Sinsation

Tracklisting

Details/Trivia:

Sinsation is an album by PIG released in Japan in 1995. It was later released in the United States on Nothing Records on September 17, 1996. A music video for the song ‘Painiac (Nothing Touches Me)’ was filmed and was scarcely aired on MTV in 1996; making its final broadcast in 2000 on MTV2′s A-Z video marathon.

Versions:

Reviews/Blurbs:

All Music Guide

“It wasn’t necessarily inevitable that Raymond Watts would end up on Trent Reznor’s Nothing label, but it also made perfect sense when he did, given the Englishman’s propensity for industrial-flavored doom and destruction. Perhaps the connection was a step too far, given how songs like “Serial Killer Thriller” and “Hot Hole” had the same feeling of dancefloor/arena stomp and riff of such Nine Inch Nails numbers as “Last.” Then there was the perfectly groan-worthy title “Painiac,” which hurts to even say out loud (and let’s not moan the various typical-of-the-genre groans about heavy-duty sex and control). However, Watts’ ear for trying a variety of different styles wasn’t completely lost and, in fact, if Sinsation was Pig’s stab at the mainstream, it actually wasn’t a bad one. Recording and producing everything himself with the help of guitarist Steve White and a couple of guests (including Underworld’s Karl Hyde, who co-wrote and played on the weird, restrained snarl and metallic clangs of “Shell”), Watts is no slouch in the studio. At his most chillingly effective, he includes a forlorn kind of beauty to the album — the echoed piano and clatter of “Analgesia” and the concluding strings and keyboard tones of “Transceration.” Some of the demented horn arrangements and doomy vocal samples about American society call to mind Foetus, while there are enough speed metal guitar parts to satisfy a Guitar Center’s worth of thrashers. Indeed, the resemblance of songs like “Hamstrung on the Highway” to later nu-metal/industrial efforts from other bands is almost frightening, though Watts prefers his slightly distanced and distorted singing voice to hoarse MCing. A few songs are more sturm und drang without purpose, such as the brief, spooky instrumental “Golgotha,” but generally speaking, there’s at least enough to satisfy most listeners inclined to such sounds. ”
-Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Amazon users

“For most albums (read: pop), the ‘age test’ is simply one or two months, past which the public forgets and moves onto the next hyped thing. And why not? Most music that comes out today is fabricated pap with good marketing and nothing else behind it.

I purchased this album when it came out almost 9 years ago, purely on a whim. It was on Reznor’s label; I liked the Nine Inch Nails sound and I felt this would be a good horse (swine?) to bet on.

Damn, am I happy I did.

Sinsation is probably PIG’s closest to the NIN sound. It’s a marriage of his symphonic tendencies, jazz influences, and snarling guitars into a cohesive unit. It’s less eclectic than his past albums, more experimental than his later work, and definitely his biggest release (being on a major label) – it’s a wonder it wasn’t more well received.

My favorites, at first, were “Serial Thriller Killer,” “Hamstring on the Highway,” “Painiac (Nothing Touches Me),” “Volcano,” and “Hot Hole” – the lineup of heavy, orchestral rock songs. They pack a punch that still resonates with me today – in large part because they’re not simple rock fare, but rather beautifully structured compositions with spoken samples (Beetlejuice and George Bush Sr. are ones I caught).

Later, I grew to appreciate the soundscapes that Raymond Watts utilizes so well as ‘cooling’ periods between the aggressive songs: selections such as “Golgoth,” “Shell,” “Analgesia,” and “Transceration.” If I want to sit and relax, I think nothing of programming my CD player to play just these tracks, which offer no hint of the aggression they sandwich. The moods on this album are like night and day.

Even after 9 years, I still play this album fairly regularly, and I love it every time. The only reason I give this album 4 stars is because Praise the Lard and The Swining/Red Raw & Sore are even better albums, and therefore deserving of the full rating.

I hate to make this comparison, but I honestly think that a fan of NIN (especially The Downward Spiral and perhaps Broken) would do himself/herself well to pick up Sinsation, too. It all goes up from there.”
-MTJones

“Raymond Watts is responsible for some of the most influential music of the 90s/early 2000s. Aside from doing his own thing, he spearheaded the beast that we know as KMFDM, had Trent Reznor begging him to listen to his demo, and helped mastermind some of the sounds that became industrial (and more). with KMFDM, it was found that screaming into a megaphone while utilzing a vacuum could provide some of the sounds that would change the face of music. He also grew a sadistic brand all his own during that time, making a thing that was both entertaining and sexually driven in a sado sort of sound. I found i liked this about him and, over 12 years later, I still find albums like Sinsation relevant. It has all the things people want to hear in their music and makes no apologies for what it is.

On sinsation, Watts was able to gain a budget because Reznor was throwing money his way. that meant that the sounds are his own, and you can really tell that he did what he wanted to do. He put in instrumentals that were over-the-top and that spoke of orchestras and combinations of sound, all-the-while maintaining what is certainly Pig. The lyrical content is amazing on these albums, too, and the vocals are beautifully done in a sultry fashion. Sometimes that makes the song feel dirty, sometimes it makes it feel powerful, and sometimes it just makes it sound like Pig. Like Prime Evil and other albums that are really hard to find, this album has a little bit for music lovers everywhere.

If you have lost Pig in the back alleys of your musical fashions, then you should it out once more. It has a lot to offer and has aged in ways you wouldn’t expect, making the albums still have meaning. I put all the Pig albums I have on tap the other day, and the only things that were hard to listen to were Praise the Lard and a few 80s releases. Otherwise, these dreams are golden.”
T(to the)B(to the)S

“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. ”
-Stephen Lin

Liner Notes

Written, produced and performed by Raymond Watts
Recorded and mixed by Helen Woodword and Raymond Watts at Ranch Apocalypse, London

Additional Musicians:
Steve White – Guitar
Imai Hishashi – Guitar on ‘Analgesia’
Karl Hyde – Guitar on ‘Shell’
Carol Anne Reynolds – Backing vocals on ‘The Sick’
Additional words by Anna Wildsmith
Music on ‘Shell’ written with Karl Hyde (Sherlock Holmes Music)
Drum loop on ‘Painiac’ taken from Hypnotique by Hoppy Kamigama
Art Direction Michael Goulson
Design Tony Stiles
Photography Stephen Lovell-Davis
Assisted by Amy Robins

Thanks to:
Yoshi Hoshina, Yoshi Kuboto, Mark Griffiths, Mike Watts, E.S.P., Buster and Anna Wildsmith