Ministry: Live Necronomicon (2 CDs)

Ministry formed way back in 1981 in Chicago, Illinois by founding member Al Jourgensen. Starting out as a synthpop outfit the band reached critical acclaim with the albums The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) and The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) and became the purveyors of an industrial sound. The band is still going strong today. I have to admit I am not all that familiar with the band so reviewing their latest disc, the two CD live set titled Live Necronomicon was a completely new experience as I really didn’t know what to expect.

The concert was recorded in 1990 during their 'Mind' tour at the Star Plaza Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana. Al Jourgensen led the ten piece lineup that included guest musicians Nivek Ogre (`Skinny Puppy), Chris Connelly (Revolting Cocks), Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) and Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd.).

The concert begins with rousing crowd noise and an almost tribal drum intro with heavy blast beats before the heavy riffs cut through like a razor knife. The vocals are pretty intense but “Breathe� is a damn catchy song. A powerful drum intro begins “The Missing�, another heavy riff based tune. The riffs are repetitive but again this is some catchy stuff. The vocals are quite gruff but are a good fit considering the intensity of the music. More burning riffs and muted synths highlight “Deity�, another really heavy tune. That’s pretty much what you get here, fast paced all the way. This isn’t music for the faint hearted as the wall of sound guitar and synth riffs dominate every track. Public Image Ltd.’s “Public Image� channels the Sex Pistols in a punk rock rave up while the humorous Lard tune “The Power Of Lard� featuring Jello Biafra is worth hearing just for the lyrics and the bass absolutely rips.

The sound can get a bit muddy at times but overall isn’t too bad for a live recording. At the very least fans of the band will surely want this in their collection.

Released on Cleopatra Records.

Track Listing:
CD 1
1. Breathe
2. The Missing
3. Deity
4. Man Should Surrender
5. No Bunny
6. Smothered Hope
7. So What
8. Burning Inside
CD 2
1. Thieves
2. Stigmata
3. Public Image
4. The Power Of Lard
5. Hellfudge
6. The Land Of Rape & Honey

Added: May 6th 2018
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 1584
Language: english

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