Skinny Puppy: Too Dark Park

Too Dark Park is the sixth studio album by the industrial music group Skinny Puppy. The album cover features the debut appearance of the band’s “SP” logo. The cover art was created by Vancouver based artist Jim Cummins. The artwork for this album and its associated singles was inspired by cosmic horror stories such as the Cthulhu Mythos. Lyrical themes include collapse of society due to destruction of nature, drug addiction, and psychological issues.

The album was recorded “spontaneously” at Mushroom Studios and mixed at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Though guitar is used throughout, the album takes a step back from the Ministry-inspired direction of the band’s previous release, favoring instead a more chaotic, electronic sound. Two of the album’s songs, “Tormentor” and “Spasmolytic”, were released as singles, the latter of which was accompanied by a music video. Guest performers on the album include Canadian music producer Greg Reely and Skinny Puppy’s longtime producer Dave “Rave” Ogilvie playing guitar on the songs “Nature’s Revenge” and “T.F.W.O.”.

Since its release, Too Dark Park has received generally positive reviews from critics. The album has been commended for its haunting electronic riffs and use of sampling, though some have noted that the music’s disturbing nature could be off-putting to some listeners. The group promoted the album with the Too Dark Park tour, which encompassed much of the United States and Canada. Though a live album has never been released, some live recordings from the tour have been featured on other Skinny Puppy releases, namely Brap: Back and Forth Series 3 & 4 and the “Spasmolytic” single.