The Last Sucker
Encyclopedia
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 album is the 3rd and final part of the band's anti-George W. Bush
trilogy, preceded by 2004's Houses of the Molé
and 2006's Rio Grande Blood
.
), and I want to sign some bands and really build it up like I did with WaxTrax
in the '80s, not just a vanity label. I think it's time, and I'll be leaving on the top of my game instead of hanging on too long and doing crappy Aerosmith
and Rolling Stones albums thirty years later."
"That seems to be my muse; everyone seems to think I write real shitty music when a Democrat
's in office. So we'll do that one, and then me and George (W.) Bush go riding off hand-in-hand, into the sunset."
Fear Factory
frontman Burton C. Bell
recorded some guest vocals for the album.
On July 17, 2007, a promotional copy of the album was leaked on the internet. A week earlier lyrics and full credits for the album were released by SureShotWorx on their official website.
A Best Buy exclusive version of the CD contains remixes of "Watch Yourself" and "The Last Sucker."
The final track, "End of Days Part Two", contains a lengthy sample from 34th President of the United States
Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, warning about the dangers of the "military-industrial complex
". The end of the song also features a quiet sample of "O Fortuna" in the background. The same music was sampled at the beginning of the first album in the Bush Trilogy, Houses of the Molé
.
creature's face and back when turned. The image is on a card that can be removed from the digipack.
The inner cover art contains a parody of Leonardo da Vinci
's The Last Supper
, with Jourgensen in the center of the table and figures from the Bush administration around him; Bush himself is drawn in Philip the Apostle
's place.
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 2007 through 13th Planet Records
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,...
. For three years until their reformation in 2011, it was band's last studio album featuring new material.
The album is the 3rd and final part of the band's anti-George W. Bush
George 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 2006's Rio Grande Blood
Rio Grande Blood
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.- Overview :The album is the 2nd part of the band's anti-George W...
.
Overview
Jourgensen told Billboard that he had "...other things to do. I just started a label (13th Planet Records13th 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 I want to sign some bands and really build it up like I did with WaxTrax
Wax Trax! Records
Wax Trax! Records was an independent record label in the United States. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue in...
in the '80s, not just a vanity label. I think it's time, and I'll be leaving on the top of my game instead of hanging on too long and doing crappy Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
and Rolling Stones albums thirty years later."
"That seems to be my muse; everyone seems to think I write real shitty music when a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
's in office. So we'll do that one, and then me and George (W.) Bush go riding off hand-in-hand, into the sunset."
Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
frontman Burton C. Bell
Burton C. Bell
Burton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
recorded some guest vocals for the album.
On July 17, 2007, a promotional copy of the album was leaked on the internet. A week earlier lyrics and full credits for the album were released by SureShotWorx on their official website.
A Best Buy exclusive version of the CD contains remixes of "Watch Yourself" and "The Last Sucker."
The final track, "End of Days Part Two", contains a lengthy sample from 34th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, warning about the dangers of the "military-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
". The end of the song also features a quiet sample of "O Fortuna" in the background. The same music was sampled at the beginning of the first album in the Bush Trilogy, 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:...
.
Cover art
The limited edition digipack has an image of George W. Bush's face that morphs into a lizardLizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
creature's face and back when turned. The image is on a card that can be removed from the digipack.
The inner cover art contains a parody of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's The Last Supper
The Last Supper (Leonardo)
The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este...
, with Jourgensen in the center of the table and figures from the Bush administration around him; Bush himself is drawn in Philip the Apostle
Philip the Apostle
Philip the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia....
's place.
Track listing
- "Let's Go" - 4:53 (Jourgensen, Quirin)
- "Watch Yourself" - 5:29 (Jourgensen, Raven)
- "Life Is Good" - 4:15 (Jourgensen, Quirin)
- "The Dick Song" - 5:50 (Jourgensen, Quirin)
- "The Last Sucker" - 5:59 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "No Glory" - 3:42 (Jourgensen, Victor)
- "Death & Destruction" - 3:31 (Jourgensen, Quirin)
- "Roadhouse BluesRoadhouse Blues"Roadhouse Blues" is a blues-rock song written and recorded by the American rock band The Doors. The song, which appeared on the B-side of "You Make Me Real", was first released as a single from the album Morrison Hotel in March 1970 and peaked at #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" - 4:26 (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore) (The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
cover) - "Die in a Crash" - 4:03 (Jourgensen, Victor, Bell)
- "End of Days (Part 1)" - 3:22 (Jourgensen, Victor, Raven, Bell)
- "End of Days (Part 2)" - 10:25 (Jourgensen, Victor, Raven, Bell)
Bonus tracks
- "Watch Yourself (The End is Here)" - 4:30 (found on Best Buy versions at track #23)
- "The Last Sucker (Remix)" - 3:44 (found on Best Buy versions at track #69)
- "Die in a Crash (Remix)" - 5:22 (iTunes exclusive)
- "No Glory (Remix)" - 4:49 (Napster only download)
- "Death & Destruction (Remix)" - 5:09 (Japan bonus track)
Ministry
- Alien 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...
- vox, 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, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
(8), programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, drum programming, 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...
- guitars, bass, b/g vox - Paul Raven - bass, guitars, b/g vox
- Sin QuirinSin QuirinSin Quirin is a guitar player from LA. He was a member of Ministry and is featured throughout the 2007 Ministry album The Last Sucker.In addition to his role in Ministry and co-writing credits for RevCo’s Sex-O Olympic-O and Got Cock?, Sin Quirin has worked with DJ Hardware on the...
- guitars, bass - John BechdelJohn BechdelJohn Bechdel is a keyboardist, and has been a part of many bands over the years including Ministry, Fear Factory, Abstinence, Prong, Killing Joke, Murder, Inc. and Brian Brain to name a few...
- 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...
Additional personnel
- Burton C. BellBurton C. BellBurton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
- vox (9-11) - Josh Bradford - add. b/g vox (11)
- Angie Jay - add. b/g vox (11)
- Kevin Spence - add. b/g vox (11)
- Erin Braswell - add. b/g vox (11)
- Casey ChaosCasey ChaosCasey Chaos is the frontman and guitarist of punk rock band Amen. After numerous line-up changes he is the only remaining founding member of the band. He is known for his energetic stage performance...
- intro vox (8) - Dave Donnelly - production, mastering
- John Bilberry - engineer, drum programming
- Lawton Outlaw - art direction, design, layout
Chart positions
| Chart (2007) | 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... |
95 |
| 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... |
130 |
| Hard Rock Albums | 17 |
| 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... |
15 |