Ministry : Animositisomina
Animositisomina marks the perfection of the sound Ministry has been evolving since the incredible “Filth Pig” (96). The first track, Animosity, hits hard and fast with a feel reminiscent of “Filth Pig”. “Unsung” comes in with piercing drums and thick distortion- Al sounds as though he’s singing from the bottom of a chasm. All of the songs sport excellent riffs and guitar solos, and Al’s vocals range from demonic (“Lockbox”) to comic (“Broken”). Track 6 is a cover of a song created by a band called Magazine. I’ve never heard the original, but this version has extremely catchy lead guitar and hypnotic sounding vocals. Track seven is the song that will create mayhem on the floor at the Ministry concert: this song is guaranteed to incite a mosh pit. With funny lyrics like “I talked to God and all his literary friends” and a chorus that demands action, “Shove” is a metalhead’s wet dream. An otherworldly saxophone and some excellent drums create the “Impossible”. Finally, the instrumental “Leper” slowly builds tension with a hypnotic bass before building to a loud pounding end.
This is easily one of the best albums in the Metal and Industrial genres to come out this decade. Hardcore metal fans looking for bands that don’t sound like Papa Roach or Limp Bizkit should definitely pick this one up. Ministry is one of the old school bands that are still pumping out great shit. The band is apparently cool about sharing music online- the entire album is available in Quicktime and RealAudio free on their website. I listened to the entire album several times before I bought it- how many bands will allow that? Ministry is one of the last bastions of true heavy metal, and one of the few truly unique bands in today’s climate of inane, derivative pop garbage.
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