While sustaining a stance in the Canadian industrial trio
Skinny Puppy,
cEvin Key also maintained several side projects such as
Tear Garden and
Hilt. Not as chaotic as
Skinny Puppy,
Key's ambient side work began in the mid-'80s when he and
Legendary Pink Dots'
Edward Ka-Spel teamed up to form
Tear Garden.
Tired Eyes Slowly Burning (1987) marked the band's debut and sharply defined
Key's talented programming skills to move him out from behind the blazing showcase of
Skinny Puppy frontman
Nivek Ogre.
Key's keen ear quickly called out detail while searching for a lush composition versus the sonic disintegration of his other band, and this is what made
Tear Garden enjoyably different. The Last Man to Fly, which included the critically acclaimed single "Romulus & Venus," was issued in 1992 and the
Sheila Liked the Rodeo EP followed a year later. While completing
Skinny Puppy's
The Process, things were suddenly interrupted by the 1995 overdose death of keyboardist Dwayne Goettel. A bitter battle over the release of
The Process prolonged into 1996, giving
Key final creative control over his music due to
Skinny Puppy's tragic demise. Not distraught by the horrible events brought on by the year before,
Key plugged 1996's
To Be an Angel Blind, the Crippled Soul Divide and 1997's Paradigm Shift, while keeping a low profile, and
Tear Garden solidly became his chief project. Two more albums surfaced in 2000, the extensive compilation featuring
Skinny Puppy,
Legendary Pink Dots, and
Tear Garden material entitled Wild Planet: Subconsious Communications, and the new
Tear Garden LP
Crystal Mass. ~ MacKenzie Wilson