Hilt

Though commonly viewed as an offshoot of industrial legends Skinny Puppy, the brief existence of Hilt actually traced back to a time before that group's formation. In Vancouver's nascent punk community during the closing years of the 1970s, vocalist Al Nelson and multi-instrumentalist cEVIN Key collaborated within the band Illegal Youth. Following the dissolution of that ensemble, Key progressed through Images in Vogue before arriving at Skinny Puppy. Nelson persisted with projects leaning toward punk, yet also contributed to Skinny Puppy by serving as cinematographer on the band's notorious, harrowing concert films. Occasional musical partnerships between Nelson and Key occurred, sometimes including Key's Skinny Puppy collaborator Dwayne Goettel, though formal recordings remained impossible until the Nettwerk label issued a challenge to produce material on a minimal budget. Accepting this proposition, the three enlisted veteran Skinny Puppy producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie to create the 1990 release Call the Ambulance Before I Hurt Myself. Ogilvie incorporated additional musicians such as Betsy Martin from Caterwaul and Mark Shaffer. Echoing other Skinny Puppy-associated works, the outcome carried echoes of the primary group alongside unique deviations. A series of singles appeared, succeeded by the second album Journey to the Center of the Bowl in 1991, yet Hilt dissolved gradually while Key and Goettel devoted greater attention to Skinny Puppy. Nelson's death came in 2000.