The Land of Rape and Honey

This article is about the 1988 album by Ministry. For the city formerly with this civic motto, see Tisdale, Saskatchewan.
The Land of Rape and Honey
Studio album by
Ministry
ReleasedOctober 11, 1988 (1988-10-11)
Studio
Genre
Length46:31
LabelSire
Producer
Ministry chronology
Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984)
(1987) 		The Land of Rape and Honey
(1988) 		The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
(1989)
Singles from The Land of Rape and Honey
  1. "Stigmata"
    Released: August 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Kerrang![5]
MusicHound Rock[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[8]
The Village VoiceB+[9]

The Land of Rape and Honey is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on October 11, 1988, by Sire Records. This is the first Ministry album to include bassist Paul Barker and marks a departure from the band's previous two synthpop and EBM records. It incorporates heavy metal guitars and industrial music influences, and Al Jourgensen uses distorted vocals in his natural accent, rather than the faux British accent of previous albums. The resulting sound was influential in the industrial metal genre and is Jourgensen's favorite Ministry album. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1996.

The album title comes from the slogan of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, whose motto at that time was "The Land of Rape and Honey",[10] a reference to the agricultural products rapeseed and honey.[11] The band chose the name after seeing the slogan on a souvenir mug.[12]

  1. ^ Hartmann, Graham (January 10, 2019). "10 Most Underrated Bands of 1980s". Loudwire. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  2. ^ Carr, Daphne (June 17, 2019). "33 Best Industrial Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Huey, Steve. "The Land of Rape and Honey - Ministry". AllMusic. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Ministry". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (3rd ed.). Muse UK Ltd. pp. 3692–3693. ISBN 1561592374 – via the Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Mörat (November 28, 1992). "Rekordz". Kerrang!. No. 420. EMAP. p. 18.
  6. ^ Christensen, Thor (1999). "Ministry". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (loan required). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 762. ISBN 978-1-57859-061-2 – via the Internet Archive.
  7. ^ McLeod, Kembrew (November 2004). "Ministry". In Brackett, Nathan (ed.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 544. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 5, 1989). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2024-01-18 – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ^ "Canola, golden beads"
  11. ^ Wolanski, Coreen (March 1, 2003). "Ministry - Nothing Exceeds Like Excess". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  12. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (October 11, 2018). "Ministry's 'The Land of Rape and Honey': 8 Insane Al Jourgensen Stories". Revolver Magazine. Project M Group LLC. Retrieved June 27, 2023.