Following the collapse of
Skinny Puppy,
cEvin Key and
Dwayne Goettel turned toward a more
ambient,
electronic style. That
Goettel didn't live to see
Download hit their stride is quite sad, because
Furnace is, for the most part, an excellent mix of exotic, disturbing sounds. The first three songs set such a dark, fierce pace that the remainder of the album struggles in comparison.
"Mallade" creates a stunningly bleak atmosphere.
"Seel hole" is an
experimental industrial creation that sounds like a collaboration where
Aphex Twin and
Goblin score a remake of
Blade Runner as directed by horror maestro
Dario Argento.
"Omniman" should have been a club hit; its accessible demented beats and
Genesis P. Orridge's creepy, humorous babbling are endlessly entertaining. After the somewhat murky and bland middle section of the album, the band strikes inspiration again with the
My Bloody Valentine meets
Skinny Puppy hodgepodge of
"Beehatch" and the spooky
Orridge love poem that is
"Marred." On the latter song,
Orridge sings masochistically that his lover can hurt him and emasculate him, but his love will remain. While
Furnace isn't as consistently bleak or political as any album from
Skinny Puppy, it signaled that
Goettel and
Key weren't satisfied to rest on their considerable laurels. The album is dedicated to and in memory of
Goettel, and it's fitting that
Furnace is at once so listenable and challenging like the output of
Skinny Puppy. Though it contains some tracks that aren't entirely interesting, its moments of genius are potent indeed. ~ Tim DiGravina