(Nothing/Interscope)
Trent (Nine Inch Nails) Reznor's "nothing" label has certainly been responsible for exposing the world to some bizarre, yet enticing music. Pop Will Eat Itself, Prick, and modern day shock-rockers, Marilyn Manson all have distinctive sounds that co-exist nicely under the label. A "new" member has been inducted into this family. While new to nothing, Raymond G. Watts (Pig) is not new to the music scene. He's a founding member of KMFDM and has worked with the likes of Einsturzende Neubauten, Coil, and Foetus. As you may have guessed, Sinsation is somewhat "industrial."
But to say that Sinsation is an industrial album would be an injustice. It would limit the full spectrum of musicality that the album displays. A friend of mine said this: "_Sinsation is what KMFDM would sound like if they listen to a lot of Queen." Well. it certainly is a possibility. I would prefer to think of it as a slightly more accessible, commercial industrial-esque masterpiece.
Pig's debut solo album is nothing short of majestic in terms of its texture. Huge dynamic changes; layers upon layers of samples, thick guitars, discordant strings, and random noise; terrifying lyrics and vocals; and snippets of beautiful melodies are the foundation upon which this album is built. Add to this mixture flashes of bizarre mental images (the CD inlay has a disturbing collage/composite of a man-pig), a touch of theatrics, and some "je ne sais quoi" and you've got Sinsation in a nutshell.
I said earlier that the album had a touch of commercialism. I say this because there are real hooks which will echo in your mind long after the CD ends. Pig songs also have direction and substance which some industrial music doesn't (like some of the more experimental stuff Einsturzende Neubauten does). This is not to say that less commercial industrial is of lesser quality, only that Pig's brand of music is a bit easier swallow - but disturbing, nonetheless.
Sinsation is the best album to be released on "nothing" since Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. Without question - end of discussion. If you don't believe me, go buy the album. And if you still don't believe me - oops. But even if you don't think it's the BEST "nothing" album since Spiral, you won't be disappointed.
