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Affinity for a trinity…

Skinny Puppy…Velvet Acid Christ…Mindless Self Indulgence…

Who are they, what are they, and what do they mean to me? These are the questions I am asking myself as well. One layer of this puzzle shows the former entities as musicians and artistic collectives yearning to freedom the cryptic associations like chains that weigh down thoughtless casual morality, and bind the authoritative predispositions of a public lost, not thinking for itself as it gets lead to the edge of the precipice. Each of these monikers represents an incarnate structure, and possibly one that includes some of the potent but dormant archetypes of the past, because no one can say what defines a perfect vision within this swiftly interconnected state with total certainty. Between them artistically are the smallest gaps as the circuitry of each respective collaborator cross-hatching together with the next, creating a perceptual three dimensions, but solid holographic projection from that cosmic third eye. A storybook illusion through strife and struggle, until we are standing at the gates of mystery so profound as that no one would ever find it the same way again, and from these tales are woven the phases of archetypal evolution. From levels mundane, to higher realms of inspiration, and back down through the incarnate forms. An idea of some kind of elemental electricity charging the circuits in the ever-repeating cycle with all the variables of the material world changing the combination of god and mortal drama to challenge the progress of conscious systems made reality. The ‘mindless IF, the ‘Nny Ppy’ (pronounced ‘nee-pee’), and the ‘VAC’… Separately known and functional as Mindless Self Indulgence, Skinny Puppy, and Velvet Acid Christ.

First, let us begin by reaffirming that these statements are purely my own feelings and opinions, and not necessarily a cosmic actuality in progress. Though inspired by the structure of a “holy trinity”, in no way am I trying to prove that there is incontrovertible truth to these ideas that I administer, and these are merely passing interests and connections within my own mind as I have documented them in varying degrees of detail. Again, these perspectives are something I take for being all my own in a limited point of view, but if others happen to share or see enlightenment in these words, then I challenge them to contact me to share any other connections there might be. Thank you.

Skinny Puppy; the devouring element in the triumvirate, that which reveals the base underbelly at the root of some of the more cruel aspects of humanity, and representing to some effectiveness the inevitable things. Our polite curtains we uphold to prevent sight into our private machinations are torn down when listening to this music, sight of unutterable existence forms from the shadow of isolated contemporary identity, and points out how we move like vapid drones marching ahead of the rest. This music reveals to me the spirit, both broken and that with hope and faith remaining, and this charge as what makes the progression from album to album consistent in a very fundamental way. Using the experimental medium as a means to portray unjust veneer to our hypocrisy. Earlier Puppy, has the sting of angst and anger sharpened (sharpening) into needle-point accuracy, striking and sinking into release the poison, and subverting the programmed response once again. Keeping the restless on their toes, beginning with Key’s background to Ogre’s foreground, but duo becomes trio and back again in such a short but powerfully profound movement that years pass before news of truth comes through their shared stage presence. Now, we have moved into discussion of the archetypes and their myth-making efforts, sounding out a call to bring us back from ironic shores, and to begin seeing the ability to understand taking things into our own hands instead of just letting the blood spill onto them by default.

Mindless Self Indulgence; hyperactive expression of prehensile and sophomoric tendencies to touch on all the rest of the issues, the wild and vigorous quality to the three part series, and their music hits the entire spectrum of attitudes in a way that mocks with total immunity from negative infringement. These ladies and gentlemen are punk as the spirit was truly devised to be, a means to spread the wealth around, and the best way has always been through tapping into those commonly related feelings that occur between one another. This energy is electric to the touch, and this is what stodgy old men drool over before they die without accomplishing any of their dreams. The inner child dies after only so many bitter real-time experiences become truth for a person, leaving yearned for ghosts of fancy behind, and sometimes recapturing the lost souls by the ankles and dragging them to the pits of the ecstasy and the agony of middle life crisis as decay sets in.

Velvet Acid Christ; the neutral tone of this equation, but certainly no less valuable to the circuit overall, and though many daft asses might perceive the entity of VAC as only a product of Skinny Puppy’s innovation in relation to the other two. That is only half right because though the two Kevins made a name for themselves earlier than the mastermind behind VAC, there are more elements of the musician incorporated into VAC’s body of work, and this is the same cultural derivative that the other two feed from as well. The iteration loop carries with it all repercussions of the sounds before, and because a certain note of serious digression seeps into the “dark humor” tone that VAC displays, there is never a simple lumping for VAC to be placed within. Elements of industrial, rock, metal, and many other types of electronic music factor into the final picture of the Velvet Acid Christ as a complete entity realized. It is from this center that the other sides of the triumvirate seem compelled to lock into place, recycling energy and archetypes with equal measure despite the surface misconception that these musics commonly summon emotions that are referred to in extreme adjectives and negative connotations, and made scapegoats for such attentions. These provocations are made by ‘retro-link’ viewpoints that see backwards the truth of development, and forwards into a present-day cesspool from which no other ones but the right ones will escape. A total failure.

Powerful incarnations of archetypal energies that have existed forever in one form or another, each a different face or aspect of this congruent relationship to coalesce as the triumvirate, or the Holy Trinity in another way of looking at it. Well, actually, I’m not too sure yet of the exact relation to this particular trinity there is biblically-speaking. All three forces stand equal in the field of music, having carved their niches in the world we have today and are therefore balanced on this plane. However, each has certain attributes that give rise to the accent of various particular formations in the energy and thus nature of the expression, and this is what I prepared to delve into even if it might seem rather “far out there”.