Rio Grande Blood
Encyclopedia
Rio Grande Blood is the tenth studio album by industrial metal
band Ministry
, released in 2006. It is their first release through 13th Planet
and Megaforce Records
.
trilogy, preceded by 2004's Houses of the Molé
and followed by 2007's The Last Sucker
.
The title of the album is a parody of the 1972 ZZ Top
album Rio Grande Mud
.
Just like Houses of the Molé, Rio Grande Blood contains very political lyrics, making frequent allusions to the George W. Bush administration
. In fact, the album cover uses what appears to be a heavily modified portrait of George W. Bush face with the body of a crucified Christ. Also, some of the issues raised include the current Iraq War, U.S. immigration policy and U.S. military policy (particularly the US Marine Corps in the song "Gangreen"). The Halliburton
corporation is also quoted and linked to the Bush administration. The track "Señor Peligro" appears to come out in support of Hugo Chávez
- the President of Venezuela - against the U.S. government: "Señor Peligro" is Spanish for "Mr. Danger," a nickname that Chávez uses for Bush.
The album also contains allegations of the Bush administration complicity in the 9/11 attacks in the track "Lieslieslies," which contains audio samples from the conspiracy documentary Loose Change
. The song received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 49th annual Grammy Awards.
A remix of the song "The Great Satan" from Rantology
appears on this album. Along with "LiesLiesLies", "The Great Satan" was also nominated for a Grammy.
Samples of genuine Bush soundbites are cut-and-pasted together at various points to satirical effect: for example, the title track begins with Bush stating "I have adopted sophisticated terrorist tactics and I'm a dangerous, dangerous man with dangerous, dangerous weapons."
The album was re-released in remixed form as Rio Grande Dub
on July 10, 2007.
The songs "Fear (Is Big Business)", "Palestina", and "Khyber Pass" were used in the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Hurt Locker
.
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, released in 2006. It is their first release through 13th Planet
13th Planet Records
13th Planet Records is a record label founded by Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen and his wife, Angelina Jourgensen in 2004. In addition to its function as an artist-run, artist-friendly independent label, 13th Planet encompasses several realms of the music industry including artist management,...
and Megaforce Records
Megaforce Records
Megaforce Records is an American independent record label which was founded in 1982 by Jon and Marsha Zazula to publish the first works of Metallica. It has offices in New York and Philadelphia. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony Music Entertainment/RED Distribution...
.
Overview
The album is the 2nd part of the band's anti-George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
trilogy, preceded by 2004's Houses of the Molé
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.-Album information:...
and followed by 2007's The Last Sucker
The Last Sucker
The Last Sucker is the eleventh studio album by industrial metal band Ministry, released in 2007 through 13th Planet Records. For three years until their reformation in 2011, it was band's last studio album featuring new material....
.
The title of the album is a parody of the 1972 ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
album Rio Grande Mud
Rio Grande Mud
Rio Grande Mud is the second album by American blues rock band ZZ Top and was released in 1972.The album title was inspired by the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border between Mexico and Texas and means "big river" in Spanish....
.
Just like Houses of the Molé, Rio Grande Blood contains very political lyrics, making frequent allusions to the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
. In fact, the album cover uses what appears to be a heavily modified portrait of George W. Bush face with the body of a crucified Christ. Also, some of the issues raised include the current Iraq War, U.S. immigration policy and U.S. military policy (particularly the US Marine Corps in the song "Gangreen"). The Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
corporation is also quoted and linked to the Bush administration. The track "Señor Peligro" appears to come out in support of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
- the President of Venezuela - against the U.S. government: "Señor Peligro" is Spanish for "Mr. Danger," a nickname that Chávez uses for Bush.
The album also contains allegations of the Bush administration complicity in the 9/11 attacks in the track "Lieslieslies," which contains audio samples from the conspiracy documentary Loose Change
Loose Change (video)
Loose Change is a series of films released between 2005 and 2009 which argue that the September 11, 2001 attacks were planned and conducted by elements within the United States government, and base the claims on perceived anomalies in the historical record of the attacks...
. The song received a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 49th annual Grammy Awards.
A remix of the song "The Great Satan" from Rantology
Rantology
Rantology is a compilation album from industrial metal band Ministry. The album is made up of remixes of the band's singles and most well known songs.-Track listing:*Tracks 13, 14, and 15 are live versions taken from the Sphinctour live album....
appears on this album. Along with "LiesLiesLies", "The Great Satan" was also nominated for a Grammy.
Samples of genuine Bush soundbites are cut-and-pasted together at various points to satirical effect: for example, the title track begins with Bush stating "I have adopted sophisticated terrorist tactics and I'm a dangerous, dangerous man with dangerous, dangerous weapons."
The album was re-released in remixed form as Rio Grande Dub
Rio Grande Dub
Rio Grande Dub Ya is a remix album by industrial metal band Ministry. The album is composed of remixes from the band's 2006 album Rio Grande Blood. John Bechdel is responsible for the "Fear Is Big Business ". The rest of the remixes on this album were done by Clayton Worbeck.-Track listing:*Track...
on July 10, 2007.
The songs "Fear (Is Big Business)", "Palestina", and "Khyber Pass" were used in the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
.
Track listing
- "Rio Grande Blood" – 4:24 (Jourgensen)
- "Señor Peligro" – 3:38 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "Gangreen" (ft. Sgt. Major) – 6:00 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "Fear (Is Big Business)" – 4:51 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "LiesLiesLies" – 5:16 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "The Great Satan (Remix)" – 3:09 (Jourgensen)
- "Yellow Cake" – 4:35 (Jourgensen, Raven)
- "Palestina" – 3:18 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "Ass Clown" (ft. Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
) – 6:42 (Jourgensen, Raven) - "Khyber Pass" (ft. Liz Constantine) – 7:31 (Jourgensen, Raven, Victor)
- "LiesLiesLies (Jungle Remixxx)" - 9:34 (Jourgensen, Victor) (Japan bonus track)
- "Silence" - 0:04
- "Silence" - 0:06
- "Sgt. Major Redux" (ft. Sgt. Major) – 1:45
Ministry
- Al JourgensenAl JourgensenAlain David Jourgensen , is a Cuban-American musician best known as the founder and frontman of the industrial metal band Ministry. He is sometimes credited as Alain Jourgensen, Alien Jourgensen, Hypo Luxa , Dog, Alien Dog Star and Buck Satan...
- vocals, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
(1), guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s (1-3, 5-10), bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1, 6), keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1-10), drum programming (1, 6), productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Tommy VictorTommy VictorTommy Victor is the lead singer and guitarist for the crossover thrash/industrial metal band Prong that he founded in New York in 1986. In the late 1980s Victor worked as a soundman at CBGB's. After the release of Rude Awakening in 1996, Prong disbanded and Victor moved to Los Angeles. Since then...
- lead guitar (2-4, 7-9), guitars (2-5, 8, 10), bass (2-4) - Paul Raven - keyboards (2, 3, 10), background vocals (2, 3), bass (5, 7-10), guitar (7, 9, 10) drum programming (7, 9), drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(10)
Additional personnel
- Mark Baker - drums (2, 3, 5, 8, 10)
- Isaias Martinez - Latin vocals (2)
- Freddie Macias - background vocals (2, 3)
- Sgt. Major - drill instructor vocals (3, 13)
- Bobby Torres - background vocals (3)
- Jim Ward - background vocals (3)
- Justin Leeah - drum programming (4), engineer
- Mike ScacciaMike ScacciaMichael "Mike" Scaccia is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist for the metal bands Ministry, Rigor Mortis, and The Revolting Cocks.- Professional life :...
- lead guitar (6) - Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
- intro vocals (9) - Liz Constantine - additional vocals (10)
- John Gray - engineer
- John Bilberry - assistant engineer
- Dave Donnelly - mastering
- Lawton Outlaw - art direction, design, layout
In popular culture
- The song "Palestina" has featured in skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Downhill JamTony Hawk's Downhill JamTony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a video game in the Tony Hawk series. The game was a launch title for Nintendo's Wii, and is also available for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2....
. - The sound after the opening speech at the album's beginning is sampled from the track "Snagglepuss" by John ZornJohn ZornJohn Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
. - The song "Señor Peligro" is used in the video game Scarface: The World Is YoursScarface: The World is YoursScarface: The World Is Yours is a video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game is based on and is a quasi-sequel to the 1983 motion picture Scarface starring Al Pacino reprising his role as Tony Montana, with André Sogliuzzo providing Montana's...
. - The song "Lieslieslies" is featured in the 2007 film Battle for Haditha.
- The songs "Lieslieslies" and "The Great Satan" are available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band 2Rock Band 2Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
.
Chart positions
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
60 |
| The Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
134 |
| Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
11 |
| Tastemakers Albums | 12 |
| Top Internet Albums | 134 |