Gene Hoglan has released a video playthrough of the Strapping Young Lad song “Skeksis”. The song originally appeared on the group’s 2005 offering Alien (Century Media). The playthrough is part of Hoglan‘s forthcoming DVD The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two, which is set to drop on February 3rd. Hoglan recalls the original writing/recordings of “Skeksis”, offering:
“Devin [Townsend] and I wrote the tune in late summer, early fall of ’04, at this shabby downtown Vancouver rehearsal space that kinda represented where we were both at mentally in our lives. I remember him mentioning that he’d love to have an Almighty PunchDrunk (one of my all-time favorite bands whom I’ve also drummed for) feel and vibe to whatever was about to come out of us. To me, that meant to include, ‘the PunchDrunk beat’, which is this great, samba-esque, Latin-feel beat (that I am sure has a name, I’d love to know it) which PD proudly stole from the legendary Canadian band The Smalls. I’m sure you’ve all heard it a time or two.
Dev and I played around the beat the whole song, getting closest to it in the chorus, then really sinking into it in the last minute or so, in the part I refer to as the ‘girl fight’ part, because that’s what it sounds like Dev is saying there. It is such a fun beat to play, and a real satisfying denouement to the song. A moment of crowning glory to a ruling tune. The version on the new DVD is a completely re-envisioned mix, where the vocals and samples are absent, really bringing out the rhythm guitars and basic tracks.”
The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two DVD features the veteran drummer breaking down some of his favorite beats, telling stories, and playing along with tracks from some of his notable projects, including Strapping Young Lad, Testament, and Death. Pre-orders of the release can be picked up here and here.
