"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 Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

, 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 The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, 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 an electric bass guitar whose neck lacks frets and thus is smooth like traditional string instruments, and like the neck of an acoustic double bass. While the fretless bass is played in all styles of music, it is most common in ...

, and a profusion of samples from Martin Rosen's 1982 film '' The Plague Dogs''. 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 patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and testing. ''

See Magazine ''SEE Magazine'' was a free alternative weekly published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from 1992 to 2011 first by Ron Garth, then by Great West Newspapers, Great West Newspaper. It was published every Thursday, distributing an average of 20,849 copi ...

'' 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 ''The Singles Collect'' is a compilation album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, released in 1999. The release serves as a collection of singles along with a few assorted promotional singles and alternate mixes. The compilation ...

'', 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 ...

and

Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician based in Vancouver. Ogilvie started his recording career as a mixing engineer at Mushroom Studios. He frequently collaborated with industrial band Skinny Puppy ...

, also begins with a protracted series of samples from ''The Plague Dogs''. The song's main

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

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. Si ...

's vocals are not introduced until the three minute mark. This extended mix appeared on 1990's ''

Twelve Inch Anthology ''Twelve Inch Anthology'' is a compilation album by Skinny Puppy. It contains most of the band's early singles and B-sides. The CD is currently out of print but still available for download. The cover design is a collage of previous Steven R G ...

'' 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''

, 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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

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 A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

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 handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...

", 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, 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 university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, 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 test ...

. 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 use ...

'' and the 1984

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

film '' Unnecessary Fuss''. According to Ogre and Key, the video was pulled from airplay following an internal poll by

Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

, an associate of Canada's

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. 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 horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

'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 music, 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, h ...

– synthesizers, programming, engineering *

– production, editing Additional personnel *Dale Plevin –

(tracks 1 and 2) *Sir Arthur – editing (track 1) * Steven R. Gilmore – 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. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

(list of releases)
"Testure"
official music video {{Authority control 1989 singles Animal testing 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