One of the things I was on the lookout in Toronto was original pressings of certain Skinny Puppy albums. The original Canadian pressings (the band is from Canada after all) of certain albums have cool designs or features not available on the pressing readily available in the States back in the 80’s. The original pressing of Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse has an insert with the track names (none were listed on the back) and a lock groove at the end of side two so that Burnt with Water plays on until you lift the needle. The original pressing of Cleanse Fold and Manipulate has really cool A & B Side labels on the vinyl. These pressings tend to be expensive to get here in the States and I was hoping to find them cheaper in their native country. I did not find these two …

Which brings me to VIVIsectVI, Skinny Puppy’s masterpiece. I LOVE this album and it has my favorite-est sleeve art ever. Plus, it’s the original pressing I have been wanting the most. I have been trying to find it for quite a few years but this particular pressing seems to be scarce and expensive to buy. Hell … any pressing of VIVIsectVI from 1988 is expensive. The original pressing of this album features a gatefold sleeve and the A & B Side labels have art that was used as the 12″ sleeve art for the first single. Steven R. Gilmore has been quoted as saying this his favorite of the sleeves he design for the band and that it was always intended to be a gatefold presentation. If the internet is to be believed, only 500-1,000 of these were made before they switched over to a single sleeve with the inner gatefold art being used to make the front/back of a printed inner sleeve for the record.

So, I was absolutely gobsmacked to have found a copy at Sonic Boom Records. And, it was reasonably priced too! Needless to say, I am pretty beside myself to finally own this. Now I just need to find those other two and my Skinny Puppy Vinyl Wishlist will be almost complete.