I wasn’t expecting to put out anything this week. My 3-part series on Kreator has kept me occupied for the most part this month. Listening to each & every album, along with taking down notes, means I don’t have much time for anything else. However, upon a discovery earlier today, I figured why not do a surprise review. Given that the band in question I’m looking at today has an album coming out the middle of next month, I find it more than a coincidence. That’s right, it’s time to take a look at Ministry!
Now, these legends of Industrial Metal aren’t necessarily strangers here on the Heavy Metal Otaku blog. In late August of 2016, I did an overview on the band in tribute to my Uncle Randy, and I considered it one of my favorite posts I ever made. In recent years the group has had a revival of sorts, what with Al Jourgenson putting out a solo album, Ministry touring again, and the previously mentioned record coming out in March. However, today isn’t about anything new. It’s about a journey to the early 2000s, when personal turmoil for the beleaguered frontman would finally get an asskicking. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my review for 2003's Animositisomina. Let’s begin!
Background
Taken from my overview on Ministry:
“Fate is a strange thing. Often when we think we’re going down one direction, fate comes in to put us on another. When it comes to the curious case of Al Jourgensen, fate threw him for a loop! By 2002 the divorce between him & his wife was finalized, his drug was practically in control, and thoughts of suicide were constant. Just when he was about to pull the trigger (He got a gun from a dealer, claiming it was to “shoot a crappy dealer”), a little nudge towards a brighter tomorrow came in the form of a small slip of paper, with a phone number on it as plain as day. The number was from a woman that Al knew from years prior, and out of a weird quirk, he gave the number a call. He did know what was in store.
Upon the call, the two reunited, and then Al’s life began to heal. He paid off his wife’s alimony, kicked his heroine habit, re-figured his own money, and got to work on Animositisomina, his.....second least favorite album, which is oddly surprising to me. With his very first record, I can definitely understand. With Sympathy was manufactured by corporate interests, and as such really doesn’t have much in the way of heart & soul. This one, however, surprises me. That said, Animositisomina’s recording session wasn’t a smooth ride: because he was kicking his heroin habit, he was in a lot of pain & quite irritable. On top of that, him & his longtime engineer/producer were not on good terms anymore at this point, enough to the point of leaving one song incomplete (More on this in a moment). Uncle Al even left most of the recording up to Barker himself, apart from 1 track.”
Basic Description
A flawed return.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear....Ministry are back with this record. This is one of the strongest records the band has ever produced. The instrumentation is great, the sound effects match up with the vibe & flow almost seamlessly, and Uncle Al’s voice sounds the clearest as it’s even been in years. Coupled with the production quality that makes the whole release sound the clearest & most crisp the band has ever been, it seems like a slam dunk for Ministry. However, Uncle Al wasn’t out of the woods yet. Going cold turkey to remove his heroin habit wasn’t easy, and it left him incredibly angry & irritable. You can sense his pain & frustration with each and every song. On top of that, some of the bleakness from Filth Pig & Dark Side Of The Spoon crept back a little. These factor created a volatile recording process, but perhaps that kind of environment was needed for an album like Animositisomina.
Best Track
As I said in my Ministry overview, Impossible & The Light Pours Out Of Me are the 2 best tracks of the album. Uncle Al’s struggle to get over his drug habit was intense during the recording of this album, and these songs in my mind really represents that struggle. With Impossible, you get the sense of how immense getting over a Heroin (Uncle Al’s drug of choice) addiction is, and The Light Pours Out Of Me comes across as said drug habit coming out of Al’s body. It’s ironic that these songs complement each other so much, especially when the track Shove keeps the both of them apart. Still, these 2 tunes are the best representatives of Animositisomina, and ones you shouldn’t ignore.
Impossible
The Light Pours Out Of Me
Worst Track
Leper is still the worst song of the album in my view. Like I said in my overview back in 2016, this song really comes across like a series of effects rather than anything else. It a bit of a shame, as this 9-minute song just screams for Al Jourgenson’s vocal work. It’s not exactly bad per se, but it in no way is worthy of being the concluding track of the album.
Leper
Other
If you’re curious about this album, then check out the link below:
Animositisomina
Overall Impression & Rating
Animositisomina shows that there’s still life in Ministry & Al Jourgenson. It’s not perfect though, as you can tell that the group’s front man is still having some personal issues, and isn’t completely fixed. However, you can tell that the band was one the right track to recovery, and given the next 3 albums after this, they did recover. Animositisomina isn’t perfect, but it’s not bad by any measure. Definitely an album to listen to if you’re curious.
Animositisomina gets a 7.5 out of 10.
Well everyone, that was the 15th anniversary of Ministry’s first album of the 2000s. Like I said, I didn’t have any intention of covering this release. Since I didn’t know it had it’s birthday today and all. However, I love doing surprises every once in a while, and this was a fun one. Anyways, see you all next time!
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