We’re still in love with 80’s nostalgia, right? Okay, just checking because I’ve now found an album that has brought me some more 80’s nostalgia. That would be the Vancouver based band “Skinny Puppy” and their fourth studio album “Rabies”. What makes this album so nostalgic? Let me explain.

Personally, I love it when a song has very noticeable drums. Doesn’t matter if they’re very punchy or have a heavy sound to them, as long as they’re very present in the song I think it’s more enjoyable to listen to.

And right off the bat with “Rodent”, you get an 80’s drum machine kicking in that got me into it. But once the actual drums kicked. I was hooked from there. And once it was mixed with the drum machine. That beat definitely makes my head bob back and forth.

Another highlight from this album is the hit song “Worlock”. One of the two singles released for this album, “Worlock” is an excellent song. The steady beat with the drums and drum machine is at its best on this album. It’s not a fast beat like some of the other songs on this album, but it’s that steady beat throughout which makes the song have a little more punch with each snare hit.

The song also uses samples of Charles Manson talking as well as a guitar piece used from the “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles. Which, I would assume came at a hefty price.

The other single from this album is the song “Tin Omen”. Which isn’t as good as “Worlock”, but still a solid song. It feels more like a traditional rock than some of the other songs on the album. Which isn’t a bad thing because it changes it up. Having the guitar being a lot more prominent in this song as opposed to other entries.

At around the 3-minute mark, the song goes from its normal beat to a much faster and more aggressive pace. With the guitar going much faster and then the drums follow suit. And Nivek Ogre’s scream as well on top of it sounds badass.

So if you prefer a more traditional hard rock song, this might be the song to start with if you’re wanting to try and get into Skinny Puppy.

Now for the album as a whole. I’d say the one thing I wasn’t super crazy about was that a lot of the songs sounded very similar. Having said that, I did enjoy the overall sound of the songs on this album. While the one’s I highlighted were my personal favourites from this album. The rest of it wasn’t as memorable. Though I still think I’ll go back and listen to this album from time to time.

So if I had to grade it, I would give “Rabies” a solid B.

So if you’re someone who prefers a more heavy sound when listening to music, I’d recommend giving this a listen. If not, I don’t think this is something for you. But if you’ve listened to this album already, leave a comment below telling me what you thought of it.