Another lardy minor threat: Pailhead (1988)

I'm a huuuuge fan of just about everything that Ian Mackaye has ever been involved with, and i've got a lot of friends who are too, but it really does take quite a while to work through every project he's been involved with due to how (over)productive he was during the mid to late 80s. One of the last things that I'd yet to hear until quite recently, and that I know a lot of people aren't very familiar with is his very short lived collaboration with the industrial band Ministry known as Pailhead.

Indeed so short lived was this collaboration that it only lasted for one two track single (No Bunny / I Will Refuse) and one four track EP (Trait, both of which came out in 1988 on the Wax Trax label in Chicago, and all of the tracks from both of these releases can now be found on the Ministry rarities comp Side Trax. It's a pretty odd combination of artists when you first think about it, but when you hear it you realise just how well the combination of hardcore and industrial works. I hear some hints of Atari Teenage Riot in there, and it's really quite a timely musical document, as Nine Inch Nails would also start recording around this time. Indeed it's no wonder that a year later Ministry ended up collaborating with Jello Biafra for the excellent Lard project, which I really do recommend for any Dead Kennedys fans that haven't heard it yet; 1990's The Last Temptation of Reid is especially good. It does make you think how Ian would have sounded fronting Lard, it's even possible that Ministry had planned that to happen but Ian couldn't find enough time away from Fugazi. Alas, we have to settle for the Pailhead tracks. Enjoy!

Pailhead - 01 Man Should Surrender
Pailhead - 02 Anthem
Pailhead - 03 Dont Stand In Line
Pailhead - 04 Ballad
Pailhead - 05 I Will Refuse
Pailhead - 06 No Bunny