SKINNY PUPPY DOOMSDAY: BACK + FORTH VOL 5 LIVE IN DRESDEN ALBUM NETTWERK, SYNTHETIC SYMPHONY RELEASE: AUGUST 21, 2001 REVIEW: AUGUST 23, 2001

After several delays and problems, this long awaited recording of the even longer awaited Skinny Puppy reunion concert in Germany last summer is finally here. The DVD version of this event will not be released in the foreseeable future, unfortunately. That would really have been a treat, as the Puppies are very visual on stage. Alas, I wasn't able to witness the event, so now I probably will not know what it was like.
Due to the limited space on a CD, three tracks had to be removed, and one more track because of copyright problems. The missing tracks are "Choralone", "Natures Revenge", "Smothered Hope" and "Hardset Head". The latter track was removed because it was released on American Records, and Nettwerk has not been able to obtain the rights to include it here. Some rumours say that it may end up on the US album anyway (it has been delayed), though that is unclear as we speak. In my opinion they should have dropped tracks like "Convulsion" and "Social Deception" in favour of some of the missing tracks, but maybe that is just me.
The sound on this recording is outstanding, and all the details in the music we all know and love comes out the way it should. Phil Western and Greg Reely have indeed done a wonderful job at tweaking the master tapes.
I will not talk much about individual tracks, as I'm sure those who cares all know them by heart, and the live versions are not that different. Nivek Ogre handles the vocal duties superbly, and Cevin Key's drumming is on the spot and breaths a lot of life into the music. The artwork is beautiful too, what else can be expected when Dave McKean is involved?
To sum it up, this is a release marred by some missing tracks, but it still is a nice collection of the best Skinny Puppy songs. The rating will not go higher, because everything here is old material. But go ahead and buy it, that's an order.

JOHAN CARLSSON