Hmm yeah I agree that Houses of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood are two very different records with very different sounds. I don’t think Houses of the Mole is all that repetitive…it has quite a bit of variation…but I also don’t like the majority of it. Rio Grande Blood I feel is more repetitive in that there are no slow tracks, but still not completely repetitive.
I don’t think the new albums are up to par with some of the older shit, but at the same time I think they are better than an album like The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste which is by far Ministry’s weakest album if you really listen. Each song is EXTREMELY simple and monotonous. They all have very simple structures that go on for WAY too long. All of them are in 4/4. All of the songs have extremely weak bridges if they even have a bridge at all. It’s basically an industrial band attempting to learn how to play heavy metal right before your eyes and it’s fucking weak. Seriously this album is sooo fucking overrated.
Tenohtwo I agree that people are exaggerating about the shittiness of the latest records. But I also don’t understand how you can say Dark Side of the Spoon or Filth Pig are inferior to Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste. Both records are far more technically challenging and skilled musically than Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, not to mention 1.000 times better lyrically.
Filth Pig, Dark Side of the Spoon, Animositisomina…this is the true trilogy and golden age for Ministry.
Part of the appeal of Mind for me is the simple melodies. For what they lack in variation, they make up for in some memorable hooks and great songs. It’s almost like Al wanted to drill those riffs into our collective skulls so we wouldn’t forget them. It’s hard for me, personally, to believe that an album with Thieves, Burning Inside, Breathe, and So What is their weakest effort. The only filler, I think, is Never Believe and Test (a song that could’ve served better as an instrumental with samples, instead of turning into a dated rap-rock exercise). I still wonder sometimes if Cannibal Song could’ve been saved for Beers, Steers & Queers, but it’s probably too mellow to be RevCo, and actually provides a good contrast to the first three songs on Mind. Cool song. I also like how Faith Collapsing and Dream Song bring the album to a close in a sort-of tribal-industrial trance. The album is a Ministry classic in my eyes.
Filth Pig probably has more of a cohesive feel and atmosphere than Mind, but if you want to talk about simple and stretched out, what about tracks like Lava, The Fall, Brick Windows (only repetitve), and the title track? Certainly nothing complex there! I think my problem with FP is that there are no ‘in-your-face’ songs like on previous albums (Reload misses the mark). Those are the Ministry songs that I’m drawn to - Stigmata, Deity, Thieves, Just One Fix…songs that Ministry really hits a home run with. It was such a drastic change from Psalm 69 that it was almost culture shock for me! I remember sitting through Filth Pig the first time - I kept waiting for it to ‘get going’. Never happened, and I found myself just bored with it (though Brick Windows saved some face). Dark Side started strong, but then seemed to fall apart in a hurry. I don’t want to hear fucked up Ministry, I want to hear solid, pounding, 4-to-the-floor anthems that I can scream along to. I lost interest in that CD pretty quickly! Thing is, I don’t hate those albums, but they easily have the thickest layers of dust on my CD tower - I just rarely play them (of course, everything’s on a hard drive now, so all of my CDs could use some dusting off!). I’ve read the praises here, and have gone back to those albums as a result. I’ve listened, analyzed, soaked 'em in, whatever, but they just don’t affect me the way they do other fans. What can I say, we’re just wired differently. [:)]
Oh, and my favorite trilogy would be Twitch-Land-Mind.
1002
Part of the appeal of Mind for me is the simple melodies. For what they lack in variation, they make up for in some memorable hooks and great songs. It’s almost like Al wanted to drill those riffs into our collective skulls so we wouldn’t forget them…The album is a Ministry classic in my eyes.
I think my problem with FP is that there are no ‘in-your-face’ songs like on previous albums (Reload misses the mark). Those are the Ministry songs that I’m drawn to - Stigmata, Deity, Thieves, Just One Fix…songs that Ministry really hits a home run with. It was such a drastic change from Psalm 69 that it was almost culture shock for me!
What can I say, we’re just wired differently. [:)]
Oh, and my favorite trilogy would be Twitch-Land-Mind.
1002
Word.
As for the Trent thing, Jomamma, I also seem to recall him saying that he was looking for a female vocalist to work with, although it would be a producing job for him, and he wasn’t looking for “NIN with a chick.” I think that’s a shame, really, as “La Mer” turned out beautifully. Perhaps this new innovation is a CHICK playing the flanged harmonica!
I can’t let that one go, it’s just too fucking funny…
Part of the appeal of Mind for me is the simple melodies. For what they lack in variation, they make up for in some memorable hooks and great songs. It’s almost like Al wanted to drill those riffs into our collective skulls so we wouldn’t forget them. It’s hard for me, personally, to believe that an album with Thieves, Burning Inside, Breathe, and So What is their weakest effort. The only filler, I think, is Never Believe and Test (a song that could’ve served better as an instrumental with samples, instead of turning into a dated rap-rock exercise). I still wonder sometimes if Cannibal Song could’ve been saved for Beers, Steers & Queers, but it’s probably too mellow to be RevCo, and actually provides a good contrast to the first three songs on Mind. Cool song. I also like how Faith Collapsing and Dream Song bring the album to a close in a sort-of tribal-industrial trance. The album is a Ministry classic in my eyes.
Filth Pig probably has more of a cohesive feel and atmosphere than Mind, but if you want to talk about simple and stretched out, what about tracks like Lava, The Fall, Brick Windows (only repetitve), and the title track? Certainly nothing complex there! I think my problem with FP is that there are no ‘in-your-face’ songs like on previous albums (Reload misses the mark). Those are the Ministry songs that I’m drawn to - Stigmata, Deity, Thieves, Just One Fix…songs that Ministry really hits a home run with. It was such a drastic change from Psalm 69 that it was almost culture shock for me! I remember sitting through Filth Pig the first time - I kept waiting for it to ‘get going’. Never happened, and I found myself just bored with it (though Brick Windows saved some face). Dark Side started strong, but then seemed to fall apart in a hurry. I don’t want to hear fucked up Ministry, I want to hear solid, pounding, 4-to-the-floor anthems that I can scream along to. I lost interest in that CD pretty quickly! Thing is, I don’t hate those albums, but they easily have the thickest layers of dust on my CD tower - I just rarely play them (of course, everything’s on a hard drive now, so all of my CDs could use some dusting off!). I’ve read the praises here, and have gone back to those albums as a result. I’ve listened, analyzed, soaked 'em in, whatever, but they just don’t affect me the way they do other fans. What can I say, we’re just wired differently. [:)]
Oh, and my favorite trilogy would be Twitch-Land-Mind.
1002
You also have to remember when these albums were made. mind sounded amazing at the time, but the sound doesn’t always hold up. Psalm and Filth Pig will always be my faves. The last two albums were fun burners and that’s about it. Fun to listen to.
I really enjoyed the Animosity tour. Good set list.[reply]