Thursday, February 20, 2003

Ministry - Animositisomina


As Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker's first album of the new millennium, a lot was said about Ministry returning to the sound and angst of their 1989 release The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Would their follow-up to 1999's Dark Side Of The Spoon live up to the hype?

Animositisomina breaks out of the gates screaming with raging drums, stabbing guitars and growl galore with "Animosity." The song is the centerpiece of this album as a lot of the strength of it carries over into ripping tracks like the aggressive "Piss," the slow grinding chant-a-long "Shove" and the drum driven "Impossible." "Unsung" musically makes me think that Ministry ran over KMFDM's tour van on the way to the studio and can't peel the guitar-work off their wheels. This isn't a bad thing but it's a new area for them. The phenomenally produced industrial square dance, "Broken," is bound to become a mosh pit favorite. The surprise on this album was the band's cover of Magazine's "Light Pours Out Of Me" which is as dark as it is seems out of place and maybe too true to the original.

Overall, Animositisomina is a strong move back to Ministry's more powerful work. Although a few songs just barely miss their mark ("Leper" and "Stolen,") it'd be well worth picking up if you are looking for something to push your musical boundaries or if you are just looking for something to kick.