Ministry - Rio Grande Blood

Genre metal Publisher 13th Planet Records / Megaforce External Links Official Ministry Website Official 13th Planet Website Official Megaforce Website

Ministry's alleged second-to-last album ever, the second in its anti-G.W. Bush trilogy, Rio Grande Blood, is a breakneck bit of old-fashioned speed metal wrapped in an industrial casing. Al Jourgensen shows no sign of aging even after 25 years on the scene and he sounds angrier than ever, if that's even humanly possible after 2004's ball of malevolence, Houses of the Mole.

No lyric sheet is included with the new album, and Jourgensen's vocals are so processed that you can only catch a snippet or two of what he's singing about, though the song titles give a good hint at what the overall idea is. Not to mention the music is amped up enough to get you all hostile regardless of what Al's message is. Utilizing Tommy Victor, previously of the band Prong ("Snap your fingers, Snap your neck") proves to prod Jourgensen into heretofore uncharted territory sonically speaking. Victor's lightning fast guitar work has spurred an energy within the band that has been slightly lacking since the departure of longtime Ministry bassist/Jourgensen cohort Paul Barker. This is vital, vitriolic metal aimed at your head, heart and crotch.

The only real problem with Rio Grande Blood is that listening to it is equivalent to an aural beating. Thank goodness it's only 10 songs and only 50 minutes in length. Anything more would be torturous overkill, so credit Jourgensen for restraining himself.

As it stands, Ministry's latest is more evidence that hard rock/metal is king this year. Whether or not it helps the cause against our current administration is probably irrelevant. What is relevant is that Rio Grande Blood kicks a lot of ass.