Skeptics "III" 1987

From the early 1980s, The Skeptics made music of rhythmic collisions and contortions and they heartily journeyed into zones of discordancy. David D’Ath’s almost painterly style of using words and sounds set the band apart from its contemporaries. In the mid-1980s, The Skeptics were early adopters of samplers, creating a strange and otherworldly body of music with oddly symphonic components…In late 1987 The Skeptics’ III album came out. The first release by The Skeptics Mark Two, it was a critical success and a brilliant exposition of their new phase. The cover image, a blurred and somewhat austere portrait painting by Halvorsen, perfectly summed up the mood and feel of the songs within it. ‘Agitator’ in particular – with its pretty piano arpeggio section segueing into a monstrous nightmare type space, then into an evocative chant by D’Ath. ‘AFFCO’ is another standout track. Much has been written about its notorious video directed by Stuart Page, and its banning from broadcast by TVNZ, but it is a 16mm artistic tour de force that enabled urbanites to look at the usually hidden reality of the abattoir. - Michael Canningtrax:

01 AFFCO 02 Feeling Bad 03 Agitator 04 Turnover 05 La Motta 06 Notice 07 Rain 08 Luna 09 Crave

…served by Gaius...