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.

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. 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.

Compared to its subsequent follow-ups, the musical style of the album is less thrash metal-oriented.

Al 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.