Easily one of the most anticipated albums from that year, especially after Nine Inch Nails had helped bring industrial metal to the mainstream with the success of the overtly Ministry-worshipping Pretty Hate Machine, Psalm 69 represented the high point of Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker's... [+] Expand

Easily one of the most anticipated albums from that year, especially after Nine Inch Nails had helped bring industrial metal to the mainstream with the success of the overtly Ministry-worshipping Pretty Hate Machine, Psalm 69 represented the high point of Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker's incarnation as loud-as-hell electrothrashers. B-side favorite "TV Song" (here called "TV II" and with Jourgensen on vocals instead of Chris Connelly), appears here and makes for some good noise. Throughout, however, Ministry as a unit shows its facility for straightforward, brutal noise crossed with clinical, on-the-money arrangements, whether it's the collage of crowd riot samples bubbling throughout "N.W.O." or the chantings of Christian praise on the title track. As a role model for any number of nu-metallers down the road, Psalm 69 is often terribly underrated, but where Ministry succeeds while so many failed easily has to do with sheer vitriol only slightly tempered by the overwhelming hugeness of the songs. Consider the massive impact of the drums on "Just One Fix" as they lead into tightly-wound, downward spiral riffing or the hyperspeed clatter of "Hero." Jourgensen's rasped lyrical visions of a corrupt America, drug addiction, mindless patriotism and religious hypocrisy aren't per se revelatory, but anyone lived through the Bush years – either father or son – might find plenty to sympathize with. Secret highlight: "Scarecrow," which takes the massive slow pound of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" and takes it to a strung-out, harrowing new location. [The import edition is missing "Grace," "Corrosion," and "Jesus Built My Hotrod"] ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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