Ministry - Rio Grande Blood
Label: Megaforce
Released: May 2, 2006

We all know the history of Ministry. How they moved through the 1980’s with the poppy musings of With Sympathy that gave way to the classic 12” Singles and hardened tremendously with the defining Industrial sound Twitch. Of course it was the hard edged guitars and pure Hell Fire energy of Land of Rape and Honey that catapulted Ministry to the top of the Industrial Rock food chain. The following releases Mind is a Thing to Taste and Psalm 69 during the early 90’s, whether they liked it or not, made Ministry the powerhouse standard by which all others were judged.

Through these albums alone Ministry became required listening for even casual fans of the genre. In fact a second generation of Industrial music seemed to spawn from the efforts of Jourgensen and crew. Most tracks from this era stand strong even today and are still club favorites more than a decade and a half later.

The next couple of releases mark what some would call the Dark Ages for Ministry. Personal and professional issues showed in the quality, or lack there of, with the next release Filth Pig which has some outstanding tracks but too much repetition thematically to make the entire recording palatable in one sitting. Mixed reviews followed Dark side of the Spoon and Animositisomina and perhaps unfairly they were not as readily accepted as earlier efforts.

It’s been said that Ministry is at its best when a Republican is in the White House. The heavy hitting political mayhem of House of the Mole was definitely evidence to support the claim. Whether you like the heavier sound or not there’s no denying the massive increase in energy that can be felt when experiencing that recording.

Following up that effort with a lot more of everything is the latest full studio album Ministry: Rio Grande Blood.

Rio Grande Blood opens with the title track which is a fast paced attack on good ole George W using samples of his own words against him mixed with signature Ministry vox and seriously heavy speed metal. Being track one you can’t help but get immediately sucked into the fierceness of Ministry’s metal heavy direction. This is not Industrial and Ministry makes no apologies about it.

The second track, Senor Peligro, and many others after felt to me very  "Slayer-ish." Painfully so to the point were it not for Al’s distinctive vocals I’d not be able to tell which band I was listening too.

There is definitely some stand out Ministry moments, however. Track three for instance, Gangree, contains voice assistance from our favorite Sgt. Major from Full Metal Jacket doing what he does best… and while it may seem over done and trite in concept it ends up being a thing of beauty in execution. Lies Lies Lies is a sweet rollercoaster ride of grinding tempo and structure variations. Kyber Pass, featuring Liz Constantine, is a welcome change of pace for the finale and in many ways presents itself as the strongest song of the ten.

In fact most of the catchy memorable bits throughout are the song intros and melodic choruses. For me it’s the heavy stuff in between where I get lost. This is an album where, with little exception, each song is actually pretty damned good. However, unless you are ready to be bombarded non stop for 45 minutes listening end to end is hard to do without getting a headache.

Not because it is bad music but because it is simply that powerful.

There’s no mistaking Jourgensen’s disdain for the administration of Bush and others in power and no lyrical punches are held back through the entire album. Each song has something to say and you don’t have to listen very closely to find the message. Subtlety is not the mission of Rio Grande Blood. Ministry is screaming to anyone who will listen that the world we live in is being manipulated and stolen from us by greed and corruption and nothing is going to change unless we change it – and it may already be too late.

Rio Grande Blood does exactly what it is meant to do. It may be a bit heavy for me to listen in entirety; I most enjoy it when I mix the tracks amongst a play list of other music. I also can’t say this is my favorite Ministry album ever but I still recommend you go get it as soon as you can. There will come a day when you will need the energy that Al Jourgensen is giving you through his rage. Use it wisely because it’s some seriously potent stuff.

~Manimal