3. Ministry - Filth Pig
Warner Bros.Though it can be argued they didnt invent Industrial Metal, Ministry (led by the always-amusing Al Jourgensen) brought it kicking and screaming into the mainstream. Suddenly, drum machines, distorted vocals, grating keyboards and sampling were not only intricate elements of their songs, but acceptable to the same headbangers who would have scoffed at such things only a few years earlier. Without Ministry, there would be no Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson. Ministry peaked with the 1992 album, Psalm 69, a perfect fusion of guitar-driven heavy metal thunder and techno-dance music. With a bit of help from MTV, it was also the first industrial metal album to sell in huge numbers. It would be four years before Ministry reared its ugly head again (sidelined by Jourgensens drug abuse and dedication to various side projects like Lard & Revolting Cocks). In the interim, Nine Inch Nails & White Zombie took the concept and ran all the way to the bank. Ministry finally reemerged with the plodding Filth Pig, an album totally devoid of everything which endeared them to the masses in the first place. Gone were the samples, driving percussion and keyboard flourishes which made Psalm 69 so fun. For the first time, Ministry sounded like just-another rock band, using only traditional instruments to create their once-unique sound. Though it initially charted higher than every previous Ministry album, this was likely due to the enormous goodwill leftover from Psalm 69, because Filth Pig is a depressing, slow endurance test, almost as though Jourgensen suddenly wanted to be taken seriously as an actual musician rather than maintain his reputation as one of metals more amusing pranksters. The debacle of Filth Pig was the catalyst for their downfall, stopping their momentum in its tracks, ironically at the time when their established brand of industrial metal was at its popular peak. Theyve since re-embraced their techno-thrash roots, but few people are actually listening anymore.