Ministry - Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs

Personell
M Balch – Keyboards, Programming
Paul Barker – Bass, Programming, Vocals
H Beno – Programming
Gibby Haynes – Vocals on "Jesus Built My Hotrod"
Al Jourgensen – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Hypo Luxa – Producer
P Manno – Engineer
J C Newell – Engineer
Hermes Pan – Producer
Bill Rieflin – Drums
Mike Scaccia– Guitars
Louis Svitek – Guitar

Track listing

1. N.W.O


2. Just One Fix


3. TV II


4. Hero


5. Jesus Built My Hotrod


6. Scare Crow


7. Psalm 69


8. Corrosion


9. Grace

Review
When Ministry recorded this album, they were rising superstars of the er bludgeoning industrial scene. Although they do not make industrial in the strict sense of the word, they do employ studio wizardry to infinity and beyond. Aggressive and more like 10 000 punches in your face than Nine Inch Nails would ever muster, this appeals to me although I mostly like my metal.

You might wonder who Hypo Luxa and Hermes Pan are. Hypo Luxa is a pseudonym for Al Jourgensen, and Hermes Pan is the alias of Paul Barker. Maybe this was their way of screwing the record company out of more money? Good, because record companies deserve to be screwed. Not in the lights down low listening to Barry White kind of way, in the yo wigga you mah bitch now prison sex kind of way.

Conclusion
This is the primordial soup that spawned all the hedonistic messiahs of the nineties and beyond. Ever pondered what prompted Reznor to put that Mellotron on overdrive? Or what prompted Manson to take up the theremin? Next to being abducted by three breasted aliens, this is as close to a religious experience as you are ever likely to get.

Rating