Album
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is Ministry's fourth studio album, released on 14 November 1989 by Sire Records. It followed The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) and came before ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (1992), and it finds the band pushing further into guitar territory than before.
Frontman Al Jourgensen was inspired by Stormtroopers of Death and Rigor Mortis, and he brought thrash metal guitars into the mix, an approach that carried through later Ministry records. The lyrics, as so often with the band, turn to political corruption, cultural violence, environmental degradation, nuclear war, drug addiction and insanity. If you want to hear where Ministry's electronic menace first met full-blooded metal aggression, this is the record to start with.
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 50:19Tracklist
- 1ThievesBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen, Ogre5:02
- 2Burning InsideBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen, Rieflin5:20
- 3Never BelieveBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen4:59
- 4Cannibal SongBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen6:10
- 5BreatheBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen, Ogre, Rieflin5:40
- 6So WhatBarker, Connelly, Jourgensen, Rieflin8:14
- 7TestBarker, Jourgensen, K-Lite, Rieflin6:04
- 8Faith CollapsingBarker, Jourgensen, Rieflin4:01
- 9Dream SongPaul Barker and Al Jourgensen4:48
- Produced by
- Paul Barker, Al Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa, Hermes Pan
- Recorded at
- Chicago Trax Studios
- Recorded
- 1988–1989
- Engineered by
- Keith Auerbach, Critter, Dave Ogilvie
- Mastered by
- Tom Baker
- Labels
- Sire Records, Sire, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 50:19
Line-up
- Paul Barker · electric bass guitar
- Al Jourgensen · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Joe Kelly · background vocals · guest
- Chris Connelly · lead vocals, background vocals
- Mars Williams · saxophone · guest
- Dave Ogilvie · background vocals · guest
- Jeff Ward · background vocals · guest
- Kyle McKeough · background vocals · guest
- Grand Wizard K-Lite · vocals, lead vocals · guest
- The Slogan God · background vocals · guest
- Bill Rieflin · drums (drum set), background vocals · guest
- Bobby di Bartollo · background vocals · guest
- Angela Lukacen · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Burning Inside” · 7 November 1989
- “So What” · 1990
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1989 | 163 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
60.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
47k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.1k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 14 November
Every year →
More from Ministry
Full discography →
With Sympathy
1983
Twitch
1986
Twelve Inch Singles: 1981–1984
1987
The Land of Rape and Honey
1988
In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up (Live)
1990
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ
1992
Filth Pig
1996
Dark Side of the Spoon
1999
Greatest Fits
2001
Sphinctour
2002
Animositisomina
2003
Houses of the Molé
2004
Early Trax
2004
Side Trax
2004
Rantology
2005
Rio Grande Blood
2006
Rio Grande DUB Ya
2007
The Last Sucker
2007
Cover Up
2008
Adios… Puta Madres
2009
The Last Dubber
2009
Mixxxes of the Molé
2010
Every Day Is Halloween: Greatest Tricks
2010
Undercover
2010
Relapse
2012
From Beer to Eternity
2013
Toronto 1986 (live)
2015
AmeriKKKant
2018
Everyday (is Halloween) - The Lost Mixes
2020
Moral Hygiene
2021
HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES
2024
The Squirrely Years Revisited
2025
Hate to Go - Take Out or Delivery
2026
The best of 1989
All of 1989 →
Disintegration
The Cure · 1989
Bleach
Nirvana · 1989
Mother’s Milk
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 1989
Doolittle
Pixies · 1989
Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails · 1989
The Real Thing
Faith No More · 1989
Pump
Aerosmith · 1989
Blew
Nirvana · 1989
Steel Wheels
The Rolling Stones · 1989
The Miracle
Queen · 1989
Trash
Alice Cooper · 1989
The Offspring
The Offspring · 1989
More on Sire Records
The label →
Ramones
Ramones · 1976
The Top
The Cure · 1984
Road to Ruin
Ramones · 1978
End of the Century
Ramones · 1980
Leave Home
Ramones · 1977
Meltdown With the Ramones
Ramones · 2014
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ
Ministry · 1992
Pleasant Dreams
Ramones · 1981
The Land of Rape and Honey
Ministry · 1988
Too Tough to Die
Ramones · 1984
Subterranean Jungle
Ramones · 1983
Coral Fang
The Distillers · 2003
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1989-11-10 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 November 1989 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 14 November 1989 | |
| Wikidata | 14 November 1989 | |
| US release | 14 November 1989 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1989 | earliest UK or European date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | BR | Sire Records | other | |
| 1989 | GB | Sire Records | 075992600422 | other |
| 1989 | US | Sire Records | 075992600446 | other |
| 1989 | US | Sire Records | other | |
| November 1989 | CA | Sire Records | 075992600422 | other |
| 10 November 1989 | DE | Sire Records | 075992600422 | original |
| 14 November 1989 | US | Sire Records | 075992600422 | other |
| 14 November 1989 | US | Sire Records | 075992600415 | other |
| 16 November 1989 | CA | Sire Records | 075992600422 | other |
| 10 November 1991 | JP | Sire Records | 4988014745673 | other |
| 19 May 2010 | XW | Sire Records | other | |
| 27 January 2014 | XW | Sire Records | other | |
| 27 January 2014 | NL | Music on Vinyl | 8718469534852 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 709×709 | upscaled |