When I first listened to this album, I hated it. I had bought Charlie's Family a few months ago (this was sometime in '04), and loved it. It was what I expected from the members of Skinny Puppy. Now, cEvin's solo releases are nothing like Charlie's Family, or most SP releases (with the exception of The Dragon Experience), but I love them all. They may not be Skinny Puppy, but they show a lot of character and insight and are just as chaotic and haunting. What I didn't like about Effector, was that it seemed too straight forward to me. Had it not been for the name Download on the cover, I wouldn't never have thought it was a work by cEvin.

About a month ago, I listened to it again in it's entirety. I respect it much more this time around. Although it's not as dark or as characteristically haunting as other works by cEvin, it's still good.

A budding interest in consciousness altering substances and obvious references to same in the track titles on this cd led to the proverbial opening of my third eye.
That Key was involved in making music more suited to "higher" planes (however you got there) totally seemed to make sense as THE next step after Puppy.
I think he retained a lot of integrity in taking a step in that direction.
If what the Puppy did was wallow in despair and anger at the human condition, then Downloads Effector reflects on the process of overcoming, and perhaps even, "beat"ing it.