Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs

ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ(commonly known asPsalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggsor simplyPsalm 69) is the fifth studio album by Americanindustrial metalbandMinistry, released on July 14, 1992, bySire Records. It was produced by frontmanAl Jourgensenand bassistPaul Barker, and was recorded from March 1991 to May 1992 inChicago, IllinoisandLake Geneva, Wisconsin. The album's title, initially intended to beThe Tapes of Wrath, ended up being derived fromAleister Crowley'sThe Book of Lies.
Psalm 69features elements ofspeed metal,rockabilly, andpsychobilly, with lyrics exploring social, political, and religious topics. With much anticipation following the success of Ministry's previous albumThe Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste(1989), pressures on the band were said to be high, in addition to the growing substance abuse of several members and worsening relationships between them. It was also the first timeMike Scacciahad been significantly involved in a Ministry album, after appearing on tours in support ofThe Mind....
Preceded by lead single "Jesus Built My Hotrod",Psalm 69was a critical and commercial success upon its release, peaking at number 27 on theUSBillboard200and number 33 on theUK Albums Chart. It was supported by two more singles: "N.W.O." and "Just One Fix", with accompanying music videos directed byPeter Christopherson.Psalm 69is considered to be Ministry's most successful album, having been certified gold in Canada and Australia, and platinum in the US. Following its release, Ministry joined the second annualLollapaloozatour before commencing a tour through Europe and the US; "N.W.O.", "Just One Fix", and the title track have become permanent features of the band's live setlist. "N.W.O." was nominated for theBest Metal Performanceat the35th Annual Grammy Awards.
In March 1991, following the conclusion of the year-long tour in support ofRevolting CocksalbumBeers, Steers, and Queers,Al Jourgensenreturned with his bandmates at Chicago Trax! studios, to work on Ministry's next major release.Jourgensen claimed that the record companyWarner Bros. Records(to which Ministry were signed via their subsidiary,Sire Records) initially gave the band an enormous budgetexpecting a follow-up toThe Mind...to become a big hit compared withMichael Jackson's albumThriller; actually, Jourgensen, as he claimed in 2013, with his then wife Patty (née Marsh) and guitaristMike Scacciaspent most of the budget on drugs, paying $1,000 per day.Meanwhile, the firstLollapaloozatour had arrived in Chicago in early August 1991. Jourgensen went backstage attending a show by the bandButthole Surfers. After the gig, he had invited Butthole Surfers' singerGibby Haynesto Chicago Trax! to record what became the vocals and spoken word parts for the song "Jesus Built My Hotrod".While finishing "Jesus Built My Hotrod", Jourgensen was contacted by Sire/Warner Bros. executives, who asked if he had any completed material. Jourgensen sent them "Jesus Built My Hotrod" since it was the only song recorded by this time. While the label was not happy with just having "Jesus Built My Hotrod", Jourgensen told them either to give another advance for further work or sign the band off. The label was doubtful if the band would record anything else, but decided to release "Jesus Built My Hotrod"; following its success, they gave the band necessary budget, with the condition that the band would eventually finish the record.
Besides drug problems, there was also growing animosity between the band's members, divided into two groups: while one group included Jourgensen and Scaccia, another—dubbed "the Book Club" by Jourgensen—included bassistPaul Barker, drummerBill Rieflinand guest/live singerChris Connelly.Jourgensen claimed that he and Scaccia added their parts separately from Barker, Rieflin and Connelly; once Jourgensen and Scaccia would come in, they erased about 80 percent of what the Book Club associates did.
The last songs included for the album, the instrumental tracks "Corrosion" and "Grace", were written mainly by Barker and recorded in February–March 1992;the album's last session was held on May 7, 1992.Over 15 months were spent on the recording, however, only nine of about 30 songs made its way onto the final cut, with the rest being distributed to side projects.
The title of the album is linked to chapter 69 ofThe Book of Lies, a written work ofAleister Crowley, where he uses the expression "The way to succeed and the way to suck eggs" as a pun for the69 sex position("suck seed" and "suck eggs"). Moreover, Crowley titled the chapterΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ(which translates literally as "shrugged" and contains the sound ΛΗΞ "licks") but has a second meaning as a compound of Greekκεφαλη("head") andΞΘ(an encoded alphabetic reference to "69") which both have slang meanings in English for sexual acts.
Subsequent to the album's release, Ministry put multiple references to thenumber 69in future albums. For example, the albumsDark Side of the SpoonandHouses of the Moléboth havehidden tracksat track #69. A further reference to the number was exhibited onHouses of the Moléwith a hidden track at #23 titled "Psalm 23", one third of 69.
The cover art depicts a silhouette of an angel surrounded by clocks and other miscellaneous objects as border icons. It was designed by photographer Paul Elledge who conceived the layout after Jourgensen handed him a copy of Aleister Crowley's 1918The Book of Lies.The final cover image was a triple exposure of three images on one piece of film. The angel was a model from Chicago's Art Institute, who was wearing angel wings crafted by the artist's wife at the time. It took Elledge a week to complete the cover art.
Psalm 69was ranked No. 80 on theRolling Stone's "Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" list, with author Suzy Exposito concluding that "the result of the album was a manic drag race into a swampy hellmouth of thrash Americana – and it worked".The album was also included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.In 2001,Qnamed it one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".
"N.W.O." was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Metal Performanceat theGrammy Awards of 1993, but lost toNine Inch Nails' "Wish".
Video game composerFrank KlepackicitedPsalm 69album as a primary influence in creating the soundtrack for the 1995 video gameCommand & Conquer.
All songs credited to Ministry, except noted.Writing credits taken fromASCAPandBMIdatabases.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of the album.