RGB

Discussion
1

Well, It would seem I was one of the few that waited around until the actual release date to pick up RGB.

And what can I say, I liked it…A LOT.

I think it’s by far the fastest Ministry album ever…thing runs like a speeding freight train.

Al seemed to elect to take the Ministry sound back a bit into it’s older direction. Machine gun fire drums return, vocal samples and “industrialish” apocalypitc backing sounds are everythere, and well, just a general assortment of audio manipulation tricks that aren’t going to be pulled off naturally with just a guitar. Ministry are hitting heavily into programming once again. Further, more of the minimalist approach has returned…things are jumping around to a major progression for when a guitar solo comes in and such…they just remain constant. The solo’s also seem more rare and are quick and concise when they come in…I’m not a big fan of guitar solos, and haven’t really liked Ministry’s exploration into their use post 69…they’ve got me to enjoy there use again here though.

A good portion of the songs were written by Al and Victor, and in this does show…a Prong like influence is definately noticeable.

A couple songs were by Al and Raven, and I’ll confess, outside of the title track and last track, proved to be my favorites. I’ll note that the last track on the album I thought was sheer genius…nice combination of atmospherics and agression.

I’m all about anger with a message…essientially these aggressive bands out there that are angry at pretty much nothing in particular are just plain silly (whiners), but I’ll confess that having an entire album pointed pretty much just one direction (Bush) did grow a bit tiresome. But not to tiresome, I thorougly enjoyed the album through out.

Interestingly, I received a 50 song download card with my purchase. I know these things were being dished out for pre-orders, but appearently some of them were still left over and actually made it into stores.

Lot of people (I believe Al included) looked at Houses as being Psalm part 2…well, if Houses was part two, this would definately be part 3. In fact, outside of it’s speed, this album reminded me a lot more of Psalm than Houses did.

Out of 10 points, I’d give this album an 8 to 8 and a half…it’s not perfect, but it is DAMN GOOD.

-Al

2

well, i waited for the official relase myself too, had only heard Great Satan beforehand, and my thoughts on the new album?

WHO ARE THESE IMPOSTERS?

i can’t believe this is a ministry album, what’s the point of Raven being there when you can hardly here his input, who the fuck is sergant major?

the only thing i can say is the songs would sound better live, as the album sounds way too kmfdm-ish.

this cd makes DSOTS seem like an award winning release!

3

I haven’t yet heard the album, but am fearing that it’s going to be basically pretty generic industrialized speedmetal. When Barker left the band, it seems like all the creativity left with him.

Funny thing is, when have you ever really heard Raven on an album? The first Killing Joke album he plays on (Fire Dances) has basically no bass in the mix, and the most recent one he plays on has the bass so submerged in the mix it might as well not even be there. All the KJ records that Youth plays on have plenty of bass in the mix. Wonder how/why Raven puts up with that shit?

4

there were a couple of KMFDMish moments… but i thought it had a nice metal sound to it…

i think it’s only real weeakness is the direct feed sound that nine inch nails has…

psalm 69 had a nice classic but heavier than most metal sound to it, that would have ben nice here.

and for what HOTM was doing the technology just made it comically heavy, this album has a much better mix going on.

the one thing pual barker really haded to ministry was catchiness… which HOTM didn’t have aside from track 1 and ‘warp city’

but this one is stuck in my head quite nicley…

but like i said, i would prefered a more amp sound from the guitars, there are some moments where i wonder if its a keyboard.

but over all i love it.

5

I used that 50 song offer to pick up:
Throbbing Gristle - First Annual Report
Merzbow - Frog+
Nurse With Wound - Soliloquy For Lilith
Upper Crust - Let Them Eat Rock
Crispy Ambulance - The Plateau Phase (thanks 1002)
plus some assorted TKK, Special Affect, and “Show Me Your Spine” (again).
Considering all of those, I’d say it was definitely worth picking up RGB.

6

I got “Vertigo Feeling” from the Rykodisc comp.
Pretty slick.

7

Picked up RGB today, didnt realise it was actually released but when I walked into the shop there it was staring at me. Must admit I havent really been anticipating a release from Ministry since the whole ‘Houses’ fiasco. I have only listened to it properly once and on first impressions its along the same direction as Houses but discernibly not as simplistic and banal as that record. Its not really a Ministry record as such (comparatively speaking with all Ministy albums pre 2003) and its definitely a metal album. But its not as instantaneous as Houses which I feel is a good thing because lets face it: good Ministry albums take a while to get into. ‘The Great Satan’ and the last two songs stand out as the best songs so far, but im off to listen to it some more and give it a proper review.

8

The first time I listened to this was the day it came out. I was instantly dissappointed with the further exploration of speed and thrash metal and the lack of ïndustrial sounds and programming.

The second listen was different, however. I finally came to terms with where Al is going with these new releases. He’s not exploring new territory (sorry, no more ingenious songs like “Nursing Home” or “Impossible”) but he is putting out some damn good industrial metal.

Also I kind of got over the whole tired Bush ranting thing and told myself “well if this is what legitimately pisses Al off and inspires him, then why the fuck not talk about it”

I really feel that the tracks fuse together incredibly and the production is absolutely STELLAR on this CD. I don’t understand why people are complaining…the crispness of it astounded me.

So as a whole the best moments of Rio Grande Blood cannot match up to the best moments of the albums with Paul Barker, but Rio Grande Blood is way more consistently good than any Ministry album except for Filth Pig and Land of Rape and Honey.

A few tracks on CDs like Animositisomina and Dark Side of the Spoon just scream “SKIP ME”, but I can listen to Rio Grande Blood the whole way through without feeling the need to skip more than maybe 2 tracks.

Overall an improvement on Houses of the Mole and another solid release in the Ministry catalogue. I am pleasantly suprised.

9

I really feel that the tracks fuse together incredibly and the production is absolutely STELLAR on this CD. I don’t understand why people are complaining…the crispness of it astounded me.

you like “crispiness”, but i like “balanced” more. on mind album you won’t have your ears bleeding because of superultradistortion on everything and when the vocals are drilling your ears with “sssssssss”.

A few tracks on CDs like Animositisomina and Dark Side of the Spoon just scream “SKIP ME”, but I can listen to Rio Grande Blood the whole way through without feeling the need to skip more than maybe 2 tracks.

heh. for me it’s the other way - on RGB i can listen to first track and then great satan remix and… that’s it.

it seems just that on houses and rio grande every songs are alike. too much alike, alas. there is no more diversity of lorah and mind of course… and probably never will be.

i’m hoping for al’s buck satan project… lost all hope to see another lard cd.

10

I think you’ll see new Lard before Buck Satan. At least Jello is recording with them again.

11

Oh, also - Lard LP would be my DREAMS COME TRUE, but I’m fearing that since Jello is featured on the new Ministry AND Revco releases, perhaps it won’t happen. Is there any info to the contrary? Please?

12

yea good points too. maybe you’re right about animositisomina being the downfall… and i didn’t like it at first when it got released, it grew on me suddenly only 2 years later.

yes the classic/gold/glory/peak days are long gone, no doubt about it.

it just fucking sad to see al struggling to get sort of popular again… yes, it’s fucking great he’s off the drugs and stuff, but damn, the after-2003 albums of ministry camp so far overall are sub-par.

houses of the mole sort of made me reappreciate animositisomina again.

on houses and rio grande it’s just boring exploitation of traditional ‘ministry’ hooks. and not even good ones.

yes, everything changes, etc.

but it would be still much nicer if al shut down ministry and form another band or project - sort of a fresh start or something.

because what was left of ministry died on animositisomina indeed.

imo.

13

I listened to Houses… again last night for the first time since I heard RGB.
They’re really not very much alike at all.

14

just thought i’d comment, since i feel a little differently to everyone else.

houses and animositisomina were two very similar sounding albums that lacked hooks and decent songs. houses flowed ok, but was pretty middle of the road. animositisomina had a couple of good tracks but failed to hold my attention. they’re very hard albums to listen to from start to finish. rgb is far superior. it’s consistantly good from start to finish with better production and songwriting than the previous two albums. the bush bashing has never been an issue for me, it’s what the guy cares about and what gives him the inspiration to write. fair enough. at least he’s making it sound good this time… and yeh, rgb is a hell of a lot like psalm 69, sure, but that’s a good thing after the last two albums. this is the album al’s been promising to make since before filthpig was released, i believe. i remember him saying that filthpig (my personal favourite) was going to be faster, heavier, louder… hmmm, one and a half out of three? maybe?
so, my personal opinion is that this album is more than worthy to sit alongside mind, land, psalm, twitch and filthpig on my cd shelf, cos i can listen to and enjoy the whole album. i couldn’t even do that with dsots (even though it is a good album).

so, anyone else loving the return of al’s wahwah? [;)]

15

I listened to Houses… again last night for the first time since I heard RGB.
They’re really not very much alike at all.

Of course it doesn’t. Just look at the source of who said that, though. Gila is just a pathetic whiner/troll whose posts are more redundant than he claims Ministry to have become. This nose bleed is the provenance of a large portion of the negativity on this site.

16

Wuh? I’ve never known Gila to be a “troll,” what the hell are you talking about? Sure, he’s disappointed or whatever, but so are a lot of us here, honestly.
I have noticed that you’re one angry dude, Deadguy, always ripping on people. Gila was talking about the music, not any of the posters here. As you just did. Troll, huh? Hmmm…
Also, I deleted that “drunk post” I made last night, which is what Gila was replying to, so maybe that helps put his words into context - he was replying to something I’d said. While drunk. It was embarrassing =S

17

Yeah I definitely like “crispy” production where the snares just sound so crisp and punchy and there is no annoying extra bass making things all blurry.

gila, sounds like you’re getting old dude.

I discovered Ministry with Animositisomina and at first was disappointed by most of it (exlcuding “Shove” “Impossible” “Leper” and “Animosity”)

Then I finally got into “Stolen” (which is a great tune despite the so-so vocals), “The Light Pours Out of Me” and “Broken” and “Lockbox”

I still don’t like the other tunes on that CD, but it’s mostly because Al’s vocals can sometimes annoy me. I’m not a fan of that cookie monster Motorhead type growl or whatever it just sounds corny to me.

The best Al vocals are when he uses a lot of effects like on “Impossible” where it’s really distorted for the verse and then delayed for the chorus. Love it.

What killed most of Houses of the Mole for me was that Al’s vocals were waaay lame for a lot of it and the lyrics were too corny for me. Tracks like “Waiting” where he screams “Waiting till I DIE” are just so fucking gay.

But Houses is growing on me now too after liking Rio Grande Blood so much. I mean “Worm” “World” “Wrong” “WTV” “Walrus” and “No W” (the version on that punk CD; I’m sorry, Carmina Burana samples or whatever are just TOO fucking corny) are all solid Ministry songs.

“Warp City” is ok too despite the assenine lyrical content.

The bottom line is that my favorite Ministry era was Dark Side of the Spoon, Filth Pig and Animositisomina where it felt like the were exploring more and really taking chances.

Well I mean LORAH was obviously the coolest era because there was actually shitload of electronics in that one…

BRING BACK THE INDUSTRIAL SOUNDS

I am really not a fan of heavy metal at all. I just think it sounds like a big dumb caveman screaming. The whole scene just feels so lowbrow and stupid and I hate all these sweaty bald assholes moshing and shit. Heavy metal is way corny to me, but Ministry can pull it off and get me into it somehow.

I hate how they’ve reverted back to that fast metal screaming shit that got them big in the first place, but at the same time these new Ministry albums are not bad by any stretch.

Hell most of this new shit totally kicks the ass of their old speed metal tunes like the lame song “Hero” or “Jesus Built My Hotrod” (God does that one suck ass…)

I FUCKING HATE JESUS BUILT MY HOTROD!!!

As for the person who said Animositisomina and Houses were lame because they “lacked hooks”, fuck you, go listen to Merzbow. There’s a hook for you, pussy boy.

18

i have an opinion: ministry died after animositisomina. ok? just my opinion.

i love animositisomina. i think it’s better than houses and rio grande combined.

yes, i want paul barker back. yes, i know that ain’t gonna happen too. gotta join the paul barker fanclub here.

the “extra” bass doesn’t make recordings “blurry”. i don’t know how it’s to you, maybe it’s just your way of perception and hearing the music. i prefer balanced mixes…

just my opinions. in some ways, they’re negative, i’m not supposed to love everything ministry puts out to death, right?

here, i say it again: houses and rio grande suck. they are good for what they’re worth for - getting drunk and do some headbanging. i listen to them sometime though.

so i would forever wallow in the “old albums” then.

The bottom line is that my favorite Ministry era was Dark Side of the Spoon, Filth Pig and Animositisomina where it felt like the were exploring more and really taking chances.

Well I mean LORAH was obviously the coolest era because there was actually shitload of electronics in that one…

actually, it seems that the weirdest and the “broadest” albums of ministry are composed sort of chaotically. that’s what i mean about DSOTS being similar to LORAH… dsots was assembled chaotically and LAND OF RAPE has stuff on it that goes back as far as 1984 (hizbollah), 1985 (abortive), etc. it just didn’t work for DSOTS that good as it did for LORAH.

BRING BACK THE INDUSTRIAL SOUNDS

they are there! can ya dig the bush samples!! omg! actually there are SOME but they’re either drowned out by distorted guitars, distorted bass, distorted vox and drums. :slight_smile:

as JBMHR - it’s good for me, but probably coulda been cut by a minute, plus don’t listen to the live version of it… :slight_smile:

As for the person who said Animositisomina and Houses were lame because they “lacked hooks”, fuck you, go listen to Merzbow. There’s a hook for you, pussy boy.

lol! :))))

19

My opinion I thought half the songs animositisomina’s the drumming sounds sounds so fucking weak. The kick and the snare whatever the hell you call it sound so tiny and weak. But I still love animositisomina. But for me I love houses the sound on it is awesome to me and the drumming sounded way better and more powerful. Now I still got to buy RGB I know I’m lazy. Been a ministry fan since the psalm 69 days when I was like 13 years old.

20

I know fuck all about ‘production’ but I know what I like and I like what I know.

Personally I think The Mind and Filth Pig and the best produced Ministry albums - both have a sort of open air sound, as if being peformed in a large concert hall. Bring back that and I’ll be happy.

And Al doesn’t need to sing about politics to be angry now surely? Filth Pig wasn’t particularly political and yet he sounds downright venomous on that album. The sound of an unhinged man at the end of his tether! HA!

Um…and as for RGB - let’s just say I haven’t listened to it since about a week after it first leaked.

The problem? Too many samey sounding samples, boring riffs and somg after song of the same ol’ rant : govt is evil, Bush is a crim, we’re all being lied to, my stomach hurts, I think I hate my girlfriend, where are my shoes, blah, blah, blah…!

Whoah! Nearly fell asleep there.