Wow, what a sound. As the electro buzz of 'Stigmata' kicks in it's clear that Ministry are just a fraction away of bridging that gap between metal and industrial mayhem. Of course, such a pathway would not be created until the fantastic 'The Way To Succeed...', but 'The Land Of...' was the big one for me, a tormented, frantic minefield of barbaric machinism. The disturbing 'The Missing' pounds like anything dark in metal, Al Jourgensen becoming one of the most maniacal frontmen ever with his hoarse bellows amidst the wiry soundcsapes. Somehow wonderfully catchy in its extremity, four years later of course Faith No More would reinact such absurdities on 'Angel Dust', but Minsitry have always been the kings of such robotic rage, thrashing with the likes of Voivod but also constructing booming dance rhythms ('Destruction') and techno-punk ('Hizbollah'). There aren't many industrial bands who can lay claim that they started a riot, but in a genre where rust often outweighs the accessibility, Ministry rise like some Lovecraftian gargoyle, the title track an immense behemoth of barbed wire menace. This sits nicely alongside the video nasty samples of Swamp Terrorists and grey angst of Treponem Pal and is a must even for the purist metaller.
8/10
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