Ministry - The Land of Rape and Honey (1988)^{Release ID: 1592}

I'm glad I discovered industrial metal a year or two ago in the site and have expanded my interest in a genre I've once barely known into one of my favorite genres that has earned me a spot in The Sphere. In saying that though, I'm more into the experimental side of the genre with bands like Godflesh and Strapping Young Lad rather than the alternative-ish side with bands like Rammstein and Ministry. Of course, I'm up for another visit in one of the pioneers of the genre as part of my early years review tour!

It is good to diversify every few years, whether it's your music taste or your band's style. After a couple synthpop and EBM albums, Al Jourgensen refreshed his Ministry project with a metalized sound. A hellbent atmosphere of vocal distortion, booming drums, and heavy keyboard-guitar hybrids fill the air, along with solid bass presence.

One of the best tunes displayed here starts the album with "Stigmata" and its fuzzy keyboard riffing. Al would enter the scene with a howl of maximum distortion. The riff and beat drives the song through well. The keyboard-guitar hybrid riffing rolls in "The Missing", which is mid-paced and can deliberately force your head into a different place. "Deity" is a roaring Metallica-like thrash tune as the drums and riff thunder around. Next up, "Golden Dawn" is a highly different instrumental trip. It is the first of several tracks in the album to use samples, including from the horror-drama film The Devils ("The antichrist!!") and chanting from Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie. An excellent loopy instrumental! I could recommend this to anyone starting out this band for the first time. Though it's in contrast with the bleak drone of "Destruction".

The first of two bonus tracks in the CD version is "Hizbollah", which is good but not really a mentionable standout. The title track is a menacing crawler, standing out with its creepy vibe. "You Know What You Are" has simple drums and trance-like keyboards, along with Tuco from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly screaming the title, "YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!!!" This creepy mood foreshadows what the band would have in their next album.

"I Prefer" is the second CD version bonus track and has what I prefer in industrial metal, savage percussive heaviness. "Flashback" is pure up-tempo industrial where the keyboards appear more clearly. The final track "Abortive" is more unique, as the samples and loops creep up and corrupt what would've been a throwback to the dance-pop of Ministry's earlier 80s era. Nonetheless, it's perfect for a dark nightclub. The samples are from NASA announcing the takeoff of "America's first space shuttle!" A great metaphor for the developing industrial metal sound taking off...

Anyone with a more open mind than mine should give The Land of Rape and Honey a try and love its mood. The mood is what Ministry needed to nail the metal path they would take. And you can hear the catchy riff power coming not just from the guitars. Then after you finish this, you can progress to the more metallic Mind....

Favorites: "Stigmata", "Golden Dawn", "The Land of Rape and Honey", "I Prefer", "Abortive"

The album starts off quite energetically, with some simple yet aggressive and heavy riffs and some artificial but effective beats with some nice double bass work giving it some extra power. After the first couple of songs, it shifts more towards Electro-Industrial territory and loses its metallic edge. It also slows down considerably, and relies on sampling to break its simple, repetitive beats. Most of the non-musical noises thrown in add little to the sound and are usually just abrasive for the sake of being abrasive. The instrumental tracks are especially hard to bear, as Al’s manic, crazed vocals are one of the main appeals to the album.

An incredibly unique record when it was first conceived, and highly influential to Industrial Metal and other similar circles of music. Today, it is too simple and limited without offering any staying power to hold up very well.