Lost in legal limbo since 1995 when it was originally recorded for Rick Rubin's American Recordings label, former Skinny Puppy frontman Nivek Ogre, in conjunction with producer/programmer Mark Walk, mix techno with modern rock, resulting in the group ohGr and this CD, Welt. A voice sounding like Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks in some mad amalgam of Kraftwerk and Black Sabbath, Welt is abrasive, gruff, melodic, and dark. Opening with the trancey, dancey "Water," the industrial leanings of this duo are evident from the outset. On first listen the album blurs from one tune to the next, but after repeated spins, each song's identity becomes clearer. It is the nature of electronic music to confuse the senses -- Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, released on CD by Buddah, is perhaps the best example of that, and though Welt is certainly more cohesive than Reed's wall of noise, this stuff can still pull you into a vacuum. Does the record work as a listening experience, or is it exclusively for dancefloors? That's the paradox of Welt. Borrowing a page from the Talking Heads' 1979 release, Fear of Music, where eight of the 11 selections had one-word titles, all 11 tracks here have minimal names. "Devil"'s Ozzy-type voice and riff collides with track three, Kettle's keyboard grunge sirens. A tentative machine-shop melody with clever twists and turns, the hook is one of the strongest on the record. This is dark, dirge-like material which would put the '80s band the Human League and their Martin Rushent production underwater, passing Marilyn Manson along the way. "Pore" has a lyric line much like the bubblegum hit from 1974 by Reunion, "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me"; "Cracker" boasts the best hook on this record, the incessant "It's an original," followed by one of the more musical vignettes, "Solow." "Suhleap" follows and takes the album further into this dance underground where the keyboards become caustic, but not as difficult as the grand finale, track 11, "Minus," where the noise reaches an unbearable level with a riveting chorus, a constant and tough "We Will Rock You"-type anthem. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
Representative Albums: "Kicked in the Teeth Again", "Broke Down", "Better Days
Biography
Formed in 1993, punk popsters Welt hail from Sacramento, CA. Despite numerous lineup changes over the years, founding member and main songwriter Jason Cooper (bass/vocals) has remained a constant fixture. Signing with the independent (and now defunct) Dr. Dream label shortly after Welt's formation, a series of singles were issued, as well as the full-lengths Better Days in 1995, Kicked in the Teeth in 1996, and Broke Down in 1998, during which time the band relocated to Orange County, CA. By the late '90s, Welt's permanent lineup became solidified, consisting of the ever-present Cooper, guitarists Tobe Bean and Todd Harper, plus drummer Marc Harrismendy. 2001 saw Welt's first release for the Better Youth Record Co., Brand New Dream . ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
The project ohGr was originally titled W.E.L.T., an acronym meaning "When Everyone Learns Truth." Ogre and Walk adopted the title ohGr when they learned that another band had taken the Welt namesake during the 5-year period in which Ogre attempted to retrieve the master tapes of W.E.L.T. from American Records.[1]
The capital letters in the song titles put together yields the phrase: "AREVILEEARTHORSICKSOWENUS."
