Skinny Puppy - Rabies

Few albums in Skinny Puppy's catalog are as aggressive, confrontational, or divisive as Rabies. Released in 1989, the Canadian industrial pioneers' fifth studio album pushed their already unsettling sound into heavier territory, bringing distorted guitars and a distinctly metallic edge to their nightmarish electronics. The result is one of the band's most abrasive recordings, but also one of their most fascinating.

By the time Rabies arrived, Skinny Puppy had established themselves as one of the defining acts of the industrial underground. Albums like Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, Cleanse Fold and Manipulate, and VIVIsectVI had developed an unmistakable sonic identity built around dense synthesizers, fractured rhythms, disturbing samples, and Nivek Ogre's heavily processed vocals.

For Rabies, the group took an unexpected turn by bringing Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen into the studio. Credited as Alien Jourgensen, he contributed guitar, vocals, and production alongside cEvin Key and longtime collaborator Dave Ogilvie. His presence introduced a harder, more guitar-driven approach that occasionally brought Skinny Puppy's sound closer to the emerging industrial metal movement.

The opening track, "Rodent," wastes little time establishing the album's hostile atmosphere. Grinding rhythms, distorted electronics, and Ogre's venomous vocal delivery create an oppressive introduction that feels deliberately designed to unsettle. "Hexonxonx" follows with a similarly punishing combination of mechanical percussion, abrasive textures, and relentless electronic experimentation.

There's an almost suffocating quality to much of Rabies. Where earlier Skinny Puppy recordings often buried their aggression beneath layers of strange electronic detail, these songs frequently bring that aggression directly to the surface. The guitars are louder, the rhythms more forceful, and the overall production feels considerably more confrontational.

"Fascist Jock Itch" is among the album's most ferocious moments, combining pounding industrial rhythms with distorted guitars and an atmosphere of barely contained hostility. It's one of the clearest examples of Jourgensen's influence, though the band's characteristic sound manipulation and unsettling vocal treatments remain firmly intact.

Then there's "Worlock," arguably one of the finest songs Skinny Puppy ever recorded. Emerging from a haze of distorted samples and atmospheric electronics, the track gradually unfolds into something unexpectedly melodic and deeply melancholic. Ogre's haunting vocal performance gives the song an emotional weight that contrasts beautifully with the album's more abrasive material.

The accompanying music video, assembled from violent imagery drawn from horror films, became notorious for its graphic content and remains one of the band's most memorable visual statements. Musically, however, "Worlock" demonstrates something equally important: Skinny Puppy's ability to create genuine beauty within their deeply unsettling sonic world.

"Tin Omen" returns to more confrontational territory, combining relentless programmed percussion, distorted guitars, and politically charged lyrics inspired by the 1970 Kent State shootings. It's one of the album's most powerful tracks, channeling anger and social commentary into a particularly punishing piece of industrial music.

Elsewhere, "Two Time Grime" explores the band's more experimental tendencies, while "Rivers" and "Choralone" offer glimpses of the atmospheric complexity that characterized their earlier work. Even at its most aggressive, Rabies never entirely abandons the strange electronic textures and unpredictable arrangements that made Skinny Puppy so distinctive.

The album's heavier direction proved controversial among longtime fans, some of whom felt Jourgensen's involvement overshadowed the band's established sound. Yet that tension is precisely what makes Rabies such an interesting entry in their catalog. It captures a group experimenting with new possibilities, occasionally sacrificing cohesion in pursuit of something louder, harsher, and more immediate.

In retrospect, Rabies occupies an important position in the evolution of industrial music. Its collision of electronic experimentation, abrasive guitars, and mechanical rhythms anticipated elements of the industrial metal explosion that would gain considerable momentum in the early 1990s.

Originally released in November 1989 through Nettwerk, Rabies returned to vinyl in October 2019 with this Nettwerk reissue. Pressed on black vinyl, the LP features the original nine-track album, including the singles "Worlock" and "Tin Omen."

Harsh, chaotic, and occasionally hauntingly beautiful, Rabies remains one of Skinny Puppy's most uncompromising albums. It may not be their most cohesive recording, but its willingness to push industrial music into darker and heavier territory makes it an essential chapter in the band's remarkable catalog.