Valkyrian Music

Ministry
AmeriKKKant
Released 9th March 2018
Industrial Metal
Released via Nuclear Blast Records

Ministry doesn’t need much of an introduction. They have been a part of the industrial metal scene since the early ‘80s and they have gone through several changes over the years. They even split up a few times only to re-unite again a few years later. Now Uncle Al and his motley crew are back with another politically themed album – ‘AmeriKKKant’.

The first track I Know Words is essentially just ambient noise with some distorted samples from speeches by Donald Trump. It sets the scene well enough but other than that it doesn’t really offer much. I was actually tempted to skip it after the first few seconds. Luckily the one that follows it, Twilight Zone is a much better song, possibly the closest Ministry has come to recreating their old “classic” sound from the ‘The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste’ and ‘Psalm 69’ -eras. The harmonica works a treat as do the gritty, eerie-sounding rhythmic guitars. This is the Ministry that I was hoping to hear!

As usual with Ministry, they like to make a statement and this album is no exception. In here the themes include: US politics, gun violence, ANTIFA and the Ku Klux Klan. Victims of A Clown caught my attention due to the use of turntables in addition to the other instruments. Apparently their current line-up also includes a DJ. Luckily the turntable noise is mostly in the background and it seems to suit the overall tone of the music. The angry, thrash metal-esque We’re Tired of It is one of the highlights, despite being the shortest song on here. It gives the record a much needed boost, an extra shot of adrenaline to keep going…

In summary, ‘AmeriKKKant’ is a creepy album which leaves the listener with a sense of dread, some confusion and anger. I guess that must be how a lot of Americans feel at the moment… Sadly with only a handful of memorable songs, it’s hardly a Ministry masterpiece. It’s not bad but they can do so much better.

3/5

Iza Raittila

This entry was posted on 14th March 2018 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Industrial metal, Ministry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.