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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"My Favorite Weapon... Is The Look In Your Eyes!", January 19, 2001
Question: What album made metalheads, punk rockers and dance-fiends recoil in horror upon its debut? Answer: Ministry's "The Land Of Rape And Honey." I hate to sound redundant... but the previous reviewers summed it best: "The Land Of Rape And Honey" is as essential as it gets--not just for Ministry and industrial fans, but for fans of music in general. I (finally) got my grubby mitts on the Australian version of the CD since I couldn't find the out-of-print-for-ages domestic release, so if there's a difference between the two, I apologize beforehand (Adam Naworal, one of the previous reveiwers, said "Hizbollah" and "I Prefer" aren't on the domestic release, for example). The first time I saw "Stigmata" on video I was shocked: the song, like the video, wasn't quite like anything I've heard before... or since. Its obnoxious, wailing guitars and ultra-obnoxious "vocals" (read: skull-shattering screams) topped over an absolutely relentless machine-like rhythm that could easily have been named "Audio Napalm" left my jaw on the floor. To this day, it remains my favorite Ministry song. Thankfully, Al and the boys had more than a few other great songs to serve up on this groundbreaking classic. Both "The Missing" and "Deity" rage with thrash-metal fury to them and make bands like Spineshank and Filter look even more pale in comparison. "Hizbollah" has a slight Arabic-tinge to it and might be my second favorite song here just for that reason, while "You Know What You Are" is one of the craziest songs I've ever heard: an angry dance song with the HARSHEST vocals I ever heard, putting that guy from Cradle Of Filth (I think his name's Dani) to absolute shame... genius. The second half of the disk is, in my opinion, better. It's not as violent with the guitars, but they still pack some angry energy into their more dance-like songs; kind of like the dark and violent synth-pop of "Twitch," but with an edge (the title track would be the best example of this). I'll admit, the production is pretty dated (it did come out thirteen years ago, ya know), but the creativity and beauty-in-ugliness work here doesn't show any signs of age. Ministry single-handedly changed the industrial landscape and was only thanked by seeing a bunch of third-rate computer nerds pathetically trying to emulate the electro-rage of this one groundbreaking masterpiece of an album. Machines hiss, guitars crunch, vocals rage with a snarling wrath, machine-like drums fiercely pound the listener's skull, and samples are brilliantly placed all over--"The Land Of Rape And Honey" is just brilliant. Definitely one of the best albums ever made.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You must have this!!, February 22, 2003
This review is from: Land of Rape & Honey (Audio CD)
I remember a friend of mine getting this CD when it came out. I was just starting to get into the industrial music scene, having just purchased some Front 242. When she started it up and Stigmata came on, I knew I had to get it for myself. From the opening scream of Stigmata, this starts hard and fast and never lets up. If you have A Mind... and Psalm 69, you can tell that Al and friends increased the guitar usage on each album. Well there are fewer guitars on this album, but that doesn't make it any less sinister or dark. I won't go into each track-the previous reviews have done an excellent job already. I would say that anyone who likes industrial music MUST have this essential recording of the genre.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FLASHBACK!!! FLASHBACK!!! FLASHBACK!!! FLASHBACK!!!, March 8, 2003
This review is from: Land of Rape & Honey (Audio CD)
This was my second Ministry album, my first being Psalm 69 way back in '92. I can't believe this album is out of print, seeing how so many people consider it to be Ministry's masterpiece. Even if it's not my favorite Ministry album, I can't deny its status as such. This is a brilliant album. While there are only about three songs that feature heavy guitar riffs, the entire album manages to sound aggressive. Even the slower songs like "Golden Dawn" and "Hizbollah" have an undercurrent of doom running through them. Then, of course, there's "You Know What You Are" and "Flashback," which are two of the most violent sounding songs ever recorded, with nary a guitar to be heard (except for a brief solo in "Flashback.") And then there's "I Prefer," which manages to be almost speed metal without the metal. Every Ministry album has been different from all those that preceeded it, (until "Animositisomina" which is, I feel, the first Ministry album not to break much new ground. Though it's still a good album) and this is one of the most important albums in Ministry's evolution. This is the direct link from "Twitch" to the industrial metal they became known for. It's as strong an album as they've ever released, and there really hasn't been anything like it before or since. Essential listening.
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