Filth Pig

Distracted by drugs, arrests, and replacing nearly the entire lineup of Ministry, Al Jourgenson took nearly four years to complete Filth Pig. Instead of being a carefully constructed masterpiece, the record is a monotonous attack of relentless guitar noise. And although Jourgenson does keep his promise of reducing the number of samplers and synthesizers used on the album, the new approach sounds like a retreat into heavy metal, not a brave step forward. Slowing the songs down slightly and turning up the guitars results in a muddled quagmire. Without the blitzkrieg barrage of samples and clean metallic attack, Ministry sounds strangely castrated, and it doesn't help that Jourgenson's songs are neither catchy nor powerful. Psalm 69 may have been too concise for longtime Ministry fans, but at least it packed a punch. On the surface, Filth Pig is noisier, but it has no power.