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Stylized as VIVIsectVI, this fourth machination of darkly Industrial and sporadic electro tones is one I vaguely remember from over twenty years ago. Revisiting it has not rekindled any youthful memories or sparked any further intrigue in Skinny Puppy. Once again the approach of Ogre and Key alludes me. Their dystopian soundscapes running detached from a convention I'd connect with, like groove or atmosphere.
Harsh drum machine percussion pounds its persistent drone, a shuffling assault of stabs and jerking motions as jolty synth basslines busy themselves with energetic resolve. A persistent theme arises once again, the emerging instrumental pallet heard better used by others later on. Vivisectvi has its moments of chemistry, often brief and wedged between Ogre's bare screams, grisly spoken shouts and plenty of sampled snippets that attend to emphasizing a darker side of society and human behavior.
For me, this one barely amounts to more than the sum of its parts, however for the year I can see how fresh and different this experience might of been. Vivisectvi bridges its fidelity into a more digestible format, the music sounding visible. Crisper instruments and synthetic instruments play boldly. Where it looses me is after Testure, another notably Synthpop adjacent song with melodic convention and gleaming bells juxtaposing the dystopian madness with a touch of hopefully, if not naive, light.
With a touch of Dejavu, the record descends into a sprawl of chaotic ideas after this song. State Aid and beyond leans hard into distortion and battering percussion, never quite recovering the atmosphere once flirted with. I've heard these ideas re-imagined by others further down the line and packaged so much better. I can give it merit for exploring these grounds but the end result isn't satisfying, simply of curious nature.
Rating: 4/10