Houses of the Molé

Houses of the Molé is the ninth studio album by industrial metal band Ministry. The album was released on June 21, 2004, internationally, and a day later in the United States, through Sanctuary Records.

It is noteworthy for being the first Ministry LP not to feature bassist and longtime collaborator Paul Barker since Twitch in 1986. It is also the first album to use Ministry's new logo, as well as their first with Mike Scaccia on guitar since 1996's Filth Pig.

Background

The album is the first part of the band's anti-Bush trilogy, followed by Rio Grande Blood (2006) and The Last Sucker (2007). It was released in the run up to the 2004 American presidential elections, with George W. Bush being president at the time of its release. Nearly all songs start with the letter "W" in their title, except for "No W" and the hidden track "Psalm 23". The first track on the album, "No W", features numerous satirical samples of Bush's speeches, particularly samples in which he spoke of his war on terror.

Jourgensen describes Houses of the Molé as a "rebirth" album as he started Ministry anew without long time collaborator Paul Barker who left after the Animositisomina tour due to a falling out.^[1] Compared to its subsequent follow-ups, the musical style of the album is more thrash metal-oriented.

Jourgensen has stated that the name Houses of the Molé is a tribute to the Houses of the Holy album, released by Led Zeppelin in 1973. Mole itself is a Mexican sauce made from chocolate that is nearly black in color, an image that Jourgensen believes represents crude oil.

Former drummer Rey Washam criticized Houses of the Molé for not being credited in the songs he had worked on. As a result, he called Jourgensen a "liar" and "full of shit," which prompted him to sever ties with him. In addition, he said "Houses of the Molé" was "the worst [album] title in the world."^[2]

This was the first and so far only Ministry studio album to not chart on the Billboard 200. Due to slow sales, the band left Sanctuary.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100^[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[4]
The Austin Chronicle	^[5]
Billboard	favourable^[6]
Playlouder	^[7]
Q	^[3]
Rock Hard	10/10^[8]
Rolling Stone	^[9]

In 2005, Houses of the Molé was ranked No. 434 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"No W"	Al Jourgensen	3:24
2.	"Waiting"	Jourgensen, Mike Scaccia, Max Brody	5:02
3.	"Worthless"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody	4:09
4.	"Wrong"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody, John Monte	4:54
5.	"Warp City"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody, Monte	4:01
6.	"WTV"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody	4:35
7.	"World"	Jourgensen	5:13
8.	"WKYJ"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody	5:14
9.	"Worm"	Jourgensen, Scaccia, Brody	9:11
10.	"Psalm 23" (hidden track)	Jourgensen	4:41
11.	"Walrus" (hidden track)	Jourgensen	2:43
Total length:			55:00

"Psalm 23" is track 23, while "Walrus" is track 69.

Alternate printing track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"No W"	3:24
2.	"Waiting"	5:02
3.	"Worthless"	4:09
4.	"Wrong"	4:54
5.	"Warp City"	4:01
6.	"WTV"	4:25
7.	"World"	5:13
8.	"WKYJ"	5:14
9.	"Worm"	9:11
10.	"Bloodlines"	7:14
11.	"Walrus"	2:43
Total length:		57:27

Original printings of Houses of the Molé featured "Psalm 23", an alternate version of "No W". Later versions feature a similar version of this song as "No W", and instead feature a 13th (hidden) track titled "Bloodlines".^[11]

"Walrus" is track 69. Dark Side of the Spoon, another Ministry album, features a hidden track called "Everybody" which is also track 69.

Personnel

Ministry

Alien Jourgensen – vocals, guitars (1–4, 8, 9), bass (1, 7, 8), programming, slide guitar (5), harmonica (9), production
Mike Scaccia – lead guitar (1–3, 8), guitars, bass (2, 6, 9), background vocals (5, 9)
John Monte – bass (3–5), background vocals (5)
Mark Baker – drums (3–5), percussion (3), background vocals (5)

Additional personnel

Max Brody – programming (2, 6, 7, 9), drums (8), saxophone (9), background vocals (9)
Angie Jourgensen – background vocals (5, 9)
Odin Myers – background vocals (5)
Carl Wayne – background vocals (5)
Kol Marshall – B3 organ (8, 9)
Turner Vanblarcum – DJ voice (8)
Lawton Outlaw – original cover, inside tray art, art direction, design
Paul Elledge – photography
Rey Washam – drums (uncredited)^[2]

Chart positions

Chart (2004)	Peak position
French Albums Chart^[12]	162
UK Albums Chart^[13]	135

References

↑ Acharya, Kiran. "Revolting Lots: Al Jourgensen's Favourite Ministry Albums". The Quietus. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
1 2 Prindle, Mark. "Rey Washam - 2005". MarkPrindle.com. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
1 2 "Critic Reviews for Houses of the Molé". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
↑ Loftus, Johnny. "House of the Molé - Ministry". Allmusic.
↑ Chamy, Michael (2004-09-03). "Ministry: Houses of the Molé". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
↑ "Houses of the Molé". Billboard. July 24, 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-08-08. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
↑ Robb, John (2004-06-16). "Houses of the Molé". Playlouder. Archived from the original on 2004-07-12. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
↑ Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger. "Rock Hard review". issue 206. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
↑ Hoard, Christian (2004-08-05). "Ministry: Houses Of The Molé : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
↑ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 35. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
↑ "The Dogs Space Blog". Retrieved 11 December 2014.
↑ "French chart positions" (in French). lescharts.com.
↑ "Chart Log UK: M - My Vitriol". Zobbel.

External links

Houses of the Molé at Metacritic

Ministry

Al Jourgensen John Bechdel Sin Quirin Roy Mayorga Jason Christopher Cesar Soto Martin Atkins Mark Baker Michael Balch Paul Barker Howie Beno Max Brody Duane Buford Chris Connelly John Davis Stephen George Brad Hallen Zlatko Hukic Shay Jones John Monte Nivek Ogre Casey Orr Paul Raven Bill Rieflin Robert Roberts Mike Scaccia Marty Sorenson Louis Svitek Tommy Victor Rey Washam Aaron Rossi Tony Campos

Studio albums	With Sympathy Twitch The Land of Rape and Honey The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs Filth Pig Dark Side of the Spoon Animositisomina Houses of the Molé Rio Grande Blood The Last Sucker Relapse From Beer to Eternity

Live albums	In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up Sphinctour Adios... Puta Madres

Compilations and remixes	Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984) Box Tapes of Wrath Greatest Fits Early Trax Side Trax Rantology Rio Grande Dub Ya Cover Up The Last Dubber MiXXXes of the Molé Every Day Is Halloween: The Anthology Undercover

Singles	"Cold Life" "I Wanted to Tell Her" "Work for Love" "(Every Day Is) Halloween" "Stigmata" "Burning Inside" "Jesus Built My Hotrod" "N.W.O." "Just One Fix" "The Fall" "Lay Lady Lay" "Reload" "Bad Blood" "No W" "Keys to the City" "Thunderstruck" "99 Percenters" "Double Tap" "PermaWar"

Related articles	Discography "Thieves" Relapse Tour "LiesLiesLies" Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen

Related acts	The Blackouts Revolting Cocks Pailhead PTP 1000 Homo DJs Lead into Gold Lard Acid Horse W.E.L.T. Pink Anvil U.S.S.A. Killing Joke Pigface Prong Skrew Society 1 Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters Surgical Meth Machine

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