Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key while he was in the new wave band Images in Vogue, Skinny Puppy evolved into a full-time project with the addition of vocalist Nivek Ogre. Over the course of 13 studio albums and many live tours, Key and Ogre were the only constant members. Other members have included Dwayne Goettel, Dave "Rave" Ogilvie, Bill Leeb, Mark Walk (2003–2023), and a number of guests, including Al Jourgensen (1989), Danny Carey (2004), and many others.
Dwayne Rudolph Goettel was a Canadian electronic musician, best known for his work in the industrial music group Skinny Puppy. Starting his career playing for a variety of acts around Edmonton, he joined Skinny Puppy in 1986 following the departure of keyboardist Bill Leeb. A classically trained pianist, he helped to broaden Skinny Puppy's sound with his extensive knowledge of equipment and sampling. He assisted bandmate cEvin Key on a number of side projects such as The Tear Garden and Doubting Thomas, and helped form the experimental electronic group Download. He also created the independent record label Subconscious Communications with friend and colleague Phil Western as a means to release his solo work.
Rabies is the fifth studio album by Skinny Puppy. It was released on November 21, 1989 through Nettwerk. The album notably features Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen who performed electric guitar and vocals on several songs. The album spawned two singles, "Tin Omen" and "Worlock", the latter of which becoming one of the band's most recognizable songs. The cover art was made by longtime Skinny Puppy collaborator Steven R. Gilmore. In 1993 the CD edition was reissued by Nettwerk to correct mastering errors in the original release.
Kevin William Crompton, known professionally as cEvin Key, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. He is best known as a member of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded in 1982 with singer Nivek Ogre. Initially a side project while he was with the new wave band Images in Vogue, Skinny Puppy quickly became his primary musical outlet after landing a record deal with Nettwerk Records in 1984.
VIVIsectVI is the fourth studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released on September 12, 1988 through Nettwerk. Despite tackling controversial topics like animal rights, chemical warfare, and environmental waste, VIVIsectVI was well-received. It spawned two singles, "Censor", which was released on the album as "Dogshit", and "Testure", which was Skinny Puppy's only song to chart on Billboard's Dance Club Songs. VIVIsectVI was followed by a theatrically involved tour with Nine Inch Nails as the opening act.
Remission is a 1984 EP by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, their record label debut and first release with Nettwerk. The 12-inch EP originally featured six tracks, then, a year later in 1985, it was released on cassette with five additional songs that lengthened the release to a full album. This expansion became the default version of Remission.
Bites is the first full-length studio album by Canadian industrial band Skinny Puppy, released as an LP through Nettwerk in 1985. It was reissued in 1993 on CD with additional material compiled from cassette releases, international releases, and previously undistributed tracks. The cover art was designed by Steven R. Gilmore.
Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse is the second studio album by Skinny Puppy, released on September 5, 1986. It contained the single "Dig It", which inspired several industrial music contemporaries, including Nine Inch Nails. "Dig It" received extensive airplay on MTV and was listed by Billboard as a recommended dance track. The song "Stairs and Flowers" was also released as a single.
Too Dark Park is the sixth studio album by the industrial music group Skinny Puppy. The album cover features the debut appearance of the band's "SP" logo. The cover art was created by Vancouver based artist Jim Cummins. The artwork for this album and its associated singles was inspired by cosmic horror stories such as the Cthulhu Mythos. Lyrical themes include collapse of society due to destruction of nature, drug addiction, and psychological issues.
Last Rights is the seventh studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released in March 1992 as the group's final record distributed through Nettwerk. Last Rights saw the band experimenting with two opposite extremes: cacophonous heavy music and gloomy melodies, resulting in moments of industrial weight as well as moments of uncharacteristic softness. Along with containing some of the band's most impenetrable walls of sound and an eleven-minute track composed almost entirely of manipulated and distorted samples, Last Rights also features Skinny Puppy's first ballad.
The Process is the eighth studio album by Canadian industrial band Skinny Puppy. Released by American Recordings on February 27, 1996, The Process was the band's final album before it reformed in 2000 and released The Greater Wrong of the Right in 2004. Skinny Puppy's keyboardist, Dwayne Goettel, died near the end of The Process' recording, and the album experienced difficult production and record-label intrusion.
"Censor" is a song by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, taken from its 1988 album VIVIsectVI and released as a single in the same year. "Censor's" original title was "Dogshit", which was changed for this release's marketability.
Worlock is a single by the band Skinny Puppy from the album Rabies. The song uses a sample of the guitars in "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles, as well as a vocal sample of Charles Manson singing the song. Vocalist Nivek Ogre considered it one of the band's better songs.
"Addiction" is a song by the band Skinny Puppy, taken from their 1987 album Cleanse Fold and Manipulate. It was released on vinyl in 1987 and released on CD in 1991 (Canada) and 1997. The lyrics of the song quote the 19th century Gothic novel Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin.
"Testure" is a song by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, taken from its 1988 album VIVIsectVI and released as a single in 1989. "Testure" was the group's first and last song to chart on Billboards's Dance Club Songs, and it was accompanied with a controversial music video.
"Inquisition" is a song by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released as a single on March 24, 1992 in advance of its host album, Last Rights (1992). The B-side "Lahuman8" was created at the request of the Québécois contemporary dance group La La La Human Steps.
"Track 10", originally titled "Left Handshake", is a song by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy created for its 1992 album Last Rights. The track was meant to close Last Rights, but it was ultimately cut due to threatened legal action from the owner of a sample that appears in the song. "Track 10" did not see individual release until August 20, 2000, when it was sold at Skinny Puppy's reunion performance in Germany.
Spasmolytic is a single by the band Skinny Puppy from the album Too Dark Park. Deftones created a remix of the song that was included on Remix dystemper and the Saw IV soundtrack. At a running time of 31:22, "Spasmolytic" is Skinny Puppy's longest 12-inch single.
Weapon is the twelfth and final studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released on May 28, 2013, through Metropolis Records. Skinny Puppy received mainstream media attention when the band billed the U.S. government for using its music as torture in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which was a primary source of inspiration for the album. Musically, Weapon's sound is reminiscent of Skinny Puppy's earliest releases, Remission (1984) and Bites (1985), due to the employment of old equipment and simplified songwriting.
