Customer Reviews

Dark Side of the Spoon

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Well, I'm definitely in the minority with this opinion, but I think Spoon is one of Ministry's best albums. From the jaw-shattering opening that is Supermanic Soul, to the extreme blood-curdling and deviating sound of the amazing Vex & Siolence, Spoon really showcases a more eerie and Wraithy side of Ministry. This isn't the typical, hard-hitting, aggressive Ministry album we've already heard a hundred times before. Spoon is darkly tricky, but at the same time, preserves that clotting Ministry sound we're all familiar with. Their slower, more bleak side in an entire CD.

This album just BLEEDS enmity. But it's executed in a suttle, and sometimes funny way. I love the melancholy that spews out of songs like Nursing Home (a trippy and tweaky track) and Eureka Pile. The acrid sound of Kaif... and of course, the disarraying backdrop of 10/10, Whip & Chain and Bad Blood... and the jazzy exterior of Step (which samples one of my favorite movies).

Most people rejected Spoon's unique and seething style. I guess it's an acquired taste... I'm just one of the few that happened to acquire that taste. This album is darkly funny, subtle, grey and just perfect. I'm not gonna say you're not a true Ministry fan if you detest this masterwork... but I WILL say all you Psalm 69-heads need to learn how to appreciate diverse music.

Spoon is dingy... it's muddy... it's coagulated... it's weird... and it's an absolute masterpiece.

They guy below who beseeches Ministry to return to their roots is apparently unaware that Ministry's "roots" are much more akin to Flock of Seagulls than the yardstick for heavy industrial metal that Ministry eventually became. Jourgensen's made a musical progression like few others - not just to the point that his music now bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to his music then, but that his music now is actually the antithesis of his earliest work.

It's a progression that's apparently drained Ministry of most of its creative force. The Dark Side Of The Spoon indicates that Al Jourgensen and cohort Paul Barker don't intend on coming off of autopilot just yet, if ever. The majority of Dark Side Of The Spoon circles in the same sleepy rut of tracks that seem eerily empty somehow, as if some key component is missing. There are occasional bright spots of innovation on the album, but they're marred by a feeling of deja vu it gives you - it all sounds awfully familiar. And not necessarliy familiar to Ministry, but more familiar to the band's own inferior clones.

The problem is that while all the key ingredients are here, they just don't gel to form recognizable songs like older Ministry - the droning bassline from "So What", hypnotic vocals of "Cannibal" or the sliding riff of "Stigmata", for examples. The drum loops and guitar riffs of Dark Side Of The Spoon are so overly simplistic and wearily paced that it feels like the songs of full of holes where sound is supposed to be. The ambience of earlier Ministry is lost on the Dark Side.

Dark Side Of The Spoon isn't quite unlistenable, but it isn't at all memorable, which means a lot when it's by a band that's made a lot of the most memorable and influentual music of the past fifteen years.

First off, fans need to drop the train of thought that artists make CD's for them. Filth Pig makes me think of something the guys from Paradise Lost said of alienating their fans. To paraphrase, "We didn't have fans before our first album, so so what?"

Think of all those disappointed synth-poppers back when Twitch came out. And then, think of all the sad electronica fans that bought Land of Rape & Honey!

Well now there's a new breed of Ministry fans, those that think each album should be Psalms 69. Thankfully, Ministry proves with Dark Side of The Spoon, they can shake things up with the best of them.

With it's sardonic, assumingly personal, lyrics -- and those text-book machine beats that made most of their college radio listening fans during Psalms, DSoTS delivers.

One really has to delve into certain bands' background and other projects to appreciate certain CD's, and perhaps this is one of them. One has to wonder if that's "Buck Satan" singing on some of those tracks -- or if the pig-like squeals in Nursing Home were inspired by certain films the boys have expressed a liking of.

No, DSoTS is not for all of Ministry's fans. But it's certainly for the true Ministry fans. The ones that listened to Filth Pig and appreciated it for it's incredibly dark, decaying and harsh tunes -- and wasn't disappointed that it wasn't another breakneck Psalms 69.

If the hotline of HELL had call waiting, this album would be on "repeat."

Not as dismal or noisy as the previous "Filth Pig", Dark Side of the Spoon has a lot more groove and plenty of psychedlic hypnotic feel, just as much atmosphere as its predecessor. If you're one of the fans who loved Filth Pig, it's a good chance this album is for you. It's definitely the newer style of Ministry- different instrumental sounds and composition style, still very very good. The guitars and bass grind loudly, as opposed to the controlled distorted tone on "Mind", "Psalm" and "Land". The drums sound like REAL drums run through some distortion and booming reverb.

This album has excellent distorted bass lines synched perfectly to pounding rhythms, much like "Cannibal Song" from Mind, but there's more variation and more 'fun' to it. There are a few rockers like "Reload" from Filth Pig, like "Supermanic Soul", and "Bad Blood". These songs have the anthemic quality of old Ministry and seem to be the ones the fans tolerate the most.

For the first time since "With Sympathy" Al uses his saxophone playing skills and his fantastic melodic voice. This alone makes the album worth hearing, great new elements. This is a more intelligent, mature and less adrenaline fueled Ministry. "Nursing Home" also has some of what sounds like a mandolin. That song, by the way, is one of my favorite Ministry tracks, period. Love the shrieking processed guitars, grooves like nothing else. "Eureka Pile" has another great bass groove, as does "KAIF". Al has a real knack for creating atmosphere.

"Step" has very little musical value (just a couple power chords) but the hilarious vocals make up for it. "Whip and Chain" is a bizarre psychedelic experiment. The mixing is very strange, guitars in the back, vocals above everything else. It's a good song none-the-less, mainly due to the vocal melodies. "10/10" is the only song that doesn't stand out much.

I should also mention what an EXCELLENT song "Vex and Siolence" is. Fantastic melody, epic.

45 consistent minutes of entertaining, atmospheric bass-driven industrial rock. Remains entertaining throughout, one of the most enjoyable Ministry albums. Recommended and VERY underrated. 4.5 stars.

I bought this CD because of the 2 extra tracks and it does not have them. I was very disappointed.

Ok, I know "Filth Pig" and this cd didn't live up to alot of people's expectations, but in my opinion this is yet another brilliant album from Ministry. There's no way I could possibly hate this album. Sure, it's really straying away from what they did with classics such as "The Mind..." and "Psalm 69" but what I love about these guys is every album is a brand new experience with something new and creative to keep us all interested and entertained. This album was very experimental, moreover than the more Metal driven "Filth Pig" which I also love to death. I definitely don't recommend this to anyone new to Ministry, start off with The Mind or Psalm 69, then if you love what you heard pick up Animositisomina, and then go check out Filth Pig and Spoon. I am well aware this isn't their best work (which explains the 4 stars) but oh well. It's just like the new Metallica cd... yeah the whole "no solos" thing does suck but come on they can't just go in and churn out another Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets. They can't just make that same magic happen again. The same is with Ministry, they are a very experimental and progressive band and if you can't hang on for the ride...then just pop in Psalm and quit your whining. I still love this cd. Best songs: Nursing Home, Kaif, 10/10 and Bad Blood.

All Ministry albums post-Psalm 69 were seen as a sequel to Psalm 69.Unfortunately,it is unreasonable to compare the two when Psalm is the greatest industrial album ever and Spoon is average.Additionally,all post-Filth Pig (severely underrated in my opinion) albums were looked down upon as a continuation of the experimentation.

By itself,Spoon is a mixed album that is a little too prog rock for
it's own good.Some are good,(Supermanic Soul,Bad Blood)whereas others are horrible (Vex & Siolence, Eureka Pile).Worth a look if you are a completist.

Alain Jourgensen sure is a bit crazy and insane and this 1999 release is a great piece of work. It is a very hard edged album with a no nonsense attitude and heavy guitar riffs and explosive sounding drums. Jourgensen is a much better vocalist the people think and his lyrics are not half bad either, even though they are a bit cryptic and sometimes you sit and scratch your head and wonder what his message is. He is quite an accomplished muisician and the music is not as simple as it sounds. The photo on the cover is odd and quite disturbing. I have no idea what it is supposed to mean and the book-let serves its purpose without being great. This is a very inovative and creative album that should not be missed by Ministry fans.

This album is cool. Like the previous album it is slower and more groovey, strengthening songs like "Scarecrow" on Psalm 69 (which is a genius and hypnotic track) and like the previous album, it has amazing placements and uses of insruments otherwise alien to a Ministry album - Filth Pig hosted the heaviest, grooviest harmonica solo i have ever heard (Filth Pig), as well as some very sweet trickles of piano (The Fall). and now on DSOTS, I'm hearing some of the coolest mandolin and saxaphone smatterings I've heard in a long long while.

This effort is hugely satirical and darkly funny. I think maybe it is why so much initial negative feedback came from "fans" who were looking for another "NWO".I respect the wit and versatility of MR.J and Mr.B by throwing us a curve and cracking a joke....then again i imagine being declared clinically dead 3 times might do that to you - develope a lighter side and let you see that it ain't all bad, but then again i'm just guessing. So relax people, their is a lighter side of the spoon......may the light pour over us.