Ministry

If you want to judge a band by its covers, then Ministry have set themselves up for your hearty pat on the back with Cover Up, the final release by the band which is breaking up after establishing itself as the industrial scene’s force to be reckoned with in the early '90s. Most of Ministry’s albums have featured commentary on politics and the government, but Cover Up is the band’s way of having fun and flipping the bird. This is the Ministry party album.

Featuring a variety of cohorts in the form of Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell and Static-X's Tony Campos, both of which share a common musical gene with Ministry, Cover Up features mechanized, cyberiffic versions of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" and an upbeat yet gnashing retooling of Power Station's "Bang A Gong," where frontman Al Jourgensen asks, "What the fuck does Bang A Gong mean?" But the album’s biggest treat is Jourgensen's take on "What A Wonderful World," where his voice takes on the same gravelly pallor of Louis Armstrong! You'd expect Jourgensen to get behind the driver’s seat of this classic, drive it a thousand miles an hour, and smash it into a steel wall, but surprisingly, the man who loves to say, "fuck off" to convention keeps the song slow and sweet.

With Cover Up, Ministry sails off into the night with a smile on their face. We'll miss 'em. But Cover Up is a hilarious way to close the Ministry files. Case closed.

— Amy Sciarretto
02.28.08

After spending four acidic years croaking out songs that damned George W. Bush and his administration, Al Jourgensen put his Ministry project to rest with the new album The Last Sucker plus this compilation of cover tunes, which was fittingly released on April Fools Day. If Sucker was the yin then Cover Up is the yang, with the reverence-free Ministry blazing through a set of classic rock favorites -- save the hilarious choice of "What a Wonderful World" -- in full-on destruction mode. Those familiar with the band's signature sound -- steely, gritty guitars, screaming vocals, and relentless drums/drum machines -- and aware of the original tunes have already heard the album in their imaginations. Save the repurposing of "What a Wonderful World" as an ironic epic, this is an absolutely surprise-free release and a welcome one because of it. As expected, the driving "Radar Love" threatens to come off the tracks when Ministry play it in thrash style, while a thunderous version of Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'" proves that cowbells really do have their place in industrial metal. The "Black Betty," "Mississippi Queen," and "Just Got Paid" trilogy adds up to a three-headed monster and leads into a set of tracks that longtime fans will know by heart. The main reason for the "Co-Conspirators" credit, "Supernaut" is an old chestnut from Jourgensen's 1000 Homo DJs project, and if "Lay Lady Lay" sounds a wee bit thinner than anything else here it's because it comes from 1995 and Ministry's album Filth Pig. Strange that the cover of "(Let's Get) Physical" from the Revolting Cocks side project is missing, but this is an otherwise perfect execution of a great idea and the best possible party record for those who are hellbound and loving it. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide