Released
1989
Label
Nettwerk/Capitol
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Visit
Last Edit/Update
23 March, 1998
Skinny Puppy
RABIES
Track Listing
1. Rodent
2. Hexonxonx
3. Two Time Grime
4. Fascist Jockitch
5. Worlock
6. Rain
7. Tin Omen
8. Rivers
9. Choralone
10. Amputate
11. Spahn Dirge (Live)
Al Jourgensen's
hand lies heavy on much of Rabies. The speed-metal guitar riffs that catapulted Ministry
into the alternative mainstream have been transplanted onto Skinny Puppy's
music, but somehow the sounds of Skinny Puppy and Ministry
do not harmonize very well. As a result, Rabies is Skinny Puppy's
most uneven release, although it does contain a few of their finest moments.
The first three tracks on Rabies
are a peculiar mix of the speed-metal-cock-rock of Ministry's The
Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste, and the more dance-oriented of Skinny Puppy's
brap. The percussion on these tracks is dynamic, but lacking the nuances and breaks of
former Skinny Puppy releases; the vocals, too, are more conventional and
largely absent of Ogre's usual theatrical delivery; heavy guitar riffs play a
dominant role as one would expect; and, what synths there are lift these songs immensely.
With the fourth song -- "Fascist Jockitch" -- Jourgensen completely
hijacks the production. Key and Goettel seem altogether absent from this
track, as the guitars and drums travel at a hundred miles an hour, all but leaving Ogre
gasping at the wayside.
Out of this inferno rises
"Worlock" -- one of Skinny Puppy's most sublime creations. The
song is carried by a powerful, soaring, synth theme, over which Ogre delivers a
tour-de-force rant against censorship. A dragging power-beat underscores the piece, making
it a favorite underground danceclub track. "Worlock" was released as a single,
and a video -- assembled from dozens of horror movie clips -- was recorded, but promptly
banned by the very rating board that the song protested in the first place.
Featuring lyrics and vocals
by Cyan, "Rain" is the shortest piece on Rabies, and a very
strange track at that. The vocals are screamed in a distorted voice against a background
of voices that sound like a choir of lost souls wailing. The piece hovers on the spot for
a couple of minutes, sending a chilling, apocalyptic atmosphere at the listener; then, it
fades out into emptiness.
The most successful fusion
of Ministry and Skinny Puppy's sounds follows. On
"Tin Omen" the heavy guitar riffs are effective, at times used as an
expressionistic tool to create the impression of machinegun fire. The lyrics are powerful
and poignant, even if they are delivered in a more traditional manner, than Ogre
normally is known for.
"Rivers" and
"Choralone" appear to be Key and Goettel's answer to the Jourgensen
dominated tracks at Rabies' beginning. With its absence of vocals, its
abundance of film samples and strong synth theme, "Rivers" actually sounds more
like a Doubting Thomas song than Skinny Puppy.
"Choralone" is another very apocalyptic piece. The music has definite classical
leanings, with choral samples and a grand over-all dramatic ambience. The piece contains
some slowed-down coarse vocals that are uttered over the rich background thematics.
"Amputate" sounds
like an amputated track off VIVISectVI. The song features some nicely textured
percussions, strange, singing synth sounds, and Ogre performing his vocals in a
dry-heaving manner. Next after "Worlock," this is the probably the most genuine
sounding Skinny Puppy song on the CD, however, it seems a little flat
compared to the band's past accomplishments.
The CD closes with a very
extended studio jam-session that sounds very little like Skinny Puppy,
and the inclusion of which is highly curious. In a sense it is perhaps a fitting ending to
an album that seems to have been pieced together by a number of individuals pursuing their
personal tangents, rather than by a band working towards a common goal.
The initial release of Rabies
was further marred by a mixing error that caused the CD to have a rather muffled sound.
However, the recordings were later remastered, and the CD re-released according to the
original intentions. Any
pressing released after 1989 features the new and 'correct'
mastering.
Copyright Last Sigh
