Most of you know, tomorrow is my gullbladder removal surgery.  I'm nervous, but excited.  I'll finally be able to eat... and I get 2-4 weeks off work!!! Woo hoo!!!

Before I have my surgery, I'd like to do a quick review of a CD I purchased over this past weekend.

ARTIST:  Skinny Puppy
ALBUM TITLE:  MythMaker
YEAR:  2007

Skinny Puppy has been around, as a band, for over twenty years.  Each release more intense, harsher, more of a nightmare experience.  MythMaker continues the trend. 

Programmer/Sample-monger cEvin kEy sets the sonic bed that leader singer Ogre layes his vocoded/time stretched voice over.  The combination of the two results in a soundscape that could be the soundbed for any Halloween party.  Combine with the scary soundscapes, hauntingly beautiful melodies pierce through the darkness, allowing the listener to catch their breath, before being plunged back into the darkness.

In my opinion, the standout track is "Haze" - a beautifully arranged (deranged?) offering that could easily be tagged with the Best Song Ever By Any Artist award.  Ogre shows his many vocal talents in this track.  Everything from a distorted, but melodic verse, to a growled, dark grumbled part, to a sped-up, pitch-shifted lead to the end of the song, this single track takes you through every emotion a song could possibly offer.

If you have an extra $20 laying around, I DEMAND that you drop what you are doing and pick up this CD.  You will listen to it, and you will be amazed.

***** out of 5

+ruined

If you look back a couple of posts, you'll remember that I had a bout or two of what I thought was food poisoning.  Now, I'm wondering if that's really what it was.

Since then, I've been in and out of the emergency room with terrible abdomin pain.  Several tests later, it has been determined that my gallbladder has polyps and possible stones causing all of my troubles.  The remedy is removal of the gallbladder.

The surgery to put back on track is scheduled for next week Wednesday (Feb 28).  It should take 2 weeks to recover.  After that, I can finally eat pizza without feeling that wonderful sensation of nausea. 

Lately, I haven't been able to each much more than animal crackers.  I... miss... food!

At any rate, that's where I have been, lately.  Keeping to myself, trying to hold my food down.  A terrible way to exist.

+ruined