Ministry Rio Grande Blood CD

Various Artists/Ministry: Al Jourgensen.
After the fierce, politically charged HOUSES OF THE MOLE and its companion piece, RANTOLOGY, Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen launches another anti-George W. Bush sonic invective with RIO GRANDE BLOOD. Amazingly, this 2006 outing manages to be even more scathing than the aforementioned releases, due to yet another round of strategically placed and cleverly manipulated sound bites (particularly on the pummeling title track) and the added musical muscle of guitarist Tommy Victor, formerly of the revered prog-metal trio Prong, and bassist Paul Raven, a member of industrial-rock pioneers Killing Joke. Further adding to the mix are guest vocals by the always-outspoken Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and Liz Constantine, resulting in Ministry's most dynamic outing since 1992's PSALM 69.
Another salvo in Ministry's unrelenting aural assault on the policies of George W. Bush, 2007's RIO GRANDE DUB, as the title implies, presents spacious dub versions of the searing industrial-metal songs from RIO GRANDE BLOOD. Remixed by John Bechdel and Clayton Worbeck, these tracks often prove to be more dynamic than the originals, as revealed on the echo-laden, sample-heavy, and aggressive Rio Grande Dubya mix of the original album's title song.
Outraged, out of control, and a little bit out of ideas, Ministry unleashes their second attack on President George W. Bush with Rio Grande Blood, number two in Al Jourgensen's promised Bush-hating trilogy, which when finished will bring his Ministry project to a close. The manipulated Bush samples and hate-filled revolution lyrics utilized on 2004's great Houses of the Molé are back, and if there's an easy way to differentiate that album from what is essentially Molé, Pt. 2, it's the contribution Prong guitarist Tommy Victor makes to this edition of Ministry, giving Rio Grande Blood a tauter crunch, a sharper thrash. Victor's influence extends past the tracks he appears on, as evidenced by the opening title track, which finds Jourgensen creating a Prong-ish juggernaut on his lonesome. While lumbering numbers like "Fear (Is Big Business)" and "Yellow Cake" will do little to attract new fans -- and the reappearance of the Rantology compilation's "The Great Satan" feels like a cheat -- there's plenty of that smart, topical bile that's uniquely Jourgensen to steady the album. Vicious thrash-punk of the highest order, "Lieslieslies" isn't afraid to question the "truth" about 9/11 and the way "Gangreen" parodies the Marines' cry of "Ooh-rah!" makes it a charming moment for pipe-bomb revolutionaries. If they happened to skip the last full-length, Ministry fanatics would do well to start here and then work their way up to the superior Houses of the Molé. Save a couple brilliant tracks, this is just the usual "satisfying follow-up." ~ David Jeffries
Gutting the Rio Grande Blood album, then remixing the remains into a bullet train high on chaos, Rio Grande Dub actually earns higher marks than its parent, especially when the casual nature of remix albums is taken into consideration. It's been ages since Al Jourgensen and crew sounded so industrial, but thanks to all the steely shards of noise and an overall cold, dark feeling, albums like Twitch and the early work of the Revolting Cocks come to mind instead of guitars, hot rods, and Texas. Best of the throwbacks is the rework of "Khyber Pass" which anchors its swirling washes of foreign voices and tribal drums with a tense synth bassline that's perfect for driving about 85 mph. "Fear Is Big Business" is completely transformed into a more restrained nightmare while "Gangreen" gets the dirty bomb treatment and ends up sounding like golden age Meat Beat Manifesto. It's also the only track that comes close to touching upon the "dub" mentioned on the cover, which is really just an awesome excuse to picture George W. with dreadlocks in front of a Jamaica-style soundsystem. Jourgensen only gets credit for the original tracksKerrang (Magazine) (p.49) - "It all makes for a vital, inspiring, blood-pumping listen....Brilliant."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.53) - "[T]heir heaviest and most viciously political album."