I've been a Ministry fan since The Land of Rape & Honey. I can listen to *some* of the previous, gothy stuff, but prefer the heavy sound. In each Ministry album, you can trace the evolution; Lead singer Al Jourgensen and company really try to be different each time. When the previous album FilthPig rolled around, Ministry had just really hit big with its predecessor Psalm 69 and there were a lot of imitators out there.

In my review of FilthPig I mentioned that it sounded like Ministry was trying so hard to sound like themselves they lost their direction and started sounding more like their imitators. Dark Side of the Spoon is another step in the direction of FilthPig. I bought it because I really liked the song Bad Blood on The Matrix soundtrack, and I hoped this meant Ministry had turned around and gotten back on track. I had also read an interview on the web in which Al said they didn't really like doing FilthPig, just felt compelled to make it. So I thought there was hope. Instead I think Bad Blood is about the only really good song on the album. Supermanic Soul is okay, but it's not enough to save the album: this track opens Dark Side of the Spoon, Bad Blood quickly follows, and it all goes downhill from there.

Tracks like Eureka Pile and Step are supposed to be snide, but just come across as pretentious and mocking. The show-tune-like beat of Step with its incoherent yammering doesn't hearken back to the days of TV Song so much as it just reminds me of Yoko Ono's tune that John Lennon performed (Mary Jane? I forget).

I noticed that CDNow lists two versions of this album: "INCLUDES 2 EXCLUSIVE BONUS TRACKS NOT ON USA VERSION, "UNTITLED" AND "DIALOGUE" - if it's what I think it is, I can save you the trouble: my version has a ton of blank tracks with Roman numerals for names. At the end, what I would guess is the fat chick on the cover, spews out a manic little song for about a minute and a half, and the band laughs and thanks her. If that's what you get for $29.99, save your money. This is definitely a "try before you buy" album.

Recommended: No