Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs

ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs)
Studio album by Ministry
Released	July 14, 1992
Recorded	1991-1992
Genre	Industrial metal
Length	44:38
Label	Sire/Warner Bros. Records 26727
Producer	Hypo Luxa Hermes Pan
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (A-)[1] Piero Scaruffi link
Ministry chronology
In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (1990) Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992) Filth Pig (1996)

Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs is the fifth studio album by industrial metal band Ministry, released in 1992 on Sire Records. The actual title of the album is ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (a Greek word roughly pronounced as "ke-fa-lee," meaning "head" or "leader," and the number 69 in Greek numerals), though Psalm 69 is used for simplicity's sake. The album is by many considered to be Ministry's magnum opus which led them into a more mainstream audience, the track Jesus Built My Hotrod received major airplay on MTV and various other music stations.

The song "N.W.O." (New World Order) features samples of George H. W. Bush and was used in the Ralph Bakshi half-live action/half-animated film Cool World. It is front man Al Jourgensen's critical take on the state of world affairs after the Gulf War and the end of the Cold War and an uncertain future. "Jesus Built My Hotrod" features guest vocals by Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers.

"N.W.O." was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1993.

Etymology

The title of the album is directly linked to chapter 69 of The Book of Lies, a written work of Aleister Crowley, where he uses the expression "The way to succeed and the way to suck eggs" as a pun for the 69 sex position ("suck seed" and "suck eggs"). Moreover, Crowley titled the chapter ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ, which means "head" (the English word being slang for Oral sex - but not the original ancient Greek word) and is used often in the New Testament. There is no direct link to the Old Testament passage Psalm 69.

Track listing

1. "N.W.O." - 5:31 (Jourgensen, Barker)
2. "Just One Fix" - 5:11 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin, Balch)
3. "TV II" - 3:04 (Jourgensen, Barker, Scaccia, Rieflin, Connelly)
4. "Hero" - 4:13 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin)
5. "Jesus Built My Hotrod" - 4:51 (Jourgensen, Barker, Balch, Rieflin, Haynes)
6. "Scare Crow" - 8:21 (Jourgensen, Barker, Scaccia, Rieflin, Balch)
7. "Psalm 69" - 5:29 (Jourgensen, Barker)
8. "Corrosion" - 4:56 (Jourgensen, Barker)
9. "Grace" - 3:05 (Jourgensen, Barker)

Samples

Samples.^[2]

N.W.O.

• "Alright, it's alright!" - Apocalypse Now
• "What we are looking at is good and evil, right and wrong.", "A new world order!", "We're not about to make that same mistake twice.", "God bless America! (crowd cheering)", "Wait... Watch and learn.", "I believe in freedom." - President George H. W. Bush
• "I'm not setting myself above any law." - Senator Joseph McCarthy

Just One Fix

• "Give me that thorazine man... " - The Trip
• "Jesus Wept." - Hellraiser
• "Noooooooo!" - Hellbound: Hellraiser II
• "Never trust a junkie." - Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) from Sid and Nancy
• "I wanna fix, gimme a fix", "Just one fix" - Frankie Machine (Frank Sinatra) from The Man with the Golden Arm

Hero

• Contains many samples from the cartoon G. I. Joe

"Jesus Built My Hotrod"

• "Let's hit... the fuc'...kin' road!" - Blue Velvet
• [Tires squealing] - Blue Velvet
• "Nobody with a good car needs to worry about nothin', do you understand." - Wise Blood
• "Nobody with a good car needs to be justified." - Wise Blood
• "I come a long way since I believed in anything, and I come halfway around the world." - Wise Blood
• "What are you talking about? Where you came from is gone, where you thought you were going to weren't never there, and where you are ain't no good unless you can can get away from it..." - Wise Blood

Psalm 69

• "I feel like my heart is being touched by Christ" - Altered States
• "Liar! Blasphemer!" - The Pit and the Pendulum
• "STOP IT!" - Suspiria

Singles

• "Jesus Built My Hotrod" was released in 1991 on 12" and CD, featuring "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Redline/Whiteline Version)", "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Short, Pussillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-On-The-Radio Edit)", and "TV Song," and on 7", omitting "Jesus Built My Hotrod (Redline/Whiteline Version)"

• "N.W.O." was released in 1992 on 12" and CD, featuring "N.W.O. (Extended Dance Mix)", "Fucked", and "N.W.O."

• "Just One Fix" was released in 1993 on 12" and CD, featuring "Just One Fix (12" Edit)", "Quick Fix" (a remix of "Just One Fix") and "Just one Fix (Video Edit)"

Charting positions

Album

Singles

Music certifications

Personnel

Ministry

• Al Jourgensen – vocals, guitars, keyboards, producer
• Paul Barker – bass, programming, vocals, producer

Additional Personnel

• William Rieflin – drums
• Mike Scaccia – guitar
• Michael Balch – keyboards, programming
• Howie Beno – programming
• Louis Svitek – guitar
• Gibby Haynes – vocals (5)
• Jeff "Critter" Newell – engineer
• Paul Manno – engineer

References