Pure Chewing Satisfaction
There's no question that Ministry's 1996 albumFilth Pigwas its weakest effort in years, but for anyone who thought the industrial engine had run out of steam, the band's side-project albumPure Chewing Satisfactionis concrete proof that Ministry's creative juices are still flowing blood red. Lard features the band along with ex-Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra, and this, the group's second disc, is an electrifying blend of speed, precision, and political satire. Returning to the propulsive, crunching guitars and cracking drums that defined Ministry in the early '90s, Lard makes up for lost ground, while at the same time plunging full-throttle into the future with cutting-edge production and biting, contemporary lyrics. "I went to Blockhead Video to rent a tape of people making love/Couldn't find no lovin' here/It's a family store, see here/ ... I settled forFaces of Death, but they rented it to some kid," sings Biafra in "Generation Execute" in his trademarked nasal whine.--Jon Wiederhorn