Ministry Psalm 69 CD

Ministry: Al Jourgenson (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Paul Barker (vocals, bass, programming).

Additional personnel: Gibby Haynes (vocals); M. Scaccia, L. Svitek (guitar); M. Balch (keyboards, programming); H. Beno (programming); W. Rieflix (drums).
Easily one of the most anticipated albums from that year, especially after Nine Inch Nails had helped bring industrial metal to the mainstream with the success of the overtly Ministry-worshipping Pretty Hate Machine, Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed & the Way to Suck Eggs represented the high point of Alain Jourgensen and Paul Barker's incarnation as loud-as-hell electro-thrashers. The pump had been primed the previous year with the fierce "Jesus Built My Hot Rod," featuring Gibby Haynes from Butthole Surfers on vocals ranting over a galloping molten explosion of beats and feedback. Presented in a slightly edited version here, it's still the high point of the album, while a reworked version of its B-side, "TV Song" (here called "TV II" and with Jourgensen on vocals instead of Chris Connelly), also makes for some good noise. Throughout, however, Ministry as a unit shows their facility for straightforward, brutal noise crossed with clinical, on-the-money arrangements, whether it's the collage of crowd-riot samples bubbling throughout "N.W.O." or the chantings of Christian praise on the title track. As a role model for any number of nu-metallers down the road, Psalm 69 is often terribly underrated, but where Ministry succeeds while so many failed easily has to do with sheer vitriol only slightly tempered by the overwhelming hugeness of the songs. Consider the massive impact of the drums on "Just One Fix" as they lead into tightly wound, downward-spiral riffing or the hyper-speed clatter of "Hero" and "Corrosion." Jourgensen's rasped lyrical visions of a corrupt America, drug addiction, mindless patriotism, and religious hypocrisy aren't per se revelatory, but anyone who lived through the Bush years -- either father or son -- might find plenty to sympathize with. Secret highlight: "Scarecrow," which takes the massive slow pound of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" and takes it to a strung-out, harrowing new location. ~ Ned Raggett
The increasingly heavy sound of Ministry hit its peak in the form of 1992's PSALM 69. Though the industrial band had it roots in dance-pop, frontman Al Jourgensen led the band in a progressively guitar-laden direction beginning in the late '80s, and essentially disowned his more accessible earlier recordings.
Ministry's dedication to loud, aggressive music is fully on display here with the lumbering opener "N.W.O.," a politically charged track that takes the first Bush administration to task amidst a barrage of rumbling bass, propulsive beats, crushing guitar riffs, and Jourgensen's trademark distorted vocals. Released as a single before the album itself, the rambunctious "Jesus Built My Hotrod" proved to be another highlight, with Butthole Surfers vocalist Gibby Haynes sitting in on a session of high-octane absurdity. Throughout PSALM 69, the sonic ferocity is relentless, whether on the break-neck speed-metal of "TV II" or the scathing chaos of "Corrosion." Oddly enough, this blisteringly intense outing proved to be Ministry's most successful record, leading to a high-profile stint on the second Lollapalooza tour. One of the heaviest albums ever to achieve mainstream success, PSALM 69 is a snapshot of Ministry at its uncompromising best.Rolling Stone (9/17/92, p.91) - 3.5 Stars - Good Plus - "...nastiness at its most Spartan: snarling guitars, hound-from-hell vocals and sternum-crushing percussion, with the occasional shock-effect sample...Ministry doesn't just ventilate its postmodern blues; it incinerates them..."
Spin (12/92, p.67) - Ranked #5 in Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of The Year' - "...Like a Terminator, this beastly music crashes and burns--and then comes back strengthened for the kill..."
Spin (9/92, p.102) - Highly Recommended - "...PSALM 69 takes the Chicago house-music pound and gives it the leviathan metallic crunch it's long been begging for...If punk aimed to smash discos, Ministry is about to decimate smart bars. Dance at your own risk..."
Entertainment Weekly (7/31/92, p.62) - "...Pain has never felt this good before...The thrash guitars that predominate here sound like Metallica in overdrive...Wonderfully obnoxious, and therefore nearly perfect..." - Rating: A-
Q (7/01, p.88) - Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".
Q (9/92, p.78) - 3 Stars - Good - "...heavy, speed-freak intoxicants of a high order...it sweats like tarmac under a burning sun...[Ministry] create temples of sound..."
Option (Nov.-Dec./92, p.132) - "...finds the group now firmly in control of its medium-fast, techno-metal sound....an entertaining album..."
Reflex (11/10/92, p.74) - "...this is the guitar-heaviest thing they've ever done..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "A commercial breakthrough....It was simpler, but no less in your face than previous work."