reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Ministry - The Last Sucker

Yeah, yeah, I know – you haven't listened to Al Jourgensen's dirty-acid industrial-metal clearinghouse seriously since the days of Lollapalooza and “Jesus Built My Hotrod.” Well, then, you probably don't know that Ministry's last two albums, Houses of the Mole and Rio Grande Blood, were both unbelievably good returns to fine jackhammer form. Apparently, it takes a certain type of conservative Republican in the White House to really get Ministry going, and Jourgensen has been doing his best stuff since A Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Taste lately. Too bad that this similarly Bush-bashing final album from the outfit comes off like a collection of outtakes from the previous pair of discs. It's not bad that former Prong frontman Tommy Victor remains one of the tightest, most menacing guitar players in the genre, and the pummeling rhythms remain intact. It's just not as clever or inventive or vicious, and knowing that the group is going out on this one makes a slight letdown feel like a big one. – Scott Harrell