ALBUM REVIEW: Ministry fury expoused on AmeriKKKant

AL Joursengen is one pissed off, angry and fucked off man: a contrarian and an absorber of thoughts and ideas. And, right now he has his sights set on the fucked up state of his home nation - the United Stats of America.

'AmeriKKant' may be the 14th Ministry album, but it is also dripping with fury and fire, layers and layers of intensity - in fact all sorts of layers.

There are samples drizzled throughout like honey spiked with vitriol. The venom expressed by Joursengen drips like acid on exposed moral bankruptcy.

But, before taking on board the multiple of messages Al wants us to absorb there is a need to examine the music, especially given that he has assembled a new crew of misfits.

As with all Ministry releases you should be prepared to absorb what is going on beyond the top - the rhythm, the guitar lines and the overwhelming at times industrial sound that crams everything on top of everything else.

It is a soundtrack of not only a dystopian future, but a dystopian present...taut and rebellious.

However, it is worth saying that AmeriKKant does not compromise. Given the weight of the message Al wishes to deliver it would have been easy for the band to step back and give the words and samples space.

Instead it all crowds in on top of itself, toppling upon the listener like a aural avalanche that oppresses and forces you to listen to make sense of the wall that is collapsing on top, crushing you amidst the wall of sound.

'Twilight Zone' and 'Victims of a Clown' each clock in at over eight minutes; 16 glorious minutes of shock and awe; 16 minutes that challenge what you think.

Charlie Chaplin's speech from 'The Great Dictator' sampled alongside Trump and voices of the left and right means that rather than one listen it requires repeated listens to see the totality of what Joursengen is diving at.

Whilst the title track, 'We're Tired Of It' and the controversial 'Antifa' are great tunes in and of themselves this is an album that is going to drive divisions.

Not that Al and his cohorts give a fuck about that. Like the UK political punks taking a stand in the late 70s and 80s AmeriKKant sees Ministry take a stand.

And, amidst the banality of the mainstream music our global culture we need bands like Ministry to make a statement.

Review by Jonathan Traynor

AmeriKKKant is released on Nuclear Blast on March 9th

Ministry play Belfast's Limelight on July 23rd, with support from Chelsea Wolfe

Big Al to preach ...

AL Jourgensen is bringing his own particular brand of industrial preaching to Belfast with the first ever Northern Ireland trip for Ministry.

The Godfathers of indistrial metal will be appearing at the Mandella Hall on 17th July.

Tickets are £29.50 and available from all the usual outlets and Ticketmaster.

The Belfast date comes as Jourgensen prepares to release the latest oeuvre from Ministry, the apocalytic Relapse, to be released later this month.

It's an album of brutal industrial sounds, coming 30 years after the birth of Ministry. The blurb claims that "Relapse incorporates elements of thrash, crossover metal, groove metal, angular prog rock, psychedelia and even classic rock".

Coming five chaotic years and one near-death experience after the release of the band’s The Last Sucker it's a tour and an album that could not only re-define Ministry's appeal, but also challenge the industrial metal genre and help it break out of the clichés and the stereotypes.

Can Ministry can blow Belfast's minds away with this reinvigorated sound and Jourgensen's undoubted talent? Well it would be worth finding out!

Gig-tastic time

OKAY peeps - who'd got the beer tokens? It's a fantastic few months of gigs coming up. Can we handle it all?

First up, if you were planning to go see Korn or You Me At Six...if you haven't got your tickets yet it's too late: both gigs are sold out. But if you want your fix of hard rock and metal there's plenty out there!

This Friday night Nasa Assassin and Trucker Diablo are at Ma Nelson's; and if you want a full listing of local  rock and metal head over to RockRadioNI's gig guide or the Distortion Project pages.

Meanwhile there are still tickets available for Amon Amarth (with Grand Magus and In Solitude) at the Mandella on 18th March, UFO and Sweet Savage on the 21st March at the Spring and Airbrake, with Vain playing the same night at The Limelight.

If you can still keep up Ministry are playing the Mandella on July 17th, Ice Earth are at the Spring and Airbrake on 8th August. Hang on to your hats then because WASP will be bringing their 30th Anniversary tour to the Ulster Hall on 24th September, with Y&T playing the Spring & Airbrake on the 29th of that month....

Damn it, I've probably missed a few out, but....who's heading to Download?

Sabbath [possibly the last time to see Ozzy, Tony and Geezer play together live], Metallica, Anthrax, Slash, Machine Head, Black Label Society and a host of others.

Who's going?

Prong - full details

Prong press release below:

The Distortion Project is very proud to present:
PRONG www.myspace.com/prong
Sunday 14th June, Spring & Airbrake, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. Doors 8pm.

Tickets available from katys dalys, auntie annies and all ticketmaster outlets.
Web bookings: www.ticketmaster.ie, www.geturticket.com. Credit card hotline 0870 2434455
www.thedistortionproject.com www.myspace.com/distortionproject

"PRONG There is a price to pay for being the first at anything. PRONG have been carving their own brutal route since their formation only to see their distinctive sound borrowed, perverted and in some instances flat out stolen.

"With 1994’s landmark album Cleansing, PRONG cemented their reputation as leaders of the burgeoning industrial metal hardcore crossover movement. That album showcased a sharper yet more accessible sound with such MTV staples as the infectious “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” and “Broken Peace”. The former of which became an MTV buzz clip and was very well received by the two most important critics of that era: Beavis & Butthead.

"The release of 1996’s Rude Awakening exposed PRONG’s songwriting prowess and many still say it was a victim of being too far ahead of its time. Rude Awakening paved the way for such artists as Static-X and Slipknot, drawing from many sources to create a new format for heavy guitar driven rock.

"After a seven-year hiatus PRONG returned with a new line-up and a new album, releasing Scorpio Rising in 2003. “I had to do something, no matter what it was” states mainman Tommy Victor. “Looking back, I don’t feel like it was an appropriate release under the PRONG moniker. I feel like the best is yet to come.”

"Victor spent the last year splitting his time between writing and touring with MINISTRY and writing the new PRONG album, using that time to hone the new PRONG material with a razorlike intensity. PRONG's staggeringly heavy new album Power of the Damager, is out now on Al Jourgenson of MINISTRY’s label 13th Planet Records.

"Power of the Damager is available from all retail and online outlets. It is also in stock and shipping now from the 13th Planet Store, which offers exclusive Prong shirts, signed posters and other items. The new album showcases an aggressive call to arms, blending the neck-snapping riffs the band is known for along with an even heavier approach to the hook and infusing that with an honest speed and aggression that lacks in so many newer acts. PRONG have returned to doing what they do best, and yet somehow it feels like something new all over again."