The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste

The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Studio album by Ministry
Released	November 14, 1989
Recorded	1989 at Chicago Trax Studios
Genre	Industrial metal
Length	45:31 (LP) 50:19 (CD)
Label	Sire/Warner Bros. Records 26004
Producer	Hypo Luxa Hermes Pan
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Piero Scaruffi link
Ministry chronology
The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (1990)

The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste is the fourth studio album by industrial metal band Ministry, released in 1989 through Sire/Warner Bros. Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction. The songs' themes dealt with such issues as political corruption ("Thieves"); cultural violence ("So What"); environmental wreckage and nuclear war ("Breathe"); drug addiction ("Burning Inside"); and insanity ("Cannibal Song").

The album peaked at #163 in the US and was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in December 1995.

Track listing

1. "Thieves" - 4:59 (Alain Jourgensen, Paul Barker, Chris Connelly, Kevin Ogilvie)
2. "Burning Inside" - 5:16 (Jourgensen, Barker, William Rieflin, Connelly)
3. "Never Believe" - 4:58 (Jourgensen, Barker, Connelly)
4. "Cannibal Song" - 6:07 (Jourgensen, Barker, Connelly)
5. "Breathe" - 5:38 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin, Connelly, Ogilvie)
6. "So What" - 8:12 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin, Connelly)
7. "Test" - 6:02 (Jourgensen, Barker, Rieflin, K. Lite)
8. "Faith Collapsing" - 4:00 (Jourgensen, Barker, Connelly)
9. "Dream Song" - 4:48 (Jourgensen, Barker)

Samples

1. "Thieves"
   • GySgt. Hartman from Full Metal Jacket
     • "Get up, get on your feet" / "You will not kill! / "I can't hear you!" / "I still can't hear you!"
   • "KILL! KILL! KILL!" – The maggots from Full Metal Jacket
   • "We are fighting for the liberation of man. Not for the rights of these pigs. The rights of society!" – from The War at Home
   • "We're going to rip this motherfucker off, we're going to tear this motherfucker down." – from The War at Home
   • "I hope they realize this is their last god damned chance!" – from The War at Home
   • "Power to the people" – from The War at Home
4. "Cannibal Song"
   • "The mind is a labyrinth" - Dr. Channard from Hellbound: Hellraiser II
6. "So What"
   • The stern monologue is the Judge from The Violent Years
8. "Test"
   • Various samples from the film Fahrenheit 451
9. "Dream Song"
   • "Kalimankou Denkou (The Evening Gathering)" by the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir from the 1987 album "Le Mysteres du Voix Bulgares"

Cover

Limp Bizkit covered Thieves. Static X covered Burning Inside.

Charting Positions

Album

Singles

Personnel

Ministry

• Alien Jourgensen – vocals, guitars, programming
• Paul Barker – bass, programming

Additional Musicians

• William Rieflin – drums, programming, background voice (track 8)
• Mars Williams – saxophone (track 4)
• Chris Connelly – lead vocals (track 3, 4), background vocals (track 5, 6)
• The Grand Wizard (K. Lite) – vocals (track 7)
• Joe Kelly – background vocals (track 1)
• Kyle McKeough - background vocals (track 6)
• Jeff Ward – background vocals (track 5)
• Dave Ogilvie - background vocals (track 5, 8)
• The Slogan God (Tommie Boyskee) – vocals (track 7)
• Bobbie DiBartollo – background vocals (track 8)
• Angela Lukacen – vocals (track 9)