Filth Pig is the sixth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on January 30, 1996, by Warner Bros. Records. The title was allegedly derived from a statement made in the British Houses of Parliament, in which the band's leader Al Jourgensen was described as a "filthy pig" for his onstage theatrics by MP Teddy Taylor.
Despite being the band's highest-charting album in the US, it was negatively received by reviewers, sharply divided the band's fanbase, and did not live up to the platinum-selling success of Psalm 69. Despite poor sales, the album entered several charts, peaking at the highest positions Ministry has ever achieved. This would be the last Ministry album with Mike Scaccia on guitar until 2004's Houses of the Molé.
Background Filth Pig marked a major shift artistically for the band from their previous album. Jourgensen said everyone around him wanted him to continue making music similar to Psalm 69. However, he wanted to move away from using samples and focus on a slower, heavier sound. Jourgensen rejected any songs that sounded like their previous work.
The 2002 live album Sphinctour was generally well received by critics.
Track listing
Personnel
Ministry Al Jourgensen – vocals, guitars, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, pedal steel, piano, production Paul Barker – bass, vocals (5), programming, production
Additional personnel Rey Washam, William Rieflin – drums Louis Svitek, Mike Scaccia – guitars Esther Nevarez, Stella Katsoudas – backing vocals (5) Duane Buford – programming (uncredited) Michael Balch – programming (8, uncredited)
Technicial personnel Zlatko Hukic – engineer Brad Kopplin – engineer Bill Garcelon – assistant engineer Jamie Duffy – assistant engineer Matt Gibson – assistant engineer Ed Tinley – assistant engineer Whitney O'Keefe – assistant engineer Paul Elledge – art & design
Chart positions
Album Chart (1996)PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)9Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)47Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)17German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)28New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)16Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)38Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan07Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)50UK Albums (OCC)43US Billboard 20019
Singles YearSongUSDanceSWEUK1995"The Fall"1846531996"Lay Lady Lay"——128
References
External links