I always include Ministry in my History of Rock class I teach at a local community college, somewhat as a bridge between synth-pop, metal, and alternative trends of the early 90's. Some people absolutely love it, some people are absolutely offended (Just One Fix and N.W.O used primarily)
But they absolutely had a big hand in permanantly warping my brain (along with Lard, 1000 Homo DJ's, etc). Some of the best rock riffs of the last 40 years on "mind" and Psalm 69. They had endless amounts of hooks to go with the power/debauchery. Don't care what anyone says, the 90's were freaking great for music. I saw 'em twice, and they were solid live.
I was a fan of them after seeing them live, but I put in their greatest hits CD today & now I'm thinking about never putting that in again.
It sounded like 5 versions of So What for the first half.
This is the most redundant songwriter I can think of, same phrases over & over until it's just wearing on you.
Old Ministry, not a fan of the newer stuff. Just saw them in concert a few weeks ago, Al is more like a caricature of Johnny Depps pirate character these days but was still cool to see them.
i realized not too long ago that several of their biggest songs (Stigmata, Thieves, etc) are basically copies of songs by Big Black (Steve Albini). this really shocked the hell out of me, i had no idea. this is huge, he must have seen Big Black playing around Chicago and it changed their whole direction.
I've always loved Ministry. I was first introduced to them back when their A Mind Is A Terrible Thing... album first came out in 1989. I was a fan instantly. that album, Land Of Rape & Honey, Psalm 69, Filth Pig, and Dark Side Of The Spoon are probably my favorites.