The Last Sucker |13th Planet, 2007|

01. Let's Go, 02. Watch Yourself, 03. Life is Good, 04. The Dick Song, 05. The Last Sucker, 06. No Glory, 07. Death & Destruction, 08. Roadhouse Blues, 09. Die in A Crash, 10. End of Days (Pt. 1), 11. End of Days (Pt. 2)

Tight, angry and unstoppable. It's about the newest Ministry album, the band which has been standing for American industrial metal music genre for over 20 years. There is nothing like graduated reaching the best songs hidden somewhere in the middle of the CD. Nah, we get punched at once. Let's go? OK, we're coming!

Watch Yourself with a rapid rhythm, dense drums and guitars by Tommy Victor (Prong), rhythmic bass by Paul Raven (died recently in France, ex bass player of Killing Joke and Prong) and also so typical for Al Jourgensen half angry, half mechanical vocal parts. Next, Life is Good, meltdown to me. Unisono of guitar riffs and bass divides, then Jourgensen comes out and makes a remarkable impression, as usually. The Dick Song contains layered guitar riffs and dialogues, of course putting down on the USA President George W. Bush, but it's been a standard feature of Ministry music for the last few years.

The title song The Last Sucker isn't the best song on the album, sounds a bit too monotone, lacks madness, but a following track No Glory belongs to those Ministry songs you can fall into and lose yourself, thanx to this rapid rhythm. Death and Destruction sounds even faster, I don't know what happens to the public at Ministry shows but it sounds like a background for some serious orgy ;) Roadhouse Blues is a mixture of hard rock and industrial metal, original song recorded by The Doors and kept in a rock'n'blues style. I loved that part with harmonica Al played on. Die in a Crash sounds a bit punk with industrial samples, feels like a spirit of The Clash and Sex Pistols.

The CD ends up with The End of Days Part 1 i Part 2, a masterpiece of power, and rebel of Part 1 and a beautiful, melody performance of Part 2, not deprived of a claw tho. Fuck, this song makes me almost cry, so beautiful it is! Part 2 is more about a music theme, would be cool if used for the ending part in a documentary movie about Ministry sometime soon as The Last Sucker was announced the last Ministry album at all. While watching you'll be thinking - 'and such a band quit their career!' I would name this documentary movie: "Ministry - Industrial Complex" (2007 (C) by NINa!). Sadly there is no connection between the last and the first songs on the CD.

Al's vision for Ministry has been firm and unvarying for years, but there is Ministry's strength in it. The band had came across many line up changes through years and it was expected Ministry sound would change after Paul Barker left the band. Ministry found their new way into more metal or trash metal vibe afterwards, they sounded less industrial in comparison to earlier albums and to me new albums sounded like if the musicians wanted to release their stress. They sounded like in a lack of some deep background to me. The Last Sucker is kind of a different one, however brings traces and memories of all previous releases except With Sympathy and Twitch. Besides Victor and Raven there are other musicians credited on the CD - Sin Quirin (Revolting Cocks) i Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory, AotW).

The Last Sucker is the fourth of the best Ministry albums to me, to be placed somewhere among Psalm 69, The Land of Rape and Honey and The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste, and which I recommend for a listening. It's also said to be the last Ministry album, tho it's hard to believe as later came out news about Al working on a cover versions CD. I doubt if someone who spent almost 30 years on the stage with bands, admired and thought provoking decides to quit the band and take less exposed status of music producer and owner of his own business (13th Planet record label, where Prong has been signed amongst all). The only one thing is real to me - when Al has a vision he follows it persistently. We'll hear about the consequences of that vision soon.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)