The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Encyclopedia
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is the fourth studio album by industrial metal
band Ministry
, released in 1989 through Sire
/Warner Bros. Records
. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction. The songs' themes dealt with such issues as political corruption
("Thieves"); cultural violence ("So What"); environmental degradation
, and nuclear war
("Breathe"); drug addiction ("Burning Inside"); and insanity
("Cannibal Song").
The album peaked at #163 in the US and was certified Gold
by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in December 1995.
Burning Inside
Cannibal Song
So What
Faith Collapsing
Singles
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, released in 1989 through Sire
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
/Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction. The songs' themes dealt with such issues as political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
("Thieves"); cultural violence ("So What"); environmental degradation
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
, and nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
("Breathe"); drug addiction ("Burning Inside"); and insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
("Cannibal Song").
The album peaked at #163 in the US and was certified Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in December 1995.
Track listing
Samples
Thieves- "Get up! Get on your feet!" "You will not kill!" "I can't hear you!" - dialogue from R. Lee ErmeyR. Lee ErmeyRonald Lee Ermey is a retired United States Marine Corps drill instructor and actor.Ermey has often played the roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in...
's drill instructor character in Full Metal JacketFull Metal JacketFull Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
.
Burning Inside
- (Intro of warning horn and synthesizer tones) - Day of the Dead.
Cannibal Song
- "The mind is a labyrinth." is from the film Hellraiser II.
So What
- The dialogue spoken during the song ("You have had all that money can give you", "Kill for a thrill", etc.) is from the judge's summing up at the end of the Ed Wood film The Violent YearsThe Violent YearsThe Violent Years is a 1956 American exploitation film starring Jean Moorhead as Paula Parkins, the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquent high school girls. The film is notable for the input of Ed Wood, Jr...
. - "Die!" is from the film ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
.
Faith Collapsing
- Features dialogue samples taken from the films 1984 ("There have been spontaneous demonstrations by party workers, voicing gratitude and joy") and Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 film directed by François Truffaut, in his first colour film as well as his only English-language film. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury....
("The system will eat itself").
Chart positions
Album| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
163 |
Singles
| Song | Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Burning Inside" | Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 23 |
Ministry
- Alien JourgensenAl JourgensenAlain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
– vocals (1-3, 5, 6), guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Paul BarkerPaul BarkerPaul Barker , also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer with the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2004...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, programming, production
Additional personnel
- William RieflinWilliam RieflinWilliam "Bill" Rieflin is an American musician.In the past, Reiflin has worked with many notable groups in the industrial rock, experimental metal and related genres, including Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, Lard, KMFDM, Pigface, Swans, Chris Connelly, Nine Inch Nails, R.E.M., and many others...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, programming, background vocals (8) - Mars WilliamsMars WilliamsMars Williams is an American jazz and rock saxophonist. Originally a ten year classical clarinetist after being exposed to Big Band and Dixieland Jazz by his trumpet playing father, Mars migrated to the saxophone in his senior year of high school, citing influences from Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(4) - Chris Connelly – lead vocals (3, 4), background vocals (5, 6)
- The Grand Wizard (K. Lite) – vocals (7)
- Joe Kelly – background vocals (1)
- Kyle McKeough – background vocals (6)
- Jeff WardJeff Ward (musician)Jeff Ward was a drummer for various rock bands including Hammeron, Nine Inch Nails, Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Lard, and Low Pop Suicide....
– background vocals (5) - Dave OgilvieDave OgilvieDave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer and musician. He is a producer of industrial music and has been associated with bands such as Skinny Puppy , Doughboys, The Birthday Massacre , Marilyn Manson, Jakalope , Killing Joke, Queensrÿche, Alexz Johnson, Fake Shark...
– background vocals (5, 8), engineer - The Slogan God (Tommie Boyskee) – vocals (7)
- Bobbie DiBartollo – background vocals (8)
- Angela Lukacen – vocals (9)
- Keith Auerbach – engineer
- Jeff Newell – engineer
- "Dog" – cover design
- "Ill" – cover design
- Maura – cover design
- Tom Young – cover photos
- Tom Baker – mastering