Rantology

Sanctuary Records

If You Like... Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy

Lame-ass track: “NoW (Redux)”

q Buy q Burn q4 Frizbee

Ministry is back to rail against its nemesis, the Bush administration. Rantology is the new release from the Chicago veterans of industrial dance rock, though with each album they seem to head in more of a metal direction.

Louder doesn’t always mean better, though. The overdubbed Bush quotes, chugging riffs, pounding drums and intense bass lines are all here — just like Ministry’s sound on previous albums.

The fact that Rantology is a collection of remixes, live tracks and a few new songs hammers home that the band has become stagnant and stale. Tracks like “NoW (Redux)” and “Bloodlines” go nowhere the band hasn’t been before.

Some tracks still shine through, such as vibrant live songs like “The Fall” and “Psalm 69.” In the end, though, it all seems to taste the same: stale, old, and a little moldy. This disc is for die-hard fans only.

—Andrew Sullivan