"Testure" is a song by Canadian

electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound ...

band Skinny Puppy, taken from its 1988 album '' VIVIsectVI'' and released as a single in 1989. "Testure" was the group's first and last song to chart on '' Billboards's'' Dance Club Songs, and it was accompanied with a controversial music video.

Content

The song

Three primary versions of "Testure" exist, two of which appear on the single. The album version of "Testure" is a five-minute track with smooth electronics,

fretless bass A fretless bass is a bass guitar whose neck does not have any frets. While the instrument is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz. It first saw widespread use during the 1970s, although some players used them befo ...

, and a profusion of samples from Martin Rosen's 1982 film ''

The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...

''. Its lyrics contain both the title of its host album, '' VIVIsectVI'' (1988), and the album's main themes:

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

and testing. ''

See Magazine ''SEE Magazine'' was a free alternative weekly published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from 1992-2011 first by Ron Garth, then by Great West Newspaper. It was published every Thursday, distributing an average of 20,849 copies each week at more than ...

'' considered "Testure" to be ''VIVIsectVIs "centerpiece". "Testure (S.F. Mix)" shortens the song to four minutes and introduces a greater emphasis on samples from ''The Plague Dogs''. The fretless bass, played by Dale Plevin, is also featured more prominently than on the album version. This mix went on to appear on the band's 1999 compilation album, '' The Singles Collect'', and was used in the song's music video. "Testure (12" Mix)" acts as an extended version of the song, clocking in at eight and a half minutes. This version, remixed and re-edited by Skinny Puppy's own

cEvin Key Kevin William Crompton (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as cEvin Key, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. He is best known as a member of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded in 1982 wi ...

and

Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician. The former member of bands Skinny Puppy and Jakalope started his recording career in Vancouver working as an engineer at Mushroom Studios. He has been described by ...

, also begins with a protracted series of samples from ''The Plague Dogs''. The song's main synthesizer riff does not begin until nearly two minutes in, and

Nivek Ogre Kevin Graham Ogilvie (born December 5, 1962), known professionally as Nivek Ogre, is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor, best known for his work with the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded with cEvin Key. Sin ...

's vocals are not introduced until the three minute mark. This extended mix appeared on 1990's '' Twelve Inch Anthology'' compilation. "Testure's" title is most likely a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on the words "test" and "torture" intended to equate live animal experimentation to torture.

The single

Prompted by airplay and club attention, "Testure" was released as a single in 1989, a year after the release of ''VIVIsectVI''. It charted at place nineteen and spent five weeks on '' Billboards's'' Dance Club Songs, making it Skinny Puppy's most successful single. Two variations of the release's track listing exist: one with the song "The Second Opinion", and one with "Cage". All versions feature the S.F. and extended mixes of "Testure", and all versions feature "Serpents", a B-side unique to this single. "The Second Opinion", which also appeared appended to the end of ''VIVIsectVI's'' CD release, includes the line "that machine has got to be destroyed" from Stuart Gordon's 1986 adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's '' From Beyond''. The song itself is built around a repeating drum machine loop interspersed with modulated and distorted vocal samples. "The Second Opinion" began as a live jam titled "Snub" and was later refined and mixed in studio. "Cage", which originally appeared on Skinny Puppy's 1987 single "

Chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...

", concludes with the line "It's just a little blood... it'll wash out" from

William Lustig William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. Film career As ...

's 1980 horror film, '' Maniac''. "Serpents" is percussion-focused song that blends programmed industrial beats with tribal drums. The single's artwork was designed by

Steven R. Gilmore Steven R. Gilmore is a Canadian artist and graphic designer most known for his work on album cover design, particularly his role as in-house artist for Nettwerk Records for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He has designed record album sleeves for ba ...

, and the back features a large syringe provided by his friend from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

, who also supplied the X-ray images used on ''VIVIsectVI's'' artwork.

Music video

"Testure's" music video, directed by Ogre and produced by Gary Blair Smith, begins with a definition of the word

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...

. What follows is the story of a dog-abusing man who, in turn, becomes a test subject operated on and caged by surgeons. Interspersed with the narrative sections are shots of actual animal testing footage from the 1981 documentary ''

The Animals Film ''The Animals Film'' is a 1981 feature documentary film about the use of animals by human beings, directed by Victor Schonfeld and Myriam Alaux, and narrated by actress Julie Christie. Synopsis ''The Animals Film'' presents a survey of the uses ...

'' and the 1984 PETA film '' Unnecessary Fuss''. According to Ogre and Key, the video was pulled from airplay following an internal poll by Citytv, an associate of Canada's MuchMusic. The poll came out nearly split, but, regardless, the video was ultimately banned by "the powers that be". The video, despite depicting vivisection in "vivid detail", was broadcast on Horizon, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's primary satellite channel, as a critique on materialism.

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from liner notes Skinny Puppy *

– vocals *

– synthesizers, programming, engineering *

Dwayne Goettel Dwayne Rudolph Goettel (February 1, 1964August 23, 1995) was a Canadian electronic musician, best known for his work in the industrial music group Skinny Puppy. Starting his career playing for a variety of acts around Edmonton, he joined Skinny P ...

– synthesizers, programming, engineering *

– production, editing Additional personnel *Dale Plevin –

(tracks 1 and 2) *Sir Arthur – editing (track 1) *

– artwork

Chart positions

References

External links

"Testure"
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

(list of releases)
"Testure"
official music video {{Authority control 1989 singles Animal testing Protest songs Skinny Puppy songs Nettwerk Records singles Capitol Records singles EMI Records singles 1989 songs Songs written by cEvin Key Songs written by Nivek Ogre Songs written by Dwayne Goettel Songs written by Dave Ogilvie Songs about animal rights