Psalm 69 - Ministry

Advantages: Influential, Very heavy, doesn't take itself to seriously, Jesus built my hotrod
Disadvantages: Can be slightly over the top

...music into the mainstream although Psalm 69 is based more around massive 2 dimensional guitar riff's than NIN have ever been. This album was released in 1992 and at the time there was nothing else available that sounded even remotely similar. Ministry, along with their various offshoot bands such as 1000 Homo DJ's and The Revolting Cock's (beat that for a quality band name) paved the way for bands such as Korn to become as huge as they are today ...
...far as to say that Psalm 69 is responsible for putting Marylin Manson where he is today although Mr Manson seem's to have lost any sense of humour along the way. Whether this is a good thing or not is a matter of opinion but i loved this album when i was 17 and i still love it now. Unlike a lot of heavy music from the early 90's this album still sounds original today. I highly recommend it. ... Read review

Advantages: Heavy, agressive and unique
Disadvantages: The legacy

Psalm 69 (The way to succeed and the way to suck eggs) or the symbols album was the most commercially successful album that Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker have released in their careers. It was also the album alongside Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral that saw the crossover of industrial music into the rock mainstream. You could also blame it the same way you can blame The Beatles for Oasis, for a succession of sub standard metal bands suddenly ...
...industrial electronica and thrash metal, Psalm 69 sees Ministry increasing the guitar quota and dropping the electronics into the background. Although not as initially as thrilling as Land of was Psalm 69 stills packs a killer punch and contains some classic Ministry songs. It kicks off with the incredible N.W.O in which a slamming rhythm meets thrashing guitars and the sampled voice of George Bush promoting the dubious virtues of an American dominated ... Read review

Advantages: It is a dam sight better than any nu-metal
Disadvantages: They unfortunatley Created Nu-metal

Not all that is comercialy sucessfull is good and this is Ministrys most comercialy sucessfull album, but arguabilly the worst, probabally because it was a transition between the more heavily "dance" oreanted direction of the 2 previous albums (The Land of Rape and Honey and The Mind Is A terrible thing to taste) to a more metal/ rock oreantated sound. Both of the previous albums which would be a much more sensible purchase. The first half of the ...
...which is metal that you can dance to, Just One Fix and the astounding whisky fueled gonzo R&R spectacular that is Jesus Built my Hotrod. Unfortunatley though at times it comes across as 2nd rate Thrash Metal (TV II and Hero). Scarecrow is awsome in it's plodding majesty and Corrosion is a wonderfull noisefest. It is a fairly good album by anyone elses standards but I remember being bitterly dissapointed when I bought it, way back in the day. A far ... Read review

Advantages: Loud, brash, anti-Bush, industrial-metal as in (near) classic Ministry
Disadvantages: Not quite top form, a bit monotonous in pace, few annoying samples

...Something tells me Ministry main man Al Jourgensen isn’t a Republican. 1992’s Psalm 69 – almost certainly still the band’s finest hour (bar their ‘Greatest Fits’ collection) – kicks off sampling George Bush Snr (on ‘N.W.O.’) and Ministry’s latest return comes full circle twelve years later. The opening track ‘No “W”’ kicks off with samples of Carmina Burana (recalling Apoptygma Berzerk’s ‘Love Never Dies’), George W soundbites (“we’re fighting evil”) and a reference to Psalm 23, which sets out the stall for the whole album. Sometimes lately the band have felt a bit flat, but this album combines fast guitars and industrial metal in classic Ministry style - or, for the uninitiated, think along the lines of KMFDM or Cabaret Voltaire songs being played by Rammstein. While Ministry have usually been able to blend menacingly slow songs (like... Read review

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Advantages: It Wasn't Like The Previous Album
Disadvantages: It Wasn't Like The Previous Album

...Very few bands have committed commercial suicide quite as stylishly as Ministry did with this album. This was the follow up to their most commercially successful album Psalm 69, released in 1992. With 4 year wait between albums as Front man Al Jorgensen put it at this time he was living of DST (Dealer Central Time) which is about 6 months after everyone else, this and the fact the album was totally different to the metally Psalm 69. On top of that their openness about the drug usage within the band, in the wake of Kurt Cobains death admitting to using Heroin was a very bad thing. Also if we look at the musical climate at the time with Britt Pop at its peak, you have to admit that a dark heavy and uncompromising Album was not going to get rave reviews. Even the heavy metal press slated it, but what do music journalists know about music... Read review

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Advantages: You can amaze your mates
Disadvantages: It is truely dire in every respect, and i thought Aqua were as bad as it could get.

...This is just a quick word of warning to anyone who has ever seen this album and has thought, as i did 'Hey, a Ministry album i've never heard of before, i better buy this'.Don't do it, this album contains some of the most painfully dire music you will ever hear. This album was released in 1983 and while it is written by Ministry mainman Al Jourgensen who is responsible for the industrial guitar monsters that are the 'Psalm 69' and 'Land of Rape and Honey' albums, this album bears about as much relation to industrial music as S club 7 or Westlife. Every track on 'Work for Love' consists of some of the worst 80's synthpop cheese that i have ever had the misfortune to wittness. Even someone who still enjoy's the music of 80's cheese masters such as Nik Kershaw and Tears for Fears (is there anybody left?) would find this album... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful