Ministry - Relapse

Published March 28 2012

*=Staff's pick	Ghouldiggers* Double Tap* Freefall Kleptocracy United Forces 99 Percenters Relapse Weekend Warrior Git Up Get Out 'n Vote Bloodlust Relapse (Defibrillator Mix)

Genre	Industrial Metal	Al Jourgensen	Vocals
Tracks	11	Al Jourgensen	Guitar
Running time	57 Min.	Mike Scaccia	Guitar
Label	13th Planet Records	Tommy Victor	Guitar
Release	26 March 2012	Tony Campos/Casey Orr	Bass
Country	USA	Al Jourgensen	Programming
Producer	Sammy D'Ambruoso	Al Jourgensen	Keyboard
Similar artists	Killing Joke, Die Krupps

Relapse marks the return of industrial metal legend Al Jourgensen and his Ministry, five years after the "farewell" album The Last Sucker. The three preceding albums have all been about George W Bush but as he's no longer in office, and an Obama-themed album apparently isn't going to happen, the lyrical themes are instead focused around drugs, greed and corruption in general.

Musically, Relapse has more of a rock 'n roll vibe and feels more accessible than its three predecessors. Quality-wise, it's a mixed bag. The first two tracks, Ghouldiggers and Double Tap, are a perfect start and they feel like instant classics. Some of the lyrics are presented as monologues, or in a sort of spoken-word poetry format,which works well and adds extra power to some of Al's more personal reflections.

Setting a fair score on this album is hard. I mean, Al's been clinically dead three (!) times and still keeps creating masterpieces like Ghouldiggers and Double Tap. On the other hand, songs like Kleptocracy, United Forces, Weekend Warrior and Git Up Get Out 'n Vote feel like predictable filler songs. On the third hand, 99 Percenters is a pretty cool song (Although the whole "1, 2, 3, 4" concept feels a little cheap) and Freefalljust keeps growing every time I listen to it.

With this in mind I think six chalices might be reasonable. Relapse is no Rio Grande Blood or The Last Sucker but there's an undeniable quality there as always, although some of the songs feel more inspired than others.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	6	7	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Bjorn