Dark Side of the Spoon
| Dark Side of the Spoon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ministry | ||||
| Released | June 8, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998–1999 | |||
| Genre | Industrial metal, alternative metal[1] | |||
| Length |
44:50 (without hidden tracks) 57:08 (with hidden tracks) | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Hypo Luxa, Hermes Pan | |||
| Ministry chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Dark Side of the Spoon | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[3] |
| NME | 6/10[4] |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 6/10[7] |
Dark Side of the Spoon is the seventh studio album by an American industrial metal band Ministry, released in 1999 through Warner Bros. Records, their final album for the label. "Bad Blood" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2000.[8]
Background
Dark Side of the Spoon features less aggressive songs than Ministry's previous albums, and frontman Al Jourgensen had intended it to be the case. He wanted to branch out from the "drug-infused" records of The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Psalm 69 to a more "unfamiliar territory." As such, Jourgensen ranks Dark Side of the Spoon as his favourite '90s Ministry album.[9]
In his autobiography, Jourgensen confirmed that the title has two meanings: one of which is a play on words referencing Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and the other is the blackened (or dark side) of a spoon heated to dissolve heroin, as several members of the band suffered from long-term addiction to said substance at the time.
The album's cover, which features a nude, obese woman sitting in front of a black board with "I will be god" written repeatedly on it, gained controversy and was banned from Kmart. The woman and the words on the blackboard were later airbrushed out.[10]
The saxophone part of the song "10/10" is taken from the last 22 seconds of "Group Dancers" on the Charles Mingus album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. "Whip and Chain" and "Bad Blood" feature vocals from Ty Coon, Al Jourgensen's girlfriend at the time.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Supermanic Soul" | Jourgensen, Barker, Svitek, Washam, Hukic | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Whip and Chain" | Jourgensen, Barker, Coon, Svitek | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Bad Blood" | Jourgensen, Barker, Coon, Washam | 4:59 |
| 4. | "Eureka Pile" | Jourgensen, Barker, Svitek, Washam | 6:22 |
| 5. | "Step" | Jourgensen, Barker, Washam | 4:06 |
| 6. | "Nursing Home" | Jourgensen, Barker, Washam | 7:02 |
| 7. | "Kaif" | Jourgensen, Barker, Svitek, Washam | 5:25 |
| 8. | "Vex & Siolence" | Jourgensen, Barker, Svitek, Washam, Hukic | 5:24 |
| 9. | "10/10" | Jourgensen, Barker, Svitek, Washam | 3:53 |
| 68. | "Everybody (Summertime)" (hidden track) | 1:55 |
Hidden tracks
After the end of track 9, tracks of silence begin. There are 58 silent tracks on the album, totaling 10:26
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Track 10" | 2:00 |
| 11. | "Track 11" | 3:00 |
| 12. | "Track 12" | 1:10 |
| 13. | "Track 13" | 0:13 |
| 14. | "Track 14" | 0:23 |
Tracks 15 - 67 are all approximately 4 seconds in length.
"Everybody" is track 68 (track 69 on the Japanese edition). Houses of the Molé, another Ministry album, features a hidden track called "Walrus" which is also track 69. According to BMI, track 68 is called "Summertime". Allmusic and the official website of the band refers to this track as "Everybody". ITunes lists this track as "Dialouge".
Personnel
Ministry
- Al Jourgensen – vocals, slide guitar, electronics, banjo (6), saxophone, production
- Paul Barker – bass, electronics, vocals (8), production
- Rey Washam – drums, electronics
- Louis Svitek – guitar, electronics
Additional personnel
- Ty Coon – vocals (2, 3)
- Yvonne Gage – vocals (4)
- Zlatko Hukic – guitar, electronics
- Jason Bacher – engineering
- Jeff Dehaven – engineering
- Bryan Kenny – engineering
- Esther Nevarez – engineering
- Brad Kopplin – engineering
- Tom Baker – mastering
- Paul Elledge – art direction, photography
Chart positions
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| The Billboard 200[12] | 92 |
| German Albums Chart[13] | 57 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[14] | 51 |
| UK Albums Chart[15] | 85 |
References
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-nme-1101
- ↑ Huey, Steve. "Dark Side of the Spoon - Ministry". AllMusic.
- ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (1999-06-11). "Dark Side of the Spoon Review". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ "Album Review - Dark Side Of The Spoon". NME. May 11, 1999.
- ↑ Elliott, Paul (July 1999). "Review: Ministry - Dark Side Of The Spoon". Q. EMAP Metro Ltd. pp. 120, 121.
- ↑ Chonin, Neva (June 24, 1999). "Ministry: Dark Side Of The Spoon : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ↑ Lepage, Mark (July 1999). "Ministry, Dark Side of the Spoon, Warner Bros". Reviews. Spin. Vol. 15 no. 7. p. 136. Retrieved May 21, 2018 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Ministry Mainman Comments On Fifth Grammy Nomination". Blabbermouth.net. 2008-12-04. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ↑ Acharya, Kiran. "Revolting Lots: Al Jourgensen's Favourite Ministry Albums". The Quietus. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Ministry's Dark Side Of The Spoon (1999) was banned by Kmart due to its cover". MTV. 2007-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25.
- ↑ Ahmad, Afra. "Ministry FAQ". Prongs.org. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "The Dark Side of the Spoon - Ministry". Billboard.
- ↑ "German chart positions" (in German). musicline.de.
- ↑ "Swedish chart positions". swedishcharts.com.
- ↑ "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". Zobbel.