Reviews list for Lard - The Last Temptation of Reid (1990)

Are there times when legends from two different bands collaborate with each other, but ultimately it turns out bad? Sadly, yeah. But when people first heard about Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra and Ministry's Al Jourgensen forming their own side-project Lard, they thought "That would be awesome! What can go wrong?"

The project was formed sometime after Jello left Dead Kennedys. He was already in a few other side collaborations. Jourgensen is still in Ministry, and he has done some other side projects as well. When those two innovators join forces for a different project, asking that question, what could go wrong? Practically nothing! The Last Temptation of Reid is an underrated creative album with fast music and politically-fueled lyrics, and a step up from their EP.

Opening with funky bass, "Forkboy" has fast heavy/industrial metal/hardcore fury. A fantastic opening track and the best here, with Jello's unique vocal creativity. Thrash fans might recognize the Flotsam and Jetsam cover. There's a feeling of death and betrayal here, all in a fun listen. "Pineapple Face" is a f***ing mindblower, keeping up the speed of the first track, though there's a slow psychedelic chorus that nonsensical but genius. The crazy political lyrics are odd yet having a deep meaning. Another track that you wanna keep around until the end of time! "Mate Spawn and Die" brings back the earlier hardcore of Dead Kennedys. The lyrics are sung in spoken rhythm. It's not as memorable or energetic as the first two tracks, but it has a catchy charm within the lyrics.

"Drug Raid at 4am" is still a song, but instead of lyrics, there are some samples including the famous "This is your brain on drugs", along with Jello playing the role of a police officer inspecting a house storing drugs, yelling aggressively at the suspect as the fast instrumentation plays. Then ending on a humorous note, the officers says "Oh, sorry, wrong house." Next track "Can God Fill Teeth?" The lyrics are pretty much entirely spoken word. After some conspiracy theory accusations, the guitar and drums speed up as fast as thrash, while painful yet humorous sounds of dental torture come in. Apparently, wires leading to the brain of the patient record all that's happening the appointment. So odd and mesmerizing, yet as creative as the first two tracks! Smooth bass once again starts up "Bozo Skeleton", mid-paced with catchy vocals flowing together with heavy instrumentation. This legendary hardcore/industrial combo continues to impress me!

The most metallic track here, "Sylvestre Matuschka" is quite awesome, and why not? The sinister vocals and chords make this a fun standout worth headbanging to. Then there's a cover of Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming to Take Me Away". Jello does a fun job singing this song. The marching snare fits well with the vocal insanity. Oh, the show-stealing joy! The final song "I Am Your Clock" is somewhat interesting. It's a 15-minute disorganized guitar jam with Jello presenting a speech throughout. I enjoy many long epics, but this one sounds better as a 5-minute track, but it just keeps repeating that d*mn riff with only one or a couple breaks. Really not my thing...

Any fan of Dead Kennedys and hardcore punk and/or Ministry and industrial metal should listen to this offering. The Last Temptation of Reid shows the two most well-known members of those bands at their most creative. Lard would make one more album 7 years later than go on hiatus. Recommended for hardcore/industrial listeners anytime!

Favorites: "Forkboy", "Pineapple Face", "Can God Fill Teeth?", "Bozo Skeleton", "Sylvestre Matuschka"

Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / March 04, 2023 01:31 AM

The repetitive structures that occupy the world of extreme metal (or just some non-extreme metal in fact as well) are often as much of a curse as they are a gift in my experience. On the one hand you have the punishing riff patterns of say funeral doom that layer an instant level of emotional torture at the door of the listener and subject them to a looped burden for several minutes at a time. At the opposite end of the spectrum are albums like The Last Temptation of Reid, that get lumped into the Industrial genre (quite unnecessarily) down to their seemingly endless regurgitation of punk riffs and spoken word vocals.

God this is juvenile! I mean if there is one thing that Jello Biafra should not have done in his career it is contribute anything to Lard. His Dead Kennedys legacy is all but made a mockery of here; stabbing riffs and tappy drums make for a punky urgency to proceedings but this is a piss poor attempt to try and revisit former glories on behalf Biafra. There is no entertainment value for me to Lard. Unlike The Dead Kennedys, there is nothing contentious here to make the immaturity rational or even fun to that end. It plays like a lazy (and nowhere near as talented) Jane’s Addiction record only somehow made worse by endless spoken word lyrics and predictable structures – yes there is a difference between repetition and predictability folks.

My overarching experience when listening to this album is that I just want it to stop and leave me alone. It is by far one of the most alienating albums I think I have ever heard and as such is memorable to me for all the wrong reasons. It cements for me the ever-growing notion that Al Jourgensen is one of the most over-rated artists in the history of metal. With Barker and Ward here to add more Ministry credentials to the Lard sound it all just underlines why I find Ministry so dull and uninspiring nowadays. Add to this the mindless song structures and terrible vocals and this makes for one painful listen.