''The Last Sucker'' is the eleventh studio album by

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

band

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

, released in 2007 through 13th Planet Records. For three years until their reformation in 2011, it was the band's last studio album featuring new material. The album is the third and final part of the band's anti-

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

trilogy, preceded by 2004's ''

Houses of the Molé ''Houses of the Molé'' is the ninth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on June 21, 2004 by Sanctuary Records. It is noteworthy for being the first Ministry album not to feature bassist and longtime collaborator P ...

'' and 2006's ''

Rio Grande Blood ''Rio Grande Blood'' is the tenth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released in 2006. It is their first release through 13th Planet and Megaforce Records. Overview The album is the second installment in the band's ant ...

''.

Overview

Jourgensen told

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

that he had "...other things to do. I just started a label ( 13th Planet Records), 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 Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

and

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

albums thirty years later." "That seems to be my muse; everyone seems to think I write real shitty music when a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

'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 is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

frontman

Burton C. Bell Burton Christopher Bell (born February 19, 1969) is an American musician and vocalist. He is best known as the co-founder and former frontman of the metal band Fear Factory. Until 2021 he was the only member to perform on all of the band's album ...

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 The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

'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, ''

''. In an interview with ''Songfacts'' from 2012, Jourgensen reflected on the political aspect of the album:

"By the end of ''Last Sucker'', I actually felt guilty and bad about bashing Bush. In ''
Rio Grande Blood ''Rio Grande Blood'' is the tenth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released in 2006. It is their first release through 13th Planet and Megaforce Records. Overview The album is the second installment in the band's ant ...
'', I was all into it: this guy's evil. But by the end of ''Last Sucker'', I was just like, this guy is in over his head. The oligarchy rules, and this guy plays with crayons and reads '' My Pet Goat''. I mean, he's a blithering idiot. I protested him here in
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
one time. I got within 10 feet of him. I can't believe the Secret Service let me get that close. And he was at a taco stand, like, 'I'll take one of them there
enchirito Enchirito () is the trademarked name of Taco Bell's menu item of the Tex-Mex food similar to an enchilada. It is composed of a flour tortilla (Mexico), flour tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef taco meat (with options to substitute steak or ...
s.' Well, there was no enchirito on the menu, and I don't even know what an enchirito is. But George W. was insistent, so they made him an enchirito, and I got to witness the whole thing and I started feeling sorry for him. What a dolt, man. This guy is so stupid, he can't be running the country. Cheney and the oligarchy is running the country. This guy just plays with Tonka trucks and orders enchiritos. I actually felt sorry for him."

Cover art

The limited edition

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

has an image of George W. Bush's face that morphs into a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

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 di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

'', 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 ( el, Φίλιππος; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; cop, ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ, ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostl ...

's place.

Track listing

Personnel

Ministry

* Alien Jourgensen -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, programming,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, bass (8),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(8),

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

(8),

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Paul Raven - bass (2, 10, 11), guitars (2, 10, 11),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(2, 10, 11) *

Tommy Victor Thomas M. Victor (born 1961/1962) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for heavy metal band Prong, which he founded in New York City in 1986, as well as the guitarist for ...

- guitars (5, 6, 9-11), bass (5, 6, 9-11), backing vocals (5, 6, 9-11) *

Sin Quirin Sinhue "Sin" Quirin is an American guitarist based in Burbank, California. He came to prominence as a member of industrial metal band Ministry and its side projects, and as a primary songwriter on their albums '' The Last Sucker'' and ''From Beer ...

- guitars (1, 3, 4, 7), bass (1, 3, 4, 7) *John Bechdel -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Additional personnel

- vocals (9-11) *Josh Bradford - add. backing vocals (11) *Angie Jay - add. backing vocals (11) *Kevin Spence - intro vox (8) add. backing vocals (6-11) *Erin Braswell - add. backing vocals (11) *Dave Donnelly - production, mastering *John Bilberry -

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, drum programming *Lawton Outlaw -

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

, design, layout

Chart positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Sucker, The 2007 albums Albums produced by Al Jourgensen Ministry (band) albums Cultural depictions of George W. Bush Obscenity controversies in music