Not a fan of the "I'll write 3000 words of drivel about a bar of soap to get myself an E" ...
Not a fan of the "I'll write 3000 words of drivel about a bar of soap to get myself an E" school of Ciao-ing. I think it's more important to write something well and succinctly. Of course, I may be in a minority!... :)
Member since:14.09.2003
Reviews:112
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It's probably best to summarise this band before going into the detail- Ministry are a heavily influential industrial-dance-metal band (or one man- Al Jourgensen- with various musicians). Combining hoarse, venomous vocals with pounding drums, atmospheric loops and feedback and huge, often fast guitar riffs, this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the band has an interesting history which I'm sure most of you will find interesting.
Visually, Ministry are far more interesting than most industrial bands, who tend to be shadowy people working behind their walls of sound with rarely any acknowledgement of the audience. Al Jourgensen's almost Mad Max-like biker-cowboy-outlaw look (which reminded many of Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim) certainly sets them apart when they play live.
The Ministry you will hear if you pick up any of their albums from the late 80s onwards is very different than the Ministry of the early and mid 80s. In fact, you will probably not even believe it's the same band.
The best way to tell this tale is to relate to you the time when I was browsing through the CDs of a second-hand record store and discovered what I thought was a "forgotten" album by the band (how right I turned out to be)- called "With Sympathy" from 1983. Heedlessly I snatched it up and took it home, eager to play this new find.
I suppose alarm bells were already ringing when I found a picture of the band on the inside cover, looking very much like Wham. Hmm, I thought, what a very odd look to go for. Then I put the CD on and found that the look fitted the music perfectly.
I did sit and listen to the entire album, mainly because I was in a state of shock, unable to believe that this was the same band... certain that it was some dreadful mistake, that this very very bad New Romantic album was by someone else called Ministry. Some research followed and I discovered that yes indeed, this was by the same band. So avoid this album! (by the way, Al Jourgensen refuses point-blank to talk about this album... can't say I blame him really)
Moving swiftly on, their 1986 album "Twitch" had more of a synth-industrial feel, without moving an awful lot further on, but 1988's "The Land of Rape and Honey" marked a definite change in direction, featuring industrial metal loops, moe heavy guitar and an altogether more menacing, brooding feel, which was continued into 1989's "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" which was even heavier and harsher.
Their 1992 album, "Psalm 69" pushed Ministry into the spotlight. With industrial music having been popularised by bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Frontline Assembly, Ministry were also becoming far more well-known, and this, probably their best album, is proof of how far the band had come. This is dancey, industrial rock at its best, featuring some of the band's best ever tracks like "New World Order" and "Just One Fix".
Ministry disappeared for a while after that, emerging in 1996 with a new album "Filth Pig" which was good but didn't get any decent reviews. It featured a cover of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" which, like every Dylan cover, is far better than the original.
The band have been more prolific of late, releasing three albums since 1999, including one earlier this year which is a definite return to form after some uncertainty over the musical direction they were taking and over some lacklustre songs in the previous two albums.
They're not a band everyone will like by any means, but if you like this kind of music and haven't yet heard them- then you should!
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I hold al jourgensen and Pslam 69 personally responsible for Marylin Manson. If i ever meet uncle al or Buck Satan or whatever he's called these days i'll........well......probably run away crying cos hes a lunatic :-) Ever noticed how every other Ministry album is a really dark heroin album?
Classic band, heard some of the new album and it looks like they are back on form.
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