Filth Pig

Filth Pig
A young man holding an American flag with raw meat dripping on his head and a badge on his chest that reads, "Don't blame me."
Studio album by
Ministry
ReleasedJanuary 30, 1996 (1996-01-30)
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length54:24
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Ministry chronology
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ
(1992) 		Filth Pig
(1996) 		Dark Side of the Spoon
(1999)
Singles from Filth Pig
  1. "The Fall"
    Released: December 1995
  2. "Lay Lady Lay"
    Released: February 1996
  3. "Reload"
    Released: July 1996
  4. "Brick Windows"
    Released: January 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Cash Boxfavourable[3]
Christgau's Consumer GuideC[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
NME7/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin6/10[10]
Wall of Sound79/100[11]

Filth Pig is the sixth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on January 30, 1996, by Warner Bros. Records. The title was allegedly derived from a statement made in the British Houses of Parliament, in which the band's leader Al Jourgensen was described as a "filthy pig" for his onstage theatrics by MP Teddy Taylor.[12]

Despite being the band's highest-charting album in the US, it was negatively received by reviewers,[13][14] sharply divided the band's fanbase, and did not live up to the platinum-selling success of Psalm 69.[15] Despite poor sales, the album entered several charts, peaking at the highest positions Ministry has ever achieved. This would be the last Ministry album with Mike Scaccia on guitar until 2004's Houses of the Molé.

Background

Filth Pig marked a major shift artistically for the band from their previous album. Jourgensen said everyone around him wanted him to continue making music similar to Psalm 69. However, he wanted to move away from using samples and focus on a slower, heavier sound.[16] Jourgensen rejected any songs that sounded like their previous work.[17]

"Everyone hated [Filth Pig]. They all wanted Psalm 70, and I gave them an electronic-free record full of gun-in-mouth dirges of nothing but pain. Aside from the cover art, the humour was gone. All that was left was misery. And I still had to tour the fucking thing - which went down in history as the interminable, intolerable, absolutely depraved Sphinctour."

— Al Jourgensen (2013)[18]

The 2002 live album Sphinctour was generally well received by critics.[19][20]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Reload"Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker2:26
2."Filth Pig"Jourgensen, Barker6:20
3."Lava"Jourgensen, Barker6:30
4."Crumbs"Jourgensen, Barker, Mike Scaccia, Louis Svitek, Rey Washam4:15
5."Useless"Jourgensen, Barker, William Rieflin, Scaccia5:55
6."Dead Guy"Jourgensen, Barker, Washam5:15
7."Game Show"Jourgensen, Barker, Scaccia, Svitek, Washam7:46
8."The Fall"Jourgensen, Michael Balch4:55
9."Lay Lady Lay" (Bob Dylan cover)Bob Dylan5:44
10."Brick Windows"Jourgensen, Barker5:23
Total length:54:24

Personnel

Ministry

  • Al Jourgensen – vocals, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, pedal steel, piano, production
  • Paul Barker – bass, vocals (5), programming, production

Additional personnel

Technicial personnel

  • Zlatko Hukic – engineer
  • Brad Kopplin – engineer
  • Bill Garcelon – assistant engineer
  • Jamie Duffy – assistant engineer
  • Matt Gibson – assistant engineer
  • Ed Tinley – assistant engineer
  • Whitney O'Keefe – assistant engineer
  • Paul Elledge – art & design

Chart positions

References

  1. ^ Ruggieri, Melissa (February 7, 1996). "Rants, Rage And Regrets: Ministry - Filth Pig". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Filth Pig - Ministry". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  3. ^ Baltin, Steve (February 10, 1996). "Ministry: Filth Pig (Warner Bros. 45838-2)". Pop Reviews. Cash Box. Vol. LIX, no. 22. p. 10. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved April 10, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Ministry". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Ministry". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (3rd ed.). Muse UK Ltd. pp. 3692–3693. ISBN 1561592374 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ NME (1/27/96, p.43)
  8. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (February 2, 1998). "Ministry: Filth Pig : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. No. 728 (published February 22, 1996). Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Ministry". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 544-5. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Norris, Chris (February 1996). "Ministry, Filth Pig, Sire/Warner Bros". Spins. Spin. Vol. 11, no. 11. pp. 84–85. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved June 13, 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Graff, Gary. "Wall of Sound Review: Filth Pig". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 15, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Jenkins, Mark (May 22, 1996). "The Bloody Pulpit". SF Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  13. ^ Andrew (January 19, 2011). "Justify Your Shitty Taste: Ministry's 'Filth Pig'". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  14. ^ O'Hagar, Sammy (May 30, 2014). "Album of the Day: Ministry's Filth Pig". MetalSucks. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  15. ^ "The Piss Army :: View topic - I come bearing a gift: Ministry's official soundscan numbers". September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Jourgensen, Al; Wiederhorn, Jon (2013). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen. Da Capo Press. p. 164–165. ISBN 978-0-30682-218-6.
  17. ^ "The Bloody Pulpit". SF Weekly. May 22, 1996. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  18. ^ Jourgensen, Al; Wiederhorn, Jon (2013). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To Al Jourgensen. Da Capo Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780306822186.
  19. ^ Kaluza, David. "Ministry - Sphinctour (CD)". Metal Temple. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  20. ^ Reed, Mark. "Ministry - Sphinctour". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  21. ^ "Australian chart positions". australian-charts.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  22. ^ "Austrian chart positions" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  23. ^ "Finnish chart positions". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  24. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  25. ^ "New Zealand chart positions". charts.nz. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  26. ^ "Norwegian chart positions". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Swedish chart positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  29. ^ "Swiss chart positions". hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  30. ^ a b "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". Zobbel.
  31. ^ "Ministry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  32. ^ "Ministry Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2021.

Filth Pig at Discogs (list of releases)