Last Rights,
Skinny Puppy's final album before a five-year hiatus, and their second to last overall, is a hailstorm of electro-distortion ten years ahead of its time. Even while industrial pop stars like
Nine Inch Nails and
Ministry were strutting their way across the charts and media outlets trumpeting the industrial revolution,
Dave Ogilvie and
cEvin Key's ambitious production talents reached what is easily a technical peak (and, arguably, an artistic peak). "Inquisition" is the pinnacle, a heart-stopping single whose production contributed just as much to the air of menace as
Ogre's vocals.
Skinny Puppy even attempts a ballad on "Killing Game," with surprising success. Though the dense production occasionally masks
Ogre's vocals and songwriting, Last Rights is a sonic masterpiece that undoubtedly influenced sound manipulators from
Autechre to
White Zombie. ~ John Bush