An election year in the United States and of course Ministry just has to release a new album to the world as well. You could state that this band has been an indicator of the geopolitical climate since the 80s, but it’s clear that this horde of leftists has grown to be more activist throughout the years. The world upside down, because normally you get less cynical when you grow older, but of course this is still the band surrounding Al Jourgensen. Hopiumforthemasses is the band’s sixteenth full-length!
They might have gotten more activistic throughout the years, focusing on political tension, but it has been clear for some time now that Ministry‘s music was brought with less fire than before. I want to clear that I didn’t give up on Ministry throughout the release of albums such as The Last Sucker, Relapse or even AmeriKKKant, which had some real heavy songs but overall had an overload of samples and industrial beats that kept chugging along without leaving a big impression. Hopiumforthemasses is in that spectrum without a doubt: songs like Aryan Embarrassment, New Religion and Cult of Suffering consist of monotonous hardrock vibes that make me want to skip the tracks. The last track even makes me think of new wave and even though I don’t dislike the genre, I think it’s just weird to have Eugene Hütz (Gogol Bordelo) sing about a theme like Ukraine in this way. Perhaps they should have chosen a different theme for a ‘dope track’, or does this make me too cynical?
It might be the latter, since I like the experiment Ricky’s Hand: an industrial rave party to close off the album after a lot of unnecessary tracks, but luckily also with some tracks that dó have an impact. B.D.E. (big d*** energy) will probably work well on the summer festivals with industrial that still doesn’t beat you up, but it does have a high sing-a-long value and the message is strong. The same story goes for tracks such as Just Stop Oil, but this one also has some Rob Zombie energy to it. The message is clear; Greta couldn’t have said it more clearly. The highlight of the album is without a doubt the song Goddamn White Trash, in which Ministry finally shows us once again that they can lead an infused resistance. Not with the same fire as fifteen years ago – I still can’t feel the frustration and revolt of the man on the chair in the video of Let’s Go – but the message has been registered.
‘What’s in a name’, you could say. The ‘hopium’ that Ministry creates for the masses is a bit dazing and stupefies at certain times, but these old rockers still have the skill to shake you up from time to time. There is still hope, but the political climate of today needs a lot more fire and willpower, if you’re asking me, to make the necessary impact. There are a lot of strong words in this new manifest, but the power of the Ministry mallet decreased long ago.
Score:
70/100
Label:
Nuclear Blast, 2024
Tracklisting:
- B.D.E.
- Goddamn White Trash
- Just Stop Oil
- Aryan Embarrassment
- TV Song 1/6 Edition
- New Religion
- It’s Not Pretty
- Cult of Suffering
- Ricky’s Hand
Line-up:
- Al Jourgenson – Zang, gitaar, synth
- John Bechdel – Synth
- Monte Pittman – Gitaar
- Cesar Soto – Gitaar, zang
- Roy Mayorga – Drums
- Paul D’Amour – Bas
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