Bites (album)

Bites is the first full-length studio album by Canadian industrial band Skinny Puppy, released as an LP through Nettwerk in 1985.[2] It was reissued in 1993 on CD with additional material compiled from cassette releases, international releases, and previously undistributed tracks.[3] The cover art was designed by Steven R. Gilmore.[4]

Bites
Studio album by Skinny Puppy
Released	August 1985
Recorded	1984 - 1985 (Mushroom Studios, Vancouver)
Genre	Industrial, electro-industrial, EBM
Length	40:24 (original) 72:55 (reissue)
Label	Nettwerk (Canada, U.S.) Play It Again Sam (Europe)
Producer	cEvin Key, Dave Ogilvie[1]
Skinny Puppy chronology
Remission (1984) Bites (1985) Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse (1986)

Bites was certified gold by Music Canada on August 5, 1994.[5]

Background

The first CD release of Bites was on the compilation Bites and Remission in 1987.[6] This release replaced the songs "Assimilate" and "The Choke" with remixed versions and it did not include all of the tracks featured on the earlier cassette release, which was significantly longer. A similar but discrete CD called Remission & Bites was released by Play It Again Sam in Europe during the same year. On the 1993 reissue, the song "One Day" is not listed anywhere in the artwork or credits.

The Tear Garden's self-titled EP from 1986 (one year after Bites originally saw release) includes a track called "The Center Bullet", a song that runs nearly ten minutes and that later appeared on the 1993 CD release of Bites as an instrumental titled "The Centre Bullet" (notice the slight spelling variation).[7] The two songs are identical save for the presence of vocals by Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots on The Tear Garden version. Late reissues of The Tear Garden album Tired Eyes Slowly Burning also feature that version of "The Center Bullet". Having both been made by cEvin Key and Dave Ogilvie, it is unclear whether the track was originally a creation of Skinny Puppy or of The Tear Garden.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Billboard	Favorable[9]

Billboard magazine recommended Bites, calling it a "strong club collection a la Kraftwerk".[9] Tom Harrison of The Province gave the album a favorable review, calling it "willfully ugly and menacing", and described its songs as "cleanly produced" and "carefully textured".[10] Tim DiGravina of AllMusic was also receptive, calling the album a "fascinating look at Skinny Puppy in embryonic form", and described its sound as "delicate and pristine". DiGravina also noted the influence of groups such as Depeche Mode, Human League, and Cabaret Voltaire.[8]

Mike Abrams of the Ottawa Citizen thought Bites was depressing and for people with "undiscriminating tastes". He named the songs "Assimilate" and "Last Call" as the album's best tracks.[11] James Muretich of the Calgary Herald was less impressed with Bites, calling the record "annoying" and likened the band to robots.[12]

In 1999, Chart magazine listed Bites among the most influential Canadian albums of the 80s.[13]

Track listing

Original 1985 LP release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Assimilate"	6:56
2.	"Dead Lines"	6:13
3.	"Blood on the Wall"	2:58
4.	"Icebreaker"	3:14
5.	"The Choke"	6:29
6.	"Social Deception"	2:57
7.	"Basement"	3:25
8.	"Last Call"	5:54
9.	"Film"	2:18
Total length:		40:24

1993 CD reissue (tracks 1-9 are labeled as Attack, and 10-16 as Decay)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Assimilate"	6:56
2.	"Blood on the Wall"	2:58
3.	"Dead Lines"	6:13
4.	"Church"	3:16
5.	"Icebreaker"	3:14
6.	"Tomorrow"	4:53
7.	"Dead Doll"	2:28
8.	"Film"	2:18
9.	"Love"	1:51
10.	"The Choke"	6:29
11.	"Social Deception"	2:57
12.	"Christianity"	1:32
13.	"Basement"	3:25
14.	"Last Call"	5:54
15.	"Falling"	4:20
16.	"The Centre Bullet"	9:42
17.	"One Day" (Hidden track)	4:20
Total length:		72:55

1985 Belgian LP release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Assimilate"	6:56
2.	"The Choke"	6:29
3.	"Blood on the Wall"	2:58
4.	"Church"	3:16
5.	"Dead Lines" (Misprinted as 'Deadlines')	6:13
6.	"Last Call"	5:54
7.	"Basement"	3:25
8.	"Tomorrow"	4:53
Total length:		40:04

1985 cassette release (side 1)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Assimilate"	6:56
2.	"Blood on the Wall"	2:58
3.	"Dead Lines"	6:13
4.	"Icebreaker"	3:14
5.	"Film"	2:18
6.	"Church"	3:16
Total length:		24:55

1985 cassette release (side 2)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Choke" (Misprinted as 'Choke')	6:29
2.	"Christianity"	1:32
3.	"Social Deception"	2:57
4.	"Basement"	3:25
5.	"Last Call"	5:54
6.	"Tomorrow"	4:53
7.	"Love"	1:51
Total length:		27:01

Samples[14]

• The song "Assimilate" contains a sample from the 1976 film Marathon Man – "Is it safe?".
• The song "Blood on the Wall" contains a sample from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – "You see? They say it's just an old man talking. You laugh at an old man. There's them that laughs and knows better." It also contains samples from The Tenant (1976).
• The song "The Choke" contains samples from the 1976 film The Tenant – "If you cut off my head, what would I say? Me and my... Me and my head, or me and my body?".
• The songs "Church", "Icebreaker", "Love" and "Basement" contain samples from the 1973 film The Legend of Hell House (1973) – "Get out before I kill you all!"

Personnel

Credits from AllMusic.[1]

Skinny Puppy Nivek Ogre – vocals, guitars, synthesizers, metallic percussion, treatments and objects cEvin Key – bass guitars, guitars, synthesizers, sequencers, tapes, sampler, treatments, acoustic and metallic percussions, drums

Additional musicians and artwork Bill Leeb (as Wilhelm Schroeder) – bass synth on "Icebreaker" and "The Choke" D. Pleven – bass guitar destruction on "Blood on the Wall" Steven R. Gilmore – artwork Greg Sykes – artwork assistance

Technical personnel Dave Ogilvie – production, engineering Tom Ellard – production, mixing, tapes, treatments, and digital sampling on "Assimilate" Terry McBride – executive production

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[5]	Gold	50,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Bites Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
2. "Discogs entry". Discogs. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
3. "1993 discogs entry". Discogs. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
4. Gilmore, Steven R. "Bites typeface notes". Instagram. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
5. "Canadian album certifications – Skinny Puppy – Bites". Music Canada. August 5, 1994. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
6. "Bites and Remission discogs entry". Discogs. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
7. "The Tear Garden Discogs entry". Discogs. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
8. "Bites - Skinny Puppy". Allmusic.
9. "Skinny Puppy 'Bites' Review" (PDF). 97 (40). October 5, 1985: 64. Retrieved 30 September 2016. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. Harrison, Tom (September 22, 1985). "Skinny Puppy: Bites (Nettwerk)". The Province: 13.
11. Abrams, Mike (June 27, 1986). "Skinny Puppy - Bites". Ottawa Citizen: F5.
12. Muretich, James (June 21, 1986). "Skinny Puppy: Bites (Nettwerk): Remission (Nettwerk)". Calgary Herald: E14.
13. Sperounes, Sandra (February 21, 1999). "Lee Aaron? Spoons?". Edmonton Journal: C3.
14. Cigéhn, Peter. "Skinny Puppy samples (The Top Sample Lists)". skinny-puppy.byrdt.org. The Top Sample Lists. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.