Ministry – Relapse CD review

Ministry have an untarnished legacy, having released some of the finest industrial metal albums of all time as well as being fronted by one of the words greatest front men Mr Al Jourgensen – who still has one of the most distinct and gnarliest voices in the metal world despite being heavily into drink and drugs about a decade ago. Ministry’s new album entitled Relapse is a call to arms for all Ministry fans who thought the end of the band back in 2007 when they “so called” called it a day. Through rapid, high speed guitar riffs, haunting political outcries and some extremely catchy songs , Ministry have reclaimed their crown as best industrial metal band on the planet and are back with vengeance to cause a stir, release head throbbing metal and send out a message about how deceptive and untrustworthy the music industry can be.

Relapse is full of potential singles and it is clear that Mr Jourgensen has tried to incorporate musical elements as seen in other projects such as Revolting Cocks and Buck Satan into the tracks on Relapse. Ministry are more than just an industrial band now and you can hear elements of southern rock/hillbilly and sleaze creeping into tracks such as ‘Double Tap’, ‘Kleptocracy’ and ‘United Force’ making these songs to appeal to a wider range of metal heads. It’s brilliant to see that Ministry are experimenting with other styles than just their trademark industrial sound and it has really pulled off superbly.

Al Jourgensen is usually the talk on everybody’s lips when a new Ministry album but it only seems right that his awesome band are mentioned, especially as without them Relapse would not be the same album it is. Now housing members of: Rigor Mortis, Prong and Revolting Cocks – as well as a guest appearance from the mighty Gwar. Ministry has never had a stronger line-up and each individual has their moment to shine and display their talent appose to it all being about Al Jourgensen. Without such talented and diverse musicians Relapse would probably just be another Ministry album, instead of this landmark ground shifting release!

It’s so much better when a band sings about real life scenarios and events appose to fantasy themes. It’s clear that once again Al Jourgensen is singing about his political views about the government and the musical industry again. This guy should have know more than others what the music industry and the government is actually like and through tracks like ‘Ghouldiggers’ and ‘Git Up Get Out An Vote’ voices his opinion and his stories on what he really thinks of these topics.

This is the return of Ministry and has to be one of the best comeback albums ever. If you thought you were excited about the upcoming Ministry UK tour in July, then excited would be an understatement.  Relapse contains ten of Ministry’s greatest songs that when hit you like will blow your mind all across the room. No matter what the cynics think… MINISTRY ARE HERE TO STAY! [9/10]