The Dark Side of the Spoon

Rating

Album: The Dark Side of the Spoon
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Supermanic Soul	More Info...	0:03
2)	Whip and Chain	More Info...	0:04
3)	Bad Blood	More Info...	0:05
4)	Eureka Pile	More Info...	0:06
5)	Step	More Info...	0:04
6)	Nursing Home	More Info...	0:07
7)	Kaif	More Info...	0:05
8)	Vex & Siolence	More Info...	0:05
9)	10/10	More Info...	0:04

Performer Notes

Ministry: Al Jourgensen (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, banjo, saxophone, electronics); Paul Barker (vocals, bass, electronics); L. Svitek (guitar, electronics); R. Washam (drums, electronics).
Additional personnel: Tycoon, Y. Age (vocals); Z. Hukic (guitar, electronics).
Engineers include: J. Bacher, J. Dehaven, B. Kenny.
DARK SIDE OF THE SPOON opens with Al Jourgensen screaming "I just shot a man to death" over grinding guitar riffs and an unrelenting, martial beat. Clearly, these godfathers of industrial rock show no signs of mellowing as they near their third decade of sonic terrorism. Longtime fans can rest easy, there are no attempts at mainstream crossover here--no string sections or sentimental ballads.
True to form, Ministry delivers cut after cut of manic alienation. The savage, repetitive guitar patterns consolidate hard rock, punk and heavy metal into a new, uncompromising paradigm. Jourgensen revels in his angst, using it as a cathartic tool of expression. His tortured, filtered vocals bespeak a lifetime spent observing mankind's most heinous atrocities, but his knack for studio manipulation and sonic architecture makes the whole thing quite palatable, if not accessible.

Professional Reviews

Q (7/99, pp.120-1) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...angry, chaotic, funny....spooky, barely stifled mania."

CMJ (6/14/99, p.3) - "...The new album...is as eerie as eerie gets, rarely straying from its sluggish, sedated pace. But within the familiar funk, other unexpected flourishes such as banjo riffs, saxophone squalor, and swing rhythms crawl into the mix....a downward spiral you'll enjoy plunging into."

New Music Monthly (7/99, p.52) - "...[Jourgensen] has some magic left in him...[DARK SIDE's] nastiest moments...sound oddly quaint."