Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey

by Jason Pettigrew

This is the definitive chronicle of Ministry's 1988 industrial rock release, The Land of Rape and Honey, that details the zeitgeist where post-punk, metal, funk and straight-up noise converge.

Ministry mainstay Al Jourgensen got a taste of bitter record-biz backwash early on with his first major label bow for Arista (1983's With Sympathy), and then vowed never to drink from that cup again. His pursuit of artistic freedom culminated in Ministry's 1988 release, the record that left an entry wound on the world's assorted underground scenes while helping to foment the industrial rock revolution that inspired a countless number of bands across all sonic frontiers.

Featuring interviews with Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, Chris Connelly, Jello Biafra, Adrian Sherwood, deadmau5, Fear Factory, and many more famous fans and pundits, this deeply sourced book traces back the climate surrounding Ministry's first two full length releases before examining the vision, methods, and controversies that helped ascend The Land of Rape and Honey to its rightful legend status. The Land of Rape and Honey may be the one common album members of Nine Inch Nails, AFI, and ZZ Top have in their collections, be it phonograph or phone. And the story behind it remains fascinating.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2025

Reviews

[Matt Spade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent dive into a pivotal album in the industrial scene. It was probably the catalyst for what would become the industrial scene. With interview interviews from Paul Barker, Chris Connolly, and all players involved you get a true account of the events surrounding the making of this album.
And while I love Al, his memory has faded due to drug use. His autobiography does not tell you a lot of of the behind-the-scenes of making the album like this book does.
With some debauchery involved this book is more of an account on how the album was made and what went into it; including the scene of PTP, 1000 Homo DJs, RevCo, etc.

[Niall Macdougall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a big fan of Ministry in the early nineties. They were the first band I saw live in 1992 and TLORAH was probably my second favourite album by them. I preferred the follow up but in retrospect LORAH is the album where they really innovated and pushed the boundaries. This book contains a lot of insights into the creative period when the record was made and reminded me of 1990 and 1991 again. Recommended if you are a fan

[Dennis Seese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done entry in the series. The author had access to Ministry and other assorted figures of note during the LORAH era (fellow travelers, producers, label critters et.al) and that's almost always a boost to these endeavors.
This is a record where I was interested in knowing more about the studio/songwriting nuts and bolts and it delivered on that front.

[Georgette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was well researched and relentlessly entertaining. If you are a Ministry fan- or even if you are not, this may convince you to invest in their catalogue- you will dig this look into LORAH.

[Egghead · Rating 4 out of 5]

book mostly about
side projects but all part of
the album cycle