Greatest Fits

by Ministry

Product Description:

Ministry: Alain Jourgensen (vocals, guitar, organ, programming); Paul Barker (bass, programming).

Additional personnel includes: Gibby Haynes, Ty Coon (vocals); Louis Svitek (acoustic guitar); Mike Scaccia (guitar); Duane Buford (keyboards); William Rieflin (drums, background vocals); Rey Washam, Jeff Ward, Max Brody (drums); Michael Balch (programming); Joe Kelly (background vocals).

Engineers include: Jeff Newell, Paul Manno, Ministry.

Presenting tracks dating back to1988, when Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen decided to get hyper-aggressive with his increasingly metal-tinged industrial music, GREATEST FITS is an aptly named collection, since it offers a sampling of the band's fiercest work (up to 2001). Although the classic transitional albums THE LAND OF RAPE AND HONEY and THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE, where Jourgensen abandoned his early-'80s dance-pop sound, are underrepresented, there's no shortage of distorted vocals, crushingly heavy guitar riffs, and machine-gun-like beats here.

With the exception of the scathing opening track, "What About Us?," (featured in the film A.I.), GREATEST FITS moves in (roughly) chronological order. "Stigmata" is a vitriolic primal scream synced up to keyboards, while "Thieves" focuses its anger to laser-like precision, a surgical strike powered by relentless guitars. Other highlights include the gleefully absurd "Jesus Built My Hotrod" (with vocals by Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes), a pummeling 12" mix of "Reload," and a potent cover of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut." Although, GREATEST FITS makes for a solid introduction to latter-day Ministry, those seeking more should look to the group's mid-to-late '80s albums to discover the sound that inspired Nine Inch Nails and numerous other industrial acts.