Ministry – Dark Side Of The Spoon

Definetely one of my favourite Ministry records, but i love everything they did in the 90s anyway, i dont get the negativity though, bad blood is a classic song that cant get any better, supermanic soul its like industrial punk, what not to like in that compination! the rest is more trippy and experimental, but its still ministry all the way, its just that its more thoughtful, Al did some things on this record that he never tried before or again afterwards, its a classic in my book for sure.

Fantastic pressing from Music on Vinyl. The sound is clear and deep, without sounds and noise, and the quiet parts are completely silent. The dynamic range is also large. The sleeve and insert are also good quality, and that green vinyl fits the album perfectly. The artwork on the front is a bit blurry, but that’s my only complaint.

My copy is MOV 000830.

Any one else's copy seem quiet?
It sounds really good but I have to crank the volume.

Well, this is a nice surprise. Ministry's most misunderstood (and my second favorite of theirs) album getting a lush reissue from the wonderful folks at Music On Vinyl. I've only got a handful of other MOV releases (such as their fantastic Mr. Bungle reissues) but they're obviously focused on quality and their issue of Dark Side of The Spoon is no different. Thick, glossy cardboard sleeve with metallic machine stamped numbering and the vinyl it self is a beauty to behold - rock solid 180 gram translucence. The insert is almost an afterthought with how amazing the rest of the packaging is.

If you're a fan of old school industrial and doom I can't understand why you wouldn't enjoy this record because it ticks all the boxes and has a fantastic experimental edge lacking in all other ministry albums. If you were ever on the fence with this album and are ready to take the plunge then THIS is the edition you want - hands down. Get it before it's gone.

This is a really clean pressing! Probably the rules are very clear... but is this really a "reissue" when it is a first release on vinyl?

Despite the blurry artwork, the sound quality and dynamic range is a major improvement over the CD, which was brickwalled to death. Played this through my Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with an Ortofon 2M Bronze cartridge. Compare the CD version of "Nursing Home" to the LP release and you'll hear the major difference.

FINALLY!!!
Ministry's most experimental and 2nd best LP (Filth Pig is No.1!) at long last gets the vinyl pressing it has long deserved. This is super news.

Wow, Yvonne Gage, really? I suppose with Liz Torres appearing with Excessive Force and Shawn Christopher being an associate member of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult for a while, the whole "Chicago Dance Diva + Industrial Band = Yeah" thing has happened before.

Probably the least convincing Ministry album, although some interesting ideas and experiments were tried here, "Dark Side Of The Spoon" came at the end of a difficult period for Al Jourgensen's band. The slow, doomish atmospheres presented on "Filth Pig" had been criticized by journalists and audience, who were expecting something even faster and more violent than "Psalm 69", so, when you start listening to "Supermanic Soul", it seems that the inevitable choice was to start pump again on heavy guitars and breath-taking rhythms. While the aforementioned first track, "Whip And Chain" and the nice but not very exciting single "Bad Blood" try to regain the scepter of the fastest and most violent industrial metal band on Earth, the rest of the CD fortunately parts from this urge, to experiment new unusual solutions.
"Nursing Home", for example, is a very strange and noisy instrumental track, with a jazzy rhythm and what sounds like samples of dentist's drills, while the excellent "Kaif", best tune of the album, is a slow, sad song, with heavy drums, sludgy rhythm and Jourgensen's voice expressing some real grief. It's a sign that the band believed in "Filth Pig", and they wanted to continue with what they had started on that underestimated CD. "Vex & Siolence" is the brainchild of Paul Barker, and it sounds much like a Lead Into Gold song, equally slow and introspective.
Anyway, all this is definitely not enough to save a CD which sounds weak and not at all convincing. The problem is that we're talking about Ministry, a band that marked history, inventing so much. This is, in the end, a less than average album, recommended just for Ministry maniacs who want to dig every single thing they recorded and discover hidden dark gems amongst their worst production.
Personally, however, I prefer listening to this than to the redneck heavy metal of "Rio Grande Blood"...