilate - Although the Assimilate r23 remix is the best one of all, Chris Vrenna did a great job here with the Dig it drums and slower tempo. Not too much else to say about it though. Grade = A 12) Censor - I forgot who said it, but I definitely want to drive though the hood blasting this out the car. The only minor complaint is that it seems a little too stripped down, would probably benefit with a more atmospheric vocal treatment of Ogre's lyrics. Grade = A - 13) Chainsaw - I have been into the minimalism thing lately, and thus this is my other favorite of the CD. Josh Wink did an excellent remix, as the Chainsaw vocals flow real nice with the lush beats. Yeah it is over 9 minutes long, but it doesn't seem like it at all. Great way to end the CD. Grade = A+ Lots of good remixes here in this CD, very varied and diverse, something for everyone. DJ Liam's Take: Skinny Puppy- ReMix Dys Temper review by DJ LIAM RODENT-Ken "hiwatt" Marshall remix (DDT Mix)-killer beats and bass lines. Got me into the song very fast. Good use of instruments. ADDICTION-Gunter Shulz of KMFDM remix (Opium Mix)-nice texture on this song. Keeped me listening to it. Also, great use of lyrics. SMOTHERED HOPE-Ogre and Mark Walk remix-fuck yeah! This is what musicians need to do, and fuck up a song like this one. Ogre's voice is also cool. KILLING GAME-Autechre remix (Bent Mix)-very interesting. The usual Autechre, alien-like, stuff though, but this remix does change the song almost completely. Don't get me wrong, this twisted song rocks a lot. Massive shit here! LOVE IN VEIN-Neotropic remix (Go Girl Trio Mix)-um…no. This song isn't anything special and even if it weren't a mix, it still stinks. Creativity gets dull sometimes and this song doesn't create anything. WORLOCK-Rhys Fulber remix (Eye of the Beholder Mix)-good job by Rhys, but I expected a bit more of an angry and faster and more electronic/industrial tune. But other than that, good job again. SPASMOLYTIC-Deftones remix (Habitual Mix)-man does this cover of spasmolytic suck! Wow, I imagined spasmolytic as of one of the most horrific song I have ever heard and what deftones did wuz make it into a crappy ass alternative song and made it more stupid and stoney. This mix by them isn't worth being on this cd. TIN OMEN-Adrian Sherwood remix (Main Mix)-sounds like this was done live. It's good but not awesome. Neat sounds used with the mix. TESTURE-God Lives Underwater remix-where's the sample's? oh well this song still doesn't quite do it. The mix doesn't seem like it's coming at you like the original song. Testure is my fav song and I'm disappointed at what GLU did to it. DIG IT-Mark Walk remix-cool! O_o Walk did it again and made a fuckin great mix. Nice selection on the Mac voices too! ASSIMILATE-Chris Vrenna remix (Tweaker Mix)-Assimilate is the song that got me into puppy and so I like this mix. Except it's a bit slow but other than that, its koo. CENSOR-Guru remix (The Gutter Mix)-wudup beotch. SP gone trip hop wit a taste of rap. It's ok. =) CHAINSAW-Josh Wink remix-boom boom boom boom. This dark mix by WINK rulz. Good finish to this album. I'm satisfied with what he did to the mix. Worth listenin to. St3pwalk's Take: RDT review, real simple.. scale of 1 to 10 type deal + quick comment 1. Rodent - 7/10 ..makes your car windows shake C H R i S fesi's Take: 1) RoDenT --Ken Marshall-- I really enjoyed this track and thought it was a great starter for the cd. the added guitars give the song a harder feel and i like that. 2) AdDiCtiOn --Gunter Schulz-- 3) sMoTHeReD HopE --ogre and mark walk-- 4) Killing GaMe --Autechre-- 5) LoVe iN VEiN --NeOTroPiC-- 6) WoRLoCk --Rhys Fulber-- 7) SpAsmOlyTiC --Deftones-- 8) Tin Omen --Adrian Sherwood-- 9) TeStuRE --God lives Underwater-- 10) DiG iT --Mark Walk-- 11) AsSimIlAte --Chris Vrenna-- 12) CeNsOr --Guru-- 13) cHaInsAw --Josh Wink-- FM's Take: Rodent: Basically the same track, with a good bassline. I happen to like the original and the additional guitars work well, so it's pretty cool. Not anything to write home about though. Addiction: It's allright, Ogre's vocals basically keep the song alive, but what the hell is this, Madonna's "ray of light"? Give me a break. I thought this sound would never exist on an SP record. Smothered Hope: Damn this one is cool. Even though it lacks the early doom & gloom of the original, I think Ogre's new vocals keep the feeling of the original better than if this song had simply been "updated" (eg, Rodent) Killing Game: I like experimental stuff a lot, especially download's pre-III work, but this one pushes it just a little bit. I really like when the vocals come in at the end, but I find myself basically waiting through the first three minutes for that to happen. It would have been cooler if they had further embraced the song "Download" and made this one 11+ minutes long. Love In Vein: I had really high hopes for this one as everyone had told me about how cool it was. While I love it as an original song, I miss the vocals a lot, as I think of it as an example of Ogre's best work. Still, very nice. I'm planning on checking out Neotropic as i'm not very familiar with Riz's work (I didn't even know Riz was a she until yesterday!) Worlock: Admittedly, it'd be pretty hard to mess this one up, but I really think of this as a stellar job. Incredibly atmospheric, moreso than even the original I think. The addition of a bassline works really well and Ogre's vocals enjoy more treatment (a slow fading in & out) which really cool. I'm glad the "helter skelter" samples are gone as they wouldn't have worked in this mix at all. Spasmolytic: I actually own a deftones album (used) so I was expecting spasmolytic with a lot of stupid guitars. That being the case, I would have preferred that over this trash. Chino's vocals do nothing for the song, and they have taken Skinny Puppy's arguably most aggressive mindfucking song and turned it into mellow trash. Tin Omen: Very nice, again not a lot of deviation from the original, but interesting twists, and Tin Omen (the original) I always thought was a little bare, so to hear a track with more "stuff" is good, also I like ogre's vocals at the beginning and that the vocals were not from the rabies version, but the "Tin Omen 1" on the worlock single. Testure: At first I didn't think it was that bad, but then I thought about how much the first few lines made me cringe (in a good way) when I first heard the original. Musically not very bad, but doesn't pack the political/social punch of the original. Dig It: I love this! The drum programming is really interesting and i dig the simpletext...made me realize I have almost all of the lyrics from the original completley wrong. Also, the 12" mix (which is the only one I have ever heard, except for on the video) always gave me a few gripes about it's length, but this mix is done by the time the original would have gotten into the vocal portion. So what if the email is fake...it's still funny. Assimilate: The original is one of my all time faves from their early work, and this is an odd mix, it sounds basically like the original except more basic (perhaps taken from a demo version?) of course, since this is Chris Vrenna, the percussion is damn good, and the slow plodding feel contrasts perfect with Ogre's fast (dare i say rap-like) vocals. I think a remix of deep down Trauma Hounds done this way would have been incredible. Censor: The amount of "jokes" on this disc have begun to get to me by the time I get to this song. SmoHo and Dig it, however, are very complex tracks, even though the humor is there. This is a much better song when someone tells you about it in my opinion. The track is pretty boring however. Still, some of Ogre's best screams ever are on this track, so it keeps my interest. Chainsaw: Whoever said it's like being in a submarine haunted by Ogre hit my sentiments exactly. This is very nice for those who dig the minimalism thing...I can see how some could call it boring, but I like it. Also, an excellent treatment of Ogre's vocals. Saves the power of the original completley. I was, however, never too crazy about the original's music anyway, so i don't quite miss it. Overall...incredible! This cd is varied enought to make for a great listen, and it perfectly represents many aspects of electronic music. Some of the mixes are lame, but overall the cd is well done. It also turned me on to some groups I wasn't aware of (Neotropic, Josh Wink, and the WELT stuff...) It belongs in any SP fan's collection, or really a fan of any of the groups here (except maybe the deftones) B.D. Scheffel of Digital Intersect Magazine's Take: Remix Dystemper Vs. Hymns of the Warlock Remix Dystemper is by far the superior of the two. Even my least favorite track on the remix album, Deftone's Spasmolytic mix, is much better than most of Hymns of the Worlock. Remix Dystemper, while only a few of the tracks are in the same league as the originals, features an over all solid and diverse line up. Even if you don't like their remixes, you have to appreciate the fact that Nettwerk used artists like the Deftones and Guru who have nothing to do with "industrial"/electronic music (i happen to like the Guru mix a lot btw), and in doing so put a different spin on things. My personal favorites include Autechre's heavily manipulated "Killing Game," Ogre & Mark Walk's completely reworked "Smothered Hope," and Rhys Fulber's... far better than I expected..."Worlock" mix. Additionally, I love the cover artwork, it's right up there with the covers of "Last Rights," "Cleanse Fold & Manipulate," and "VivisectVi." Hymns of the Warlock only has two or three covers worth listening to: namely DVOA's "Love in Vein" and the Download track. Further, Hymns... really appears to be a half-assed effort on Cleopatra's part. Cheesey cover art and title, they even misspelled Worlock as "Warlock," and the track list was screwed up. I'm sure they could have gone out and recruited a few more decent bands but they went the easy route and used their own bands and other forgettables. I don't think i've ever seen a Cleo tribute album that didnt feature Electric Hellfire Club. I think its obvious Cleo shamelessly put out this disgraceful tribute album as cost efficiently as possible. It appears they didn't bother with the expense of paying an editor to proofread. The press release they sent me refered to Nivek Ogre as "Nick Ogre." Hymns of the Warlock was nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the name Skinny Puppy, and they probably succeeded in that goal. but, what they put out is far from memorable and while it probably sold a lot of copies when it was released, they probably would have profited more in the long run by putting together a better product. RATINGS (out of five): Remix Dystemper **** c.duanE gammill of dropSTAR's Take: Rodent (DDT mix) : cEvin spun this one at Catacombs, SF back in June. I was excited at the time to hear a new version of Rodent and was pleased that the original emotion isn't diluted by the new sound elements but now I'm not feeling as inspired listening to it on my stereo. Sounds like a great dancefloor track (old shit with a new, fresh-smelling aroma) but it lacks the serious creative manipulation that gets me off. Addiction (Opium Mix) : I've never been under the influence of opium but I suspect I'd have to be there in order to truly enjoy this mix. I'll >>| (skip) it until then. Smothered Hope : In a word, brilliant! I wonder....Ogre and Mark must have had fun reworking this classic because I get this great, bouncy vibe from it. Sounds less ominous than the original but I still like it. Killing Game (Bent Mix) : The term "bent" was used by some Brit friends of mine to describe someone involved in sexual intercourse. Coincidentally this track is fucked, meaning fantabulous, mind-blowing, orgasmic!!! I'd love to listen to this track while peaking on LSD so I can watch the speakers explode and melt with sparkling flames. With what knowledge I have of sound manipulation (probably little, relatively speaking) Autechre are true pioneers in my eyes. I'm definitely bent for those boys. No, for real, I'm NOT a fanboy!!! Love In Vein (Go Girl Trio Mix) : I don't immediately recognize anything from the original track except the vocal bits. (Interesting coincidence that Mark Spybey's version of this track elicited an identical response.) Without liner notes, I would have guessed this were mixed by Haujobb or maybe Front Line Assembly. (Hmm...why aren't they on this comp?) I only say that because I had no idea who the hell Neotropic is until, like, two seconds ago. Now I daresay I've found one of Haujobb's and FLA's influences. Excellent track if you dig "bong hits" as opposed to "dance hits." Riz, you go girl! And YOU, reader, go here > http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~seher/RizMaslen/ Worlock (Eye of the Beholder Mix) : Stephen Macy's review states my sentiment exactly. I don't know these people personally but I find it odd that Rhys, described by Ogre once upon an interview as a "nerd turned heavy tattoo mother fucker," remixes one of my all-time favorite songs while Bill Leeb, Ogre's old drugging buddy and Cyberaktif collaborator, doesn't do shit for this comp. Spasmolytic (Habitual Mix) : Again, Stephen already wrote my thoughts on this one. Steph's in my brain now ;) >>| Tin Omen (Main Mix) : This was the first SP track cEvin played at Catacombs and I about pissed myself with excitement since it's one of my favorites from Rabies. Unfortunately, without the dance club atmosphere and sound system, I'm left with a case of blueballs that only the original can cure. I suppose it's a difficult task to consciously plan and create a track, not to mention a remix, that has both dancefloor and lounge appeal. I do wish I had a copy of this on vinyl, though. Testure : WhatEVER! I'm THROUGH with "Funky Drummer" ripoff loops! The ONLY thing this track has going for it is the droney, resonating, filtered sawtooth waves but I can make that sound myself any time I want. >>| Dig It : OK, there's a point when it's possible to have too much of a good thing. Ogre and Mark had it goin' on with Smothered Hope but this track just pushes it over the limit for me. Besides that, I've had my fill of Simple Text with Radiohead and Marilyn Manson. >>| Assimilate (Tweaker Mix) : Almost any track that seemingly intertwines time signatures automatically gets me hard but, sadly, the drums sampled from Dig It are anti-climactic for me. I expected something more creative from the NIN drum genius. Better than Addiction (Opium Mix) or Testure, though. Censor (The Gutter Mix) : When I heard Guru was doing a remix for this comp, I was like, "I can't wait to hear that shit!" I'm not disappointed at all. MAJOR PROPS to Guru for kickin' the phunky, melancholy hip hop. WORD! Chainsaw : I've heard Josh spin before and this lives up to all my expectations. Listening to this mix is like being alone in a tiny submarine haunted by Ogre. I also like Download's III and Plateau's Music for Grassbars A LOT. Overall, I guess it's a decent remix compilation. Nine out of 13 tracks will keep my interest. Although I wish I had gone to a record shop and picked up a used copy since I don't think it's worth more than US$10 but I only paid $14 including shipping, so I guess it's not as bad as paying $17. Anyway, at best, this compilation has whet my appetite for more original shit from Ogre and Mark Walk. WHAT'S UP WITH W.E.L.T?!?!?! Leviathant's Take: Track by track can't be beat. When I first heard the remix of 1)Rodent, I was turned off by that 909 hihat. That was premature; this track takes the original rodent and pumps it with steroids and sicks it on you! Really kick in the face type tune. I think it was very well done. Minimal alterations compared to 2) Addiction. Of course, not a big KMFDM fan I wasn't expecting too much from this, but it was a total disappointment. C'mon Gunter, who _doesn't_ have Rebirth these days anyway? In my opinion, so much more could have been done with this, and he pumps out bad 4onphloor crap. Still, Ogre's vocals keep me listening to the track and not intentionally scratching it off the CD. Perhaps that's a little harsh. The next track, however, 3) Smothered Hope was great. I had downloaded the available clip and was a bit confused. It took about two listens for it to grow on me. The suitars and crazy hispeed drum retriggers with the crazy Commodore/Nintendo music in the background really makes for a good mix in the end. Wild, very well done. 4) Killing Game. Autechre. You know, I'm a rather large fan of Autechre, and I was expecting SO much more than this. Seems very last minute, rushed. It's the remixes like this one that are persuading me to enter that Nettwerk remix contest ;) 5) Love in Vein - Gorgeous. Very nice, minimal vox, starts out with these imperial sounding instruments, then this wacky affected beat rolls in and through. Nice use of strings. It sounds like they're clipping though, don't know if it's intentional distortion or if they overloaded their master tapes. After this drowns out, an eerie out of phase synth line is followed with a little growl and the familiar line from the Manson film. "Now is the only thing that's real". Lo and behold, Worlock. Not how I envisioned a remix, it's a bit more dancey, though maintains a degree of solemnity in the mix. I like it, but I don't love it. But when you compare it to 6) Deftones Remix of Spasmolytic... Oh my. I was expecting SO much more. Not saying that this is a bad song and anyone could do a better remix for the album, but there's so much to work with on Spasmolytic and the Deftones blew it. Overdubbed vocals, repetitive beat, stress on "kicking the habit" - though not so much on Ogre's singing... It's a terrible mix. Slow drum beat, droning bass, cheap panning fx. I wonder how many people wanted to remix this song, and how they decided to have the Deftones do it. Total disappointment. However, moving up on the scale is Sherwood's 7) Tin Omen remix. Though the mix seems a bit thin, and the lyrics cut off at annoying times, I like the mix :) Much less guitar emphasis (though you could make a crazy metal version of Tin Omen in a snap) It's not amongst my favorites, but it's damn close :) However, GLU's 9) Testure remix is a waste of time. Droning, not really much in the way of doing something 'interesting' to the song... I read that these guys just threw this mix together last minute. That pisses me off. You'd think if you're going to be on an official remix CD for an expired band you'd really be anxious to work on it and be proud to be a part, not rushed and last minute. Really dull mix. Thumbs down. Hehe, M. Walk's 10) Dig It remix is funny. Though the email is faked. You and I both know that no one who uses email calles it 'electronic email'. That's like saying PIN Number. Well, that's a whole other story though. It's a rather clever mix, though I'd appreciate if the more upfront beats would deviate from the typical breakbeat. The ones in the background aren't quite as worn out. Next, I'd say one of my favorites, Vrenna's 11) Assimilate remix. Interesting story: He originally asked to remix Dig It, but since they didn't have the master tapes he fell back onto Assimilate. In effect, he ened up sampling some drums from Dig It and blending his ideas for the Dig It mix with the Assimilate mix. Any how, very nice intelligent percussion, fantastic blaring alarm for melody, and it plays at half the tempo of the original assimilate. This is one of those songs that makes me glad i bought the CD. Next up, 12) Censor. At first, I though it sucked. But it grew and grew and I can't get enough of this mix. Folky guitar to a somwhat funky beat, with Ogre filtered through something lo-fi... It puts the song into a whole different perspective using minimal musical effort (read: loops) Not so bad after listening to it a couple times really. And finally, 13) Chainsaw by Josh Wink. Thankfully, it's not entirely a Rebirth track... In fact it's a nice minimalistic 10 minute long mix of Chainsaw. Putting aside the fact that it may have taken him just as long to write the mix as it takes to listen to it, it's really not to terrible to listen to. It's a good use of musical space. And he didn't use a single snare or clap or open hihat from his 909. Very underwater feeling. Bass! All in all, I think that this remix CD reminds me of the arguments between Ogre and Duck. D:"Don't turn this into hard rock!" O:"I Don't want a fucking trance techno album!" Yet here on the CD with seemingly more Ogre input than Cevin input, there's lots of cheese-whiz techno elements in the songs here, and I think that's kind of bad. I mean, one of the things about SP is they used those overused instruments but in a way that you would not really recognize as overdone. Listen to Addiction. Then listen to some of the stuff on Brap 3... Same drum machine, but you dont' get the tiring unintelligent dance loops. I just kinda find it ironic that Ogre's singing is overtop these techno traxx that he so didn't want happening. On the other hand, us Puppy fans are stereotypically musical recluses... If it ain't this way it sucks! And I think that's a nice thing about this album, is that SP fans will buy it, and they will listen to it because it's Skinny Puppy, but it is also WAY different from Skinny Puppy. Either that or Nettwerk wnated the names "KMDFM" "God Lives Underwater" and such to rake in a little dough for the album. And I think the cheesy plastic lettering could be replaced though the rest of the artworks cool :) Nils Winkler's Take: Okay, here we go (track by track): 1. Rodent (Ken Marshall): Good one! I like the beat of this one, Ken Marshall did a great job. 2. Addiction (Gunter Schulz): Better than I expected. Some good vocal effects, no added guitars (surprise!). Sounds very 'electronica'. 3. Smothered Hope (Mark Walk and Ogre): I love this one. Sounds like a Nintendo on crack! Rerecorded vocals, with a Nintendo like soundscape in the background. Weird, but excellent. 4. Killing Game (Autechre): I was a bit let down by this one at first. My expectations were a bit too high maybe. Bears no resemblance to the original apart from the few samples at the end of the song. Sounds a bit like the song _Download_ from _Last Rights_, but more like a 'fast forward' version. You'll understand when you hear it. It grows on me, though. I think I like it. 5. Love In Vein (Neotropic): This is one of my favorites! Kind of a big beat version, this is a totally new song. The drums sound a bit too distorted, but great nonetheless. 6. Worlock (Rhys Fulber): I like this one, too. Most of the samples are gone, Rhys added some guitar (played by Devin Townsend) to the mix. This is a good reinterpretation of this song, in the same mood as the original, but with a different sound. 7. Spasmolytic (Deftones): This is the first disappointment of the disc, but I expected that to happen. It sounds very uninspired, like they were trying with no real drive behind it. Forget about it... 8. Tin Omen (Adrian Sherwood): I don't know what to say about that one. It does some interesting stuff with the vocals (Ohio! Ohio! Way back! Way back!), but the rest of the song is ... mh, I don't really know what to say. You have to listen for yourself to decide... 9. Testure (God Lives Underwater): A worthless piece of shit! Sounds like a watered down version of the original, destroying the mood of this great song. 10. Dig It (Mark Walk): Haha, very funny. The lyrics are read by a computer, with samples of Ogre's 'Dig it! Dig it!' thrown in for good measure. I think I like it, but it's a good thing that this song is very short... 11. Assimilate (Chris Vrenna): Good! A bit slower than the original, with a modern touch. 12. Censor (Guru): Hilarious! Imagine a gangsta rap beat with cheap guitar samples and Ogre screaming on top of it. A good contrast! I love the sound of Ogre screaming to the background music (Hihi, haha, stupid clown, you asshole). Very good. 13. Chainsaw (Josh Wink): This is one of the songs that people will talk about a lot. Very minimalistic, 9 minutes of an almost steady beat, with Ogre's vocals on top of it. I think you either love it or hate it. I think I love it... After all, I like this album a lot. Some of the remixes are great, others are so so, others are a total letdown. I just wish there would have been remixes by Coil or Youth (Killing Joke). And I would have liked some not so well known tunes. Brien Hindman's Take: Overall, I think the album turned out pretty good... a lot better than that damn Cleopatra slaughter. I just think some remixes are more interesting than others. I've put the tracks in order from what I consider to be the best remix to the worst. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean #1 is my favorite on the album. I just think a good remix should exist on it's own, and not make you wanna pull out the original and listen to that, because you might as well be... 1. Rodent - while the DDT mix and the original are pretty similar, I actually think Ken Marshall's remix is better. All the new elements he's added to it make it a stronger track in my humble opinion. 2. Chainsaw - a lot different than what I expected from Josh Wink. I think it is a good remix...has a nice minimalist feel to it... 3. Addiction - call me crazy, but I actually like this remix. Granted, it's the fucked up vocals that keeps me interested, enough to rate it #3... I think the rest of it is just too typical... 4.Assimilate - Pretty good... nothing really to say about it. 5. Censor - At first, my reaction was "What the fuck is this, Gangsta Puppy?" but it has steadily grown on me. I much prefer the original version, but I think Guru's remix has a life of it's own. 6. Smothered Hope - talk about a fucked up track... Nintendo music on acid. I dunno. At first, it made me laugh, then I started to enjoy it, and now it is beginning to annoy me. Don't get me wrong, I love bizarre stuff, but sometimes bizarre just becomes annoying. 7. Dig It - Same as #6. I found it amusing at first....etc, etc... I like the Kraftwerk-esque vocals, though. 8. Killing Game - admittedly, I am very let down by this track. Autechre's remix was the main reason I was really excited about Dystemper... I just wish the last minute or so was different... I don't really appreciate what sounds like it is just on fast forward... the rest is okay, though... would rather listen to "Download" or something from Charlie's Family. 9. Love In Vein - It's okay... nothing great... too repetitive... 10. Testure - It doesn't sound that different from the original, except the drums get in the way. Nothing horrible, but nothing to get excited about. 11. Worlock - The first minute or so, I think, is really good. Then, it just becomes way too convoluted.... prefer the simplicity of the original 100x more than this remix. 12. Tin Omen - I was really looking forward to this remix, but am pretty disappointed by it... the beginning bugs the fuck outta me(Ohio!Ohio!).... 13. Spasmolytic - Don't really care for the "Look at me, I have a penis" treatment of this remix. Just kinda dumb. In retrospect, I kinda wish the chosen tracks to remix had been less obvious... I dunno, something like "Human Disease" or "Scrapyard" would have been nice...Regardless, I am really pleased with how the whole thing turned out... Stephen Macy's Take: Surprise! Track by track: 1. Rodent (Ken Marshall): This clicks. Nothing extraordinary, but it certainly works. 'hiwatt' spices up the song with a handful of new elements, but maintains the essential structure of the song. On the negative side, a bit redundant, perhaps. 2. Addiction (Gunter Schulz): Crapola. Takes a wonderfully tormented tune and transmogrifies it into happy-bouncy electronic tripe. The juxtaposition of Ogre's still-effective vocals against the inane music is laughable. I would have PREFERRED guitars. 3. Smothered Hope (Mark Walk and Ogre): Madrefucking wonderful. Suprising and eccentric. Repeatedly listenable. 4. Killing Game (Autechre): If the clearly discernible Killing Game samples towards the end of this piece didn't surface, I would have thought it a 'remix' of Download. That's EXTREMELY near to what it sounds like, hence quite good. And when those familiar KG samples _do_ surface, after four and a half minutes of what amounts to preliminary chaos, the effect is oddly haunting. 5. Love In Vein (Neotropic): A total auralfuck of the original. Powerful. Goes on maybe a minute too long, but still, this is one of the better reinterpretations on the disc. 6. Worlock (Rhys Fulber): Not bad! Thickly atmospheric at times, and thankfully in no way detracts from this sacred song. 7. Spasmolytic (Deftones): You know . . . I was almost going to contend that this wasn't as bad as some people were purporting, but then I remembered how literally mindblowing the original is, and decided this was little more than a hack-job, plainly uninteresting. 8. Tin Omen (Adrian Sherwood): Sorta disappointing. Surely competent and playful, but it fails to generate much excitement, in my opinion. 9. Testure (God Lives Underwater): Hah. 10. Dig It (Mark Walk): Initially amusing, but tiresome after any succession of listens. 11. Assimilate (Chris Vrenna): Very faithful, a little lethargic, though. Or is lurching the better term? It works on a less intense level. (As an aside, that synth line is still the most beautiful I've heard.) 12. Censor (Guru): To me, this is the essence of hip (hop). Cannot wait to drive through the 'hood blaring this. Heh. 13. Chainsaw (Josh Wink): 9 minutes of boredumb. Really, does this sort of thing demand any talent be incorporated? Chris Harris's Take: Over all I think the albums kind of so so. There are a couple kick ass tracks and a couple I can't stand. So far I'm pretty indiferent to the rest. The one's I'm really impressed with are worlock and rodent. So far they are the reasons the cd actually gets into the cd player, then I just kinda stumble around. The power chords on rodent are a nice touch. worlock does what most great remixes do. It throws out a lot of the original and then builds a new song that can stand by it's self as a song and not just a remix. Of course it has to be a good new song. Assimalate and addiction are also pretty good, although assimalate sounds a bit to much like the original for it's own good- still it's one of my favorites on the album. Love in vein is decent, but it pisses me off. Based off of the begining of the track (the first minute or so), this should be the best cut on the cd by far. But all it does is sort of repeat it's self over and over. Still worth while. Dig it and smoothered hope- both listenable, but neither is great. If this is what we can expect from welt (the decent stuff didn't sound that great either) then I'm depressed. The RX stuff (will there ever be any more?) sounded alot more promising for the long term. Killing game- It is experimental. I'll give it that. But it sounds to me like the entire song just consists of running the original through a tape player at varying speeds. This is probably my least favorit on the cd. The rest- they're there. Not to awful, not to great( it's always possable they may grow on me). Tin omen deserves a nod. It resembles the original but does some cool things with it. I've just never cared much for tim omen. Alex Johnson of dropSTAR's Take: 1. Rodent - Ken 'Hiwatt' Marshall: pretty standard stuff, cool new guitar bits recorded to run on the arpeggiated bass line.. 2. Addiction - Günter Shulz: not as bad as i thought, great vocals make this remix work for me; the music is pretty standard.. 3. Ogre / Mark Walk - Smothered Hope: definitely my most favourite track on the disc, i can't wait to hear the w.e.l.t. stuff.. 4. Killing Game - Autechre: incredibly awesome, perfect autechre stuff.. of course, i'm biased as i love autechre to begin with.. 5. Love In Vein - Neotropic: better than i expected, definitely listenable and i've never heard of them before.. 6. Worlock - Rhys Fulber: not a good remix - sounded a bit confused to me.. i guess it sounded a bit too delerium/fla like to interest me much.. 7. Spasmolytic - Deftones: uh, pass.. 8. Tin Omen - Adrian Sherwood: incredibly cool.. anything adrian sherwood does just has to be cool.. 9. Testure - God Lives Underwater: uh, pass.. 10. Dig It - Mark Walk: very cool, this is right up there with the smothered hope and killing game mixes for me. again, i can't wait to hear w.e.l.t. 11. Assimilate - Chris Vrenna: very cool, especially ripping the dig it drums to flesh the mix out.. 12. Censor - Guru: very nice suprise, i liked this one a lot.. very enjoyable.. 13. Chainsaw - Josh Wink: this would be my favourite track #4 (smothered hope, dig it, killing game).. great minimal space house music - i think josh wink must be a big fan, you can tell he appreciates puppy alot by his treatment of this classic track.. Simon Paul's Take: 1>Rodent by Ken Marshall/Rom: this is a pretty cool mix, basically takes the original and updates it for the late 90's and fills it out, solid mix.(yeah for Rom!) 2>Addiction by gunter schulz: okay this is better than I had anticipated same approach as rodent, an update more or less and I'm a sucker for gated sounds which he uses alot. quite atmospheric actually.. 3>SmoHope by ogre and Walk: quirkie but cool, a complete overhaul...one of the best on the album....just plain wierd. 4>Killing Game by Autechre: *almost* disappointing ,it's more of an experiment than a "song"..I love autechre alot but this mix is uh..well I'm sure it'll grow on me..seems like maybe it should've been the last track or something as it doesn't keep the momentum of the first three tracks..it stops ya dead.Sounds exactly like the first part of the song "download". 5>Love in vein by neotropic: good, average, hate the production on the drums(which in and of themselves are good but they seem disorted in a bad way).. a total overhaul mix again.very claustrophobic. 6>Worlock by Rhys Fulber: another overhaul musically but overall keeps with the original version. 7>Spasmolytic by deftones: actually I like this one, quite 'trip-hop' like..don't like the chino "downtown" vocal though.... 8>Tin omen by Adrian Sherwood: good mix dubbed out instrumental(well mostly) another fine sherwood mix. faithful to original could've been on the original single way back. 9>Testure by GLU: two words "radio friendly", but then again perhaps this _is_ the most radio friendly puppy anyhow...total music overhaul, vocals intact. 10>Dig it by mark walk: one word "humour" this is awesome, awesome, awesome!!! sounds like Ogre sent him an email with the lyrics and Mark put them through that Mac Voice program! and the rest is sampled off of the original disc..breakbeaty..this is the best mix so far..very short though.....brilliant.....hah! 11>Assimilate by Chris Vrenna: pretty good, I like the idea of it slowed down...faithful version that could've been released 'back in the day'... 12>Censor by guru: blunted out, "who got game?ogre got game!" strangest mix for sure, I like it alot quite funked. this _will_ piss some off...heh.....this has become one of my fave mixes. I love Ogre screaming against a lazy beat..it just works sooo well. 13>Chainsaw by josh wink: um brilliant(but I'm into minimal techno so..) this is like as I've said before, what I picture Ogre and Key to kinda do now a days..minimal chain reaction type muted deep house with tweaked Ogre vocals...very nice indeed.the autechre track should've gone after this for sure.... overall pretty damn good, worth getting, a nice variety of faithfulness to originals(although I tend to like mixes that are completely different) dig it is the definite highlight as with chainsaw ,for me anyway........glad to see no drum n bass pop up for once, although a Panacea mix would've been excellent(considering he samples puppy anyway). Alexander Schussler's Take:
Track 1 - Rodent - DDT remix by Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall Track 2 - Addiction - Opium remix by Günter Schultz Track 3 - Smothered Hope - remix by Ogre and Mark Walk Track 4 - Killing Game - Bent remix by Autechre Track 5 - Love In Vein - Go Girl Trio remix by Neutropic Track 6 - Worlock - Eye Of The Beholder remix by Rhys Fulber Track 7 - Spasmolytic - Habitual remix by Deftones Track 8 - Tin Omen - Main remix by Adrian Sherwood Track 9 - Testure - remix by God Lives Under Water Track 10 - Dig It - remix by Mark Walk Track 11 - Assimilate - Tweaker remix by Chris Vrenna Track 12 - Censor - The Gutter Remix by Guru Track 13 - Chainsaw - remix by Josh Wink Well you get plenty of remixes some really great others ok...so my thought is this : BUY ASAP!!!! you'll find something you like...no doubt!!!
1. shit
2. gay
3. neat
4. bad shit
5. blah
6. lachrymose
7. really bad shit
8. silly (wasn’t necessary)
9. blasphemy (may your dicks wither and shrink), plus it was awful
10. ummmm, no
11. almost 1 half step flat
12. word up to my homees
13. josh “jack-off” “wanker” wink, a.k.a. schmuck
Rating: A-
Rating: B+
Rating: B+
Rating: A
Rating: D
Rating: B-
Rating: F
Rating: B-
Rating: C-
Rating: A-
Rating: B+
Rating: B-
Rating: B+
2. Addiction 7/10 ..gets betters as it goes along, love the e-e-e-eh-ah- ah loop
3. S. Hope 10/10 ..always picture super mario bros. world 1-1.
4. Killing Game 8/10 ..love the original, but what's this? still a good listen.
5. Love In Vein 5/10 .. just doesn't work for me. good effort though
6. Worlock 2/10 ..get your filthy hands off my favorite song, rhys. Unworthy!
7. Spasmolytic 0/10 ..i might've liked this when i was in 6th grade
8. Tin Omen 1/10 ..would be zero, but the OHIO OHIO part is fun to listen to.
9. Testure 0/10 ..if I could dip into negatives, this rating would go very deep.
10.Dig It 9/10 ..as Ed would say this is Good Cheese
11.Assimilate 3/10 ..This song got me into sp, This version would not have, nice try!
12.Censor 10/10 ..Fucking Genius!
13.Chainsaw 2/10 ..i miss the chainsaw.
13.Chainsaw 8/10 ..if you're high when you listen to this.
This cd is is half bad, half good. That's not a bad ratio nowadays.
A lot of people are saying how they are surprised that he didn't mess this track up that bad. WTF are they talking about? its awesome, half way though when he loops ogres vocals and makes them part of the overall music. this one is another winner.
well its different but i don't really like it, the vocal styles sound stoopid (i own Rx and the vocals are fine, i don't know whats going on here)and the music doesn't do it for me. the original is far better the this trash.
This song rips killing game to pieces, you can't even tell what the hell it is until the very end and that is when you start to enjoy it and then its over. i know autechre are a skilled group but this song sounds like a K hole. Lay off the drugs for a couple of days boys.
Its not bad....its not Great....its worth a listen, i guess.
I have heard lots of people say that this is the greatest skinny puppy song ever made, i can't take it that far because I love everything they ever did. this song is one of the best. So its tough to say how good the remix is because this song is so good I could remix it and it would song good. I like how lots of the tracks took treatments off ogre's voice. This ones good.
Ewwwww...lucky for me i'm going to see the deftones in concert this month with a friend of mine. So i can get up on stage and beat the shit out of Chino for doing this to spasmolytic, the fast driving Key drum line...gone! WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP THIS ONE IS !!!
This ones another cd stuffer like the Neotropic track....not bad but not great....nothing to write home about.
...
This Track makes me physically ill...the computer voice is the worst thing i have ever heard in all of my nineteen years on this earth, you should all scratch the bottom of your cd's so it won't play this track any more...i spit on this track but that won't stop me from buying WELT when (if) its released.
No drastic changes here but it is juiced up and this is a nice addition to the cd, i like it.
this ones way different from the original but its a nice change of pace from the rest of the album and it keeps i nice beat. hey it isn't dogshit but its still good!
I'm all for techno rave music, i myself enjoy taking part in philadelphia's rave scene but i hated this track...how can you have chainsaw without a chainsaw WtF? he didn't ever no anything of interest, i know him as a musician and dj are a lot better then this track shows because i've seen him live.
Hymns of the Warlock *1/2
I really like this track, the bass is almost extremly high and makes the whole track feel kind of dancy but other then that there isnt much difference from this and the original...the extreme bass really gets to me...:)
4/5
This track has been said to have a dance feeling about it...I can't seem to find it. It sounds more funky in my ears, not that much dance music...pretty ok track.
3/5
Talk about fucked up track, it sounds like crackhead waltz or something left over from the Decent tracks...I dont really like the freaked out feeling it has...I dont hate it but it just fucks up the track...not very good...
2/5
NOW WE're talkin...Autechre lives up to their name and beyond. This remix is extreme by both being fucked up and original. Its an assault on all the senses they manage to turn the whole song into a new one...its faaaaaaantastic...I love it...it would actually fit in on the Last Rights album...:)
4/5
YES...another great remix...I have never heard of Neutropic but they couldnt have been put in a better place then right after Autechre on the album...their remix is structured violence...its almost my favourite remix...the drums and the noises feels new and you can only hear a faint ogre singing in the background...this track would have made me buy any album...great.
4/5
Would Rhys fail...of course not...Worlock feels even sader and more mysterious then before... its among the top remixes of this album of course...It has an extremely good little bassline that runs in the background that fits right there with all the other sounds. This track is like a whole new song but with the same lyrics from Worlock....EXTREMELY GOOD!!!!
5/5
More guitars and it twists the track pretty much...and breathing and moaning ogre is mostly what you hear. It feel like a track by Pop will eat itself or Pigface...
3/5
Another funky track, doesnt retain the angry feeling of the original but ok...it feels somewhat trippy and is quite ok...but doesnt make me jump with joy...ok though...
2/5
Yet another funky track, but this one is really good. Never heard God Live Under Water but this I do like...drum n' bass comes along and it has kind of a ambient feeling about it...just like worlock it feels like a new track with ogre singing on it...:) goodie...
4/5
Talking about fucked up tracks...this one outbeats all the other fucked up...hands down...:) But still its intresting and fun...I like it. A silly computer voice speaks through out the whole song...and ogre screams in the background meanwhile samplings and drums kicks in the whole time...goodie...
3/5
The tempo is slowed down again and the remix isnt that much different from the original...still has its own feeling and new sounds and stuff...I like it...but perhaps cause I like the original too...good still...it seems like the sounds from the demo that was on the back & forth 2 cd have been included...not sure might be the original all the way through...its just a feeling I have...:)
3/5
Here is my favourite remix...the whole song feels new and the guitar is just so right it was a shame it wasnt in the original... I absolutly love this remix...never heard of Guru...but he makes this album feel great...the song has been totaly remade and might have suited the stuff on Rx if ogre would still be in his screaming and disted mood...Hope he does that stuff again...cause this is the stuff I would love to hear from him...:)
5/5
In the beginning it almost feels like a goa-trance or hardcore remix...but then you realise this is something completly different...something really great...Just like Hiwatt the bass is almost extremly high...kinda like a weird dub remix... I like it but its not as good as the original...
3/5