Houses of the Molé
Houses of the Molé is the ninth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on June 21, 2004 by Sanctuary Records. It is noteworthy for being the first Ministry album not to feature bassist and longtime collaborator Paul Barker since Twitch (1986). It was also the first album to feature Mike Scaccia on guitar since 1996's Filth Pig.
| Houses of the Molé | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 21, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–04 | |||
| Studio | Sonic Ranch, El Paso | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 55:00 | |||
| Label | Sanctuary | |||
| Producer | Al Jourgensen | |||
| Ministry chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Houses of the Molé | ||||
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Overview
The album is the first part of the band's anti-Bush trilogy, followed by Rio Grande Blood (2006) and The Last Sucker (2007). It was released in the run up to the 2004 American presidential elections, in the last few months of Bush's first term as president. Nearly all songs start with the letter "W" in their title, except for "No W" and the hidden track "Psalm 23". The first track on the album, "No W", features numerous satirical samples of Bush's speeches, particularly samples in which he spoke of his war on terror. Compared to its subsequent follow-ups, the musical style of the album is more thrash metal-oriented.
Jourgensen describes Houses of the Molé as a "rebirth" album as he started Ministry anew without long time collaborator Paul Barker who left after the Animositisomina tour due to a falling-out.[1] In his autobiography, Jourgensen describes that he wrote "Walrus" as a way to "celebrate" Barker's departure. In it, it has the words "Paul is no longer with us" played backwards on repeat.[2]
Jourgensen has stated that the name Houses of the Molé is a tribute to Led Zeppelin's 1973 album Houses of the Holy.[2] Mole itself is a Mexican sauce made from chocolate that is nearly black in color, an image that Jourgensen believes represents crude oil.
Former Ministry drummer Rey Washam stated in an interview that he worked on Houses of the Molé, for which he received no credit, and also stated that Ministry had problems properly compensating all of the musicians who contributed to their records. He also referred to "someone" in Ministry as being a "liar" and "full of shit," and disputed the statement and common belief that Al Jourgensen was solely responsible for writing almost all of Ministry's material. He also said "Houses of the Molé" was "the worst [album] title in the world."[3]
This was the first Ministry studio album to not chart on the Billboard 200. Due to slow sales, the band left Sanctuary.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Austin Chronicle |  |
| Billboard | favourable[7] |
| Playlouder | |
| Q | |
| Rock Hard | 10/10[9] |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
In 2005, Houses of the Molé was ranked No. 434 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[12]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No W" | Al Jourgensen | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Waiting" |
| 5:02 |
| 3. | "Worthless" |
| 4:09 |
| 4. | "Wrong" |
| 4:54 |
| 5. | "Warp City" |
| 4:01 |
| 6. | "WTV" |
| 4:35 |
| 7. | "World" | Jourgensen | 5:13 |
| 8. | "WKYJ" |
| 5:14 |
| 9. | "Worm" |
| 9:11 |
| 23. | "Psalm 23" (hidden track) | Jourgensen | 4:41 |
| 69. | "Walrus" (hidden track) | Jourgensen | 2:43 |
| Total length: | 55:00 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No W" | Jourgensen | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Waiting" |
| 5:02 |
| 3. | "Worthless" | Jourgensen | 4:09 |
| 4. | "Wrong" |
| 4:54 |
| 5. | "Warp City" |
| 4:01 |
| 6. | "WTV" |
| 4:25 |
| 7. | "World" | Jourgensen | 5:13 |
| 8. | "WKYJ" |
| 5:14 |
| 9. | "Worm" |
| 9:11 |
| 10. | "Bloodlines" | Jourgensen | 7:14 |
| 11. | "Walrus" | Jourgensen | 2:43 |
| Total length: | 57:27 | ||
Original printings of Houses of the Molé featured "Psalm 23", an alternate version of "No W". Later versions feature a similar version of this song as "No W", and instead feature a 13th (hidden) track titled "Bloodlines".[13]
"Walrus" is track 69. Dark Side of the Spoon, another Ministry album, features a hidden track called "Everybody" which is also track 69.
*Note: Every track on the album starts with or contains the letter W, except for the hidden track "Psalm 23".
Personnel
Ministry
- Alien Jourgensen – vocals, guitars (1–4, 8, 9), bass (1, 7, 8), programming, slide guitar (5), harmonica (9), production
- Mike Scaccia – lead guitar (1–3, 8), guitars, bass (2, 6, 9), background vocals (5, 9)
- John Monte – bass (3–5), background vocals (5)
- Mark Baker – drums (3–5), percussion (3), background vocals (5)
Additional personnel
- Max Brody – programming (2, 6, 7, 9), drums (8), saxophone (9), background vocals (9)
- Angie Jourgensen – background vocals (5, 9)
- Odin Myers – background vocals (5)
- Carl Wayne – background vocals (5)
- Kol Marshall – B3 organ (8, 9)
- Turner Vanblarcum – DJ voice (8)
- Lawton Outlaw – original cover, inside tray art, art direction, design
- Paul Elledge – photography
- Rey Washam – drums (uncredited)[3]
Chart positions
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums Chart[14] | 162 |
| UK Albums Chart[15] | 135 |
References
- Acharya, Kiran. "Revolting Lots: Al Jourgensen's Favourite Ministry Albums". The Quietus. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 234.
- Prindle, Mark. "Rey Washam - 2005". MarkPrindle.com. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- "Critic Reviews for Houses of the Molé". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- Loftus, Johnny. "House of the Molé - Ministry". Allmusic.
- Chamy, Michael (2004-09-03). "Ministry: Houses of the Molé". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- Paoletta, Michael, ed. (July 24, 2004). "Ministry, Houses of the Molé". Billboard Picks. Billboard. Vol. 116 no. 30. p. 53. Retrieved September 29, 2018 – via Google Books.
- Robb, John (2004-06-16). "Houses of the Molé". Playlouder. Archived from the original on 2004-07-12. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
- Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger. "Rock Hard review". issue 206. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- Hoard, Christian (2004-08-05). "Ministry: Houses Of The Molé : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
- McLeod, Kembrew (November 2004). "Ministry". In Brackett, Nathan (ed.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 544. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 – via Internet Archive.
- [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 35. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "The Dogs Space Blog". Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- "French chart positions" (in French). lescharts.com.
- "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". Zobbel.
Bibliography
- Jourgensen, Al & Wiederhorn, Jon (July 9, 2013). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To Al Jourgensen (loan required). Boston, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306822186. OCLC 811206550 – via the Internet Archive.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)