Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed & the Way to Suck Eggs

Performer: Ministry
Artist: Gibby Haynes
Engineer: J.C. Newell; P. Manno
Producer: H. Luxa; H. Pan
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: 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). 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."

Though Chicago's Ministry is known as the archetypal industrial rock band, they actually started out as a dour synth-funk outfit before founder Alain Jourgensen really ratcheted up the noise and the gloom on 1988's THE LAND OF RAPE & HONEY. In so doing, Ministry became the template for scores of industrial bands to come, combining roaring, metallic guitars, distorted, demonic vocals, and relentlessly pounding electronics. By the '90s, they were alt-rock icons, getting heavy play on MTV and appearing at the Lollapalooza festival. Even after Jourgensen's musical partner Bill Rieflin left in 1994, Ministry continued making dark, disturbing music for their legions of admirers.

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