“If these guys play at a wedding, the bride will go to bed without teeth!” Yes, such punk-folk dances surely would lead to a marvelous Balkan fight be it during a wedding, at a concert or at the square in the gypsy neighborhood during Bango Vasil. ‘Integration’ was the album of KULTUR SHOCK that managed to bore me with its slightly pointless harshness and almost sterile and chaotic throwing of heavy riffs. That is why I played ‘Ministry Kultur’ with a little apprehension but happily I loved it from the first listening. The music again is more punk and metal but the gypsy and Balkan moments are pouring in lavish waves, backed firmly by the heavy guitars and the mad screaming of Gino. ‘Choko Ko Ko’ welcomes you and throws you straight in the middle of a “horo” and moshing while the energy of ‘Mujo Kuje’ ejaculates in hysterical solo on violin which sounds if not Paris Hurley but Kerry King holds the bow. And there follow 9 more songs of those that made KULTUR SHOCK in absolutely insane and unexplainable musical phenomenon. Gypsy. Punk. Metal. Hysteria. Folklore. The songs are heavier and darker than the vivid drunkard explosion in albums like ‘Kultura Diktatura’ and ‘We Came To Take Your Jobs Away’. The sound is harder and direct and there are missing the shaking to tears emotions of the folklore extracts of the Balkans; those moments when never mind the music you are into, you feel almost embarrassed by the hurricane in the chest and you want to scream. But songs like ‘Tamni Vilajet’ and ‘High Low’ again make you wanna drink and fight. And ‘Sheitan’ is devilishly breathtaking with the combination of female vocal harmonies, the voice of Gino, the throe of the violin and the heavy, slow riffs. The bouquet might not be very colored but it scents strong. ‘Ministry Kultur’ is not the most impressive record of KULTUR SHOCK. And it doesn’t need to be. It gives enough good songs to explode on concerts and there, we know by experience, is the real strength and magic of the band.