Rantology

Ministry | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B000AOJ9E4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,024 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This special anthology marks the 25th Anniversary of Ministry, the innovators Industrial Rock who’s revolutionary sound gave rise to Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, Korn, Static-X and countless others. Rantology is Al Jourgensen’s personal interpretation of the music his iconic band has created over the years. Featuring 14 classic tracks hand picked, produced and remixed by Jourgensen, over half of the collection has been updated, reworked, and reanimated. In addition, the CD features three live tracks along with a new never-heard-before song titled "The Great Satan," a sneak preview of the upcoming studio album due out in April 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good playlist, Bad album, September 27, 2005

By 

Andrew Kennedy (lubbock , tx usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rantology (Audio CD)

After hearing of this album and its new mixes I jumped up and purchased it not long after the store opened on the release date. I love Ministry and have been a fan for quite some time. However, I think in this case, being a fan may have been a bad thing. This album, if anything seems to be more for the newcomer instead of the old fan. I own all of the albums, and this compilation doesn't offer much for the longtime fan. 'The Great Satan' gives us a taste of the next Ministry album, which will hopefully be on par, if not better than the already stellar 'Houses of the Mole', but 'Bloodlines' falls short of anything amazing, it seems more like a track that Al out cranked just so he could make some extra money thanks to Activision. Five of the tracks are just straight from previous releases. They are all good picks, but I've heard them already. As for the rest, the remixes are hardly what I would consider remixes. Almost all of them sound exactly like their proper album versions, but with 'dubya' quotes strewn about. I would recommend this album for a newcomer to Ministry, but as far as a fan throwing down $15 to hear the same songs all over again, I would not let them befall the same fate as I did. Once again, good playlist, bad album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent album., January 17, 2006

By 

William Sajdera - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rantology (Audio CD)

This album is incredibly good. From start to finish, it presents a fluid and engaging experience. The updated and alternate mixes genuinely brought a smile to my face, especially to hear the new Stigmata and JBMHR. During Stigmata, there's a new section of the song where the beat breaks down to this totally hard industrial stamper and piston sound that blew me away! It really deserves the listen of any dedicated industrial fan. I also enjoyed the new versions of the other songs on this album as much as the originals.

The Great Satan, which is the newest song by Ministry, was an instant favorite for me. It is one of the most brutal and passonate pieces of music I've ever heard, and it makes me look forward to the MasturbaTour and also the new album.

The only thing that I wish had been done differently about this album would be to can the live renditions altogether in favor of similarly updated remixes of "Everyday Is Halloween", "Over The Shoulder", and "The Land Of Rape And Honey" to give a broader and more balanced presentation of Ministry's music throughout their career.

Altogether, it's the best album I've bought all year. Ministry fans will not be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's good music, but this is a pretty poor compilation, January 12, 2006

By 

Brian Allen "Classic gamer, music lover" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rantology (Audio CD)

In 2001, Warner Brothers released a collection entitled Greatest Fits. This album was a good introduction to the band, but it felt kind of lacking to the long time fan. There were better versions of a few of the tracks, and there are several songs that were sorely missed. When I heard about this compilation, I said to myself, "Good Al is going to do it right this time." That's clearly not the case.

This album was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Ministry(has it really been that long?!). I was excited for more Ministry, and when I saw that most of the songs were remixes I was even more excited. Unfortunately this compilation really falls flat.

Most of the "remixed" songs are barely changed from their original counterparts. Some of them just have a few different samples, and others just have extra guitars. In my opinion, that is not enough to be called a remix.

There are only a few songs that really sound different enough to benefit from being remixed. No W has a different choir sample and a really different intro. This is about the fourth version of this song, and which one is the best is hard to call. I'd say I prefer the album version, though. Stigmata also has a different intro and a re-recorded vocal line which is more distorted than the original and perhaps better. Bad Blood has a synth that plays throughout the entire song, and some additional choir synths. Unsung has a lot of extra noise and a bagpipe. The rest, unfortunately, is more or less the same.

I was also disappointed with the new songs, the Great Satan and Bloodlines. The Great Satan is a pretty forgettable and generic metal song, with more Bush quotes. Oh boy! Bloodlines is clearly a rip-off of So What. Both the drums and bass are nearly identical, and it lacks the interesting samples and lyrical themes that the original had. Both are obvious filler, which have no place on such a compilation.

The other tracks are all previously released and feel out of place with the redone tracks. Furthermore, they could have chosen better songs than Waiting and Animosity, and if they had to include live songs, they could have at least given us new ones instead of the ones from Spinchtour.

Worst of all about this compilation, though, is that their is still very little representation of early Ministry. For an "Anthology" that seems a bit inexcusable. A studio version of the updated version of We Believe would have been ideal for this collection, but nothing from Twitch is to be found at all. There is also only one song from The Land of Rape and Honey, which I believe is their best album, and too many recent songs.

I would recommend you get an album or possibly Greatest Fits instead of this, if you're new to Ministry. Longtime fans don't really need to bother, other than to add another CD to your collection.