helterskelter.ca

MINISTRY
1983 - With Sympathy.
1988 - The Land Of Rape And Honey.
1989 - The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste.
1992 - Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs.
more MINISTRY.
way more Helter Skelter.

May 10, 1983 - 2023: 40 years of: With Sympathy.

Welcome to the old ministry !

Caught in a sea of hairspray and sport-jackets, no not Miami Vice, but actual pretty newwave androgynous pop-icons from both shores of the Atlantic. Chicago's MINISTRY would take their best shot at the current gold. This is the Al, Al doesn't want you to hear.

The bubblegum-burst of "Effigy (I'm Not An)" strikes on cue. Hot synths and lite guitars on danceable percussions ...this could've been a Studio 54 worthy-cut. A rougher vibe makes a cameo-appearance on "Here We Go" and the driving space-pop of "Work For Love" is all glam and glitter ...and somewhat gloom.

The cheese-factor is strong on "I Wanted To Tell Her" and the bloody romantic red-roses of "Revenge", while an ultra exotic-vibe hijacks the sunny cut "What He Say".

Released in Europe with the Work For Love LP-title, Arista Records had huge goals for this simple unit. Albeit a respectable success, the relation turned sour and Mister Jourgensen walked away. From newwave to darkwave to UK post-punk to gothicrock ...the synth-pop signature was about to get severely trashed.

Regrouping and taking a sharp 90º twist-turn, the then disco beats shall get deadlier and darker with 1986's career spearing Twitch LP.

Welcome to the new ministry !

*
Revenge = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VFqVRepm6U
Work For Love = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nam4UUTDPRw
With Sympathy = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrimPFJOwM&list=OLAK5uy_k4TtQUiVKOVcFG6J_ms4QIpFqGexGPaFU
Live in Minneapolis in 1983
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACmrUmTgN00

October 11, 1988 - 2023: 35 years of: The Land Of Rape And Honey.

Get twitched !

The updated MINISTRY machine was on a roll. After the mechanical tune-up of 1986's Twitch LP, the voltage was boosted and the wattage-output set to fuck-off. Welcome to this lovely shop of horrors.

The cacophony kicks-off with the hyperactive "Stigmata". Metal-guitars and machine-gun programmed drumming, this endless chaos gives no pity, as the mosh-metal "The Missing" and buzzsaw samples of "I Prefer" distort everything above sea-level.

Slowing the pace for "The Land Of Rape And Honey", a scratch / noise ridden cut, while the back-alley vibe of "Destruction" would send chills, to even the most automated of us. The hypnotic beat of "You Know Who You Are" is a sure-shot dark-disco overkill.

Ground Zero for industrial-metal, the crossover The Land Of Rape And Honey LP would plant the underground with the seeds that would eventually bloom into a full fledge supply-chains of heaviness ...oh and welcome aboard bassist and colleague-in-chaos: Paul Barker.

Currently RIAA-certified Gold, the sweet honey taste was about to sour-up with 1989's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste LP.

*
Stigmata = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxaPj19VnRA
The Land Of Rape And Honey = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cfzszFHmcw
The Land Of Rape And Honey = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz3LPq_dxck&list=OLAK5uy_mnBmYMT81eN2DyqpfJuBSxusMXPZ9wMDE
Live in Toronto in 1988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whGYyLIh5To&list=PL229822A07D783226
City Of Tisdale
https://maps.app.goo.gl/9MgmeFVd1x8bWmjDA

November 14, 1989 - 2024: 35 years of: The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste.

The mind: don't waste it ...taste it !

Round four and fully engineered to perfection. Following 1988's honey-licious LP, MINISTRY's electric circus is putting stigmatas aside and fully incorporating the current thrashmetal sound to their mix.

The imminent rapid-fire of "Thieves" Tommy Guns the scene into a pulp. No time to rest, as both lovely "Burning Inside" and "Breathe" reeks hate out of every pore. The mosh-rhythm of "Never Believe" shakes the ground into a quicksand and these marginal explorations even taste the street-rapping vocal-delivery, as exhibited on "Test".

Autumn 1989: industrial-metal was now official, as MINISTRY along the bold British GODFLESH, both made eardrums bleed into submission to lovely mechanical-beats.

RIAA-certified Gold, the band was on their way to conquer the brutal nineties. First step, the trend-steering industrial-metal power-tool perfection of 1992's Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs CD.

*
Thives = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHwQyyAUfpk
Burning Inside = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epDFHOVbhWk
The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMTY42v1Re4&list=OLAK5uy_nZTw4YoFnaX11TmmCsCQLkzfMl3N_TRCA
In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live) = full VHS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibmJkVD_41k&list=PLMeLRTt4wJE0Y4JcIrhHlV-poiDJMeVng

July 14, 1992 - 2022: 30 years of: Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs.

Ground Zero for industrial-metal.

This is it ...and it happened in 1992. An era where on one end, METALLICA and MEGADETH would break the boundaries of arena-thrash and on the other, new streetmetallers BODY COUNT and WHITE ZOMBIE were dictating a new set of rules. And on the 7th Day ...the electrified MINISTRY constructed: industrial-metal.

The initial contact is pure nitroglycerin. Three letters that didn't meant much back in 1992, but have since taken a life of it's own. "N.W.O." is a signature-track of the early 90s: part-thrashmetal, part-industrial, all organized rebellious chaos. This repetitive hammer destroys trends and creates new ones. Thanks for the cue Mr. Bush. The apocalyptic machine keeps on pumping hot-steam with "TV II" and the gigantic religious metal-gathering title-track of "Psalm 69".

The leading MTV-single rockabilly-vibed "Jesus Built My Hotrod" features BUTTHOLE SURFERS frontmen Gibby Haynes on vocals. Raw, rough and relentless, this new-metal attack hits all nerves. The other lethal metal-monster and signature-cut is found on the compelling "Just One Fix" game-changer. Ravaging metal-riff and destructive drum-beats, the horse-power meter hits eleven.

After 1989's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste LP, the overdrive got into distortion and the addiction got into the streets. This is one ministry no one can walk away from, the scene was now under their influence.

In a post-Rodney King era, tearing up the Lollapalooza stages across America in humid Summer 1992, MINISTRY were now the new standard in extreme. Internally the band was a mess, but above all, Psalm 69 spearheaded a new genre: industrial-metal. RIAA-certified Platinum, more killings would occur with 1996's Filth Pig CD.

"Give me that thorazine !!!"

*
N.W.O. = video
https://vimeo.com/44568228
Just One Fix = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYYGKCanqfA
Jesus Built My Hotrod = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXCh9OhDiCI
Psalm 69 = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhPx9QdzNpA&list=OLAK5uy_nb_KMJMjN16HISanA91iw27zgXPBqNzFE
Interview in New-York in 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNCxpO37fQ
Live in San Francisco in 1992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLdyk7-st5I

more MINISTRY:

Alternative-Metal 1992
&

Nativity In Black