Day 726 - Psalm 69: the Way to Suceed and the Way to Suck Eggs

Ministry "Psalm 69: the Way to Suceed and the Way to Suck Eggs" (1992)

One of those "what did I just listen to (in a good way)"  albums.

Much of this is speedy industrial rockabilly... like Motorhead meets Marilyn Manson.   There are grinding riffs, speedy beats, mixes of rockabilly, metal, military, choir elements.  It's speedy rock, but with quite cold, sterile production and the vocals not overly clear in the mix.

The most 'known' song (and the only one I knew in advance) is "Jesus built my hotrod" a redneck, high octane ripsnorter with Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers on vocals.   Compared to the bleak, 'scorched earth' vibe of much of the rest album, "hotrod" is almost a pop hit.

Day 0597 - Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers "Locust Abortion Technician"

Music-wise I used to think of the 80s as all glam and synthesisers.  I was also very aware of the thrash metal thing (having been a fan of Metallica and Slayer), but I mostly forgot, or didn't know about some of the interesting boundary pushing bands that were active then.  I mean, I was aware of Butthole Surfers and Sonic Youth, but I'd associated them more with the 90s.

This is the Surfers' third album, and the first with bassist Jeff Pinkus (who has also played on Melvins albums, including the appropriately titled "Pinkus Abortion Technician").  The album also marks the first appearance of singer Gibby Haynes' "Gibbytronix" device which he used to manipulate and distort his voice to create a number of weird and wonderful sounds.

There is the straight-ahead punk of "Human Canonball" and the world music-meets-puerile-humour "Kuntz", but other than that, the album is generally a some of the noisiest, most deconstructed rock you're likely to hear anytime soon.  The album closes with a chorus of mooing cows on "22 going on 23".