Skinny Puppy – “Rabies”
So, technically, October is spooky month so why not listen to some Skinny Puppy? We all know by this point that I am a huge fan of Skinny Puppy and their varying side projects. I actually just wrote about their debut EP not too long ago. Now, “Rabies” was actually the first Skinny Puppy album I had listened to when I was like 13 or 14. The sound completely intrigued me, which lead to a deep dive into their entire catalog, which I just relistened to last year.
The album opens with the song “Rodent” which has a really good beat, the occasional scream but the drum machine and synthesizer. We get some vocals by Nivek, and some of the famed sampling by Dwayne Goettel, “I came back to Earth with a great rock and roll band” – the guitar playing is pretty on point as well. Next we continue with the first Skinny Puppy song I heard, “Hexonxox” and it’s just got that beat that makes you move, and what I really like about this song is the use of horror movie sampling, they use many quotes from old horror movies in this song. “Be prepared the enter a world stranger than you have ever imagined…” and “it has the strength of a million souls” – honestly one of the most solid Skinny Puppy songs. We continue on with the song “Two Time Grime” which is a good song, it’s got that Skinny Puppy sound that all of us fans of Skinny Puppy love, and it keeps you interested. During the production of this album, Al Jourgensen of Ministry was involved in the mastering, recording of some of the songs, even providing electric guitar on a few. His inclusion on this album did create some tension between the band members, and drew reviews from the critics that this album had more of the same kind of sound Ministry did. The A-Side closes out with “Fascist Jock Itch” which definitely does have that Ministry sound to it, and I bet that the guitar playing is Al. It’s a very loud and heavy song, but it’s a solid track. I can definitely understand by cEvin and Dwayne had issues with Al being involved, as truthfully, though this is one of my favorite Skinny Puppy albums, it does come off almost like a Ministry album. This song was inspired by a run in that Nivek had with some skinheads.
“Worlock” opens the B-Side, and it is one of Skinny Puppy’s most known songs, and it features samples of the guitars from the Beatles “Helter Skelter” as well as Charles Manson singing parts of the song. The lyrics and vocals by Nivek are wonderful, the programming by cEvin and Dwayne is pure art. This song is also considered to be more ‘pure’ to original Skinny Puppy material. “Rain” follows next, which is the shortest song on the album, coming in just under a minute and a half and features Cyan Meeks on vocals. In my opinion, probably not the best song on the album, but it’s not long enough to really make a difference. “Tin Omen” comes next, which was another one of the songs that was written by Al in mind, which is probably why the song has such heavy guitar in it. The song references such events as Tiananmen Square protests, My Lai massacre and Kent State shootings. “Rivers” comes next, it features samples from several films and has more of that early Skinny Puppy sound to it. One that makes you feel like you can dance to it. Another solid song. We close out with “Choralone” and it’s got more of the darker ambient sound to it, it’s one of the shorter songs again, but still not a bad close out.
Catalog Number:
0 6700 30040 1 5
Credits:
Produced & Engineered by Dave Ogilvie, Alien Jourgensen & cEvin Key
Additional Engineering & Assistance – Marc Ramaer, Ken Marshall, D. Rudolph Goettel, Greg Reely
Recorded at Mushroom Studios, Vancouver
Mixed at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver
Guitar & Vocals – Alien Jourgensen
Backing Vocals – Rave & Cyan
Vocals on ‘Rain’ – Cyan
Sleeve Design & Typography – Steven R. Gilmore
Typesetting – Greg Sykes
Released:
1989 (Original) | 2019 (Reissue)
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