Ministry: Al Jourgensen (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, banjo, saxophone, electronics); Paul Barker (vocals, bass, electronics); L. Svitek (guitar, electronics); R. Washam (drums, electronics).
Additional personnel: Tycoon, Y. Age (vocals); Z. Hukic (guitar, electronics).
Engineers include: J. Bacher, J. Dehaven, B. Kenny.
DARK SIDE OF THE SPOON opens with Al Jourgensen screaming "I just shot a man to death" over grinding guitar riffs and an unrelenting, martial beat. Clearly, these godfathers of industrial rock show no signs of mellowing as they near their third decade of sonic terrorism. Longtime fans can rest easy, there are no attempts at mainstream crossover here--no string sections or sentimental ballads.
True to form, Ministry delivers cut after cut of manic alienation. The savage, repetitive guitar patterns consolidate hard rock, punk and heavy metal into a new, uncompromising paradigm. Jourgensen revels in his angst, using it as a cathartic tool of expression. His tortured, filtered vocals bespeak a lifetime spent observing mankind's most heinous atrocities, but his knack for studio manipulation and sonic architecture makes the whole thing quite palatable, if not accessible.
- Format: Vinyl
- Released: 5/18/2015
- Genre: Pop
