While the debut of “Metal Monday’s most anticipated releases of 2012” list is still a few weeks off, I can still tell you without a doubt that Ministry’s Relapse is going to top that list. Uncle Al announced the return of the always formidable Ministry over the summer and is just about finished recording Relapse, due on March 30th through AFM Records. If you’ve been paying attention to the site, you’ll have noticed we’ve been doing our part by sharing the “Making of Relapse” webisodes as they become available.
If you’ve been paying attention to Uncle Al, then you’ll know he just released a little teaser for you.
As a treat to fans, Uncle Al has just released “99%” on Itunes (And streaming on their Facebook page by now), the first preview of new Ministry material in almost 5 years. Like Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel before him, Uncle Al is a storyteller. He’s a singer of songs for the people. It just so happens, he does this a little more aggressively then his folk rock kindred spirits.
So, is “99%” (Which serves as a protest rally for the Occupy Movement) Ministry in peak form blasting back after their supposed “retirement”? Yes and no. It’s a really different Ministry song, that’s for sure. You can definitely hear Al’s country alter-ego Buck Satan seeping into the arrangements but there’s still no question that this is Ministry. It’s short, it’s got a big chorus and it’s undeniably Ministry (And it’s nice to hear those keyboard lines shine through…). It’s just a taste and it’s definitely not the brutal teasers that have been coming through on the webisodes so I wonder if this was written on the sly specifically for the Occupy Movement. Either way, I’m curious how this will sit within Relapse or if it even makes the final cut. Only way to know is on March 30th, 2012.