EDMONTON, Alberta, Aug. 27— Dwayne Goettel, keyboard player for the influential Canadian rock band Skinny Puppy, has died of a heroin overdose. He was 31.
Mr. Goettel was discovered on Wednesday collapsed on the floor of his family's home in Edmonton, where he had been vacationing, his father, Rudy Goettel, said.
Skinny Puppy, which was formed in Vancouver in 1983, was a pioneer in industrial rock rooted in computer-generated music and was a strong influence on such American bands as Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. Its cryptic lyrics and claustrophobic sound became a powerful force shaping alternative-rock music.
The band's ninth album is to be released at the end of the year, a spokeswoman for their label, American Recording, said.
Mr. Goettel played the trumpet in his high school band in High Level, Alberta, but his musical interest blossomed when the family moved to Edmonton, where he learned piano and began performing on the local music scene.
Rudolph Goettel said his son had just finished work in Los Angeles on an album for another rock group, Down Load.
Mr. Goettel is also survived by his mother, Marie, a sister, Diane, and a grandmother, Helen