Skinny Puppy - Rabies

Released in 1989, Rabies is Skinny Puppy’s fifth studio album and one of their most polarizing and hard-hitting records. Marked by a darker, more aggressive edge, the album features prominent contributions from Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen—credited as Alien Jourgensen—whose guitar work and vocals inject a raw industrial-metal intensity into several tracks.

This collaboration pushed the band into new territory, blending their signature sample-heavy soundscapes with a harsher, more confrontational style. The result is a volatile, uncompromising listen that still retains Skinny Puppy’s experimental roots.

Rabies produced two standout singles: “Tin Omen,” a politically charged anthem laced with fiery energy, and “Worlock,” a haunting and cinematic track that has since become one of the band’s most iconic songs. The album’s visual presentation was once again crafted by longtime collaborator Steven R. Gilmore, whose artwork captures the record’s chaotic and dystopian aesthetic.

Fierce and confrontational, Rabies remains a key release in Skinny Puppy’s catalog—both for its sound and its role in bridging industrial and metal influences during a pivotal era for the genre.