Formation and early days (1981–1982) Ministry's origins date to 1978, when Jourgensen moved from
Denver to
Chicago to attend the
University of Illinois. He was introduced to the local underground scene by his then-girlfriend, and in 1979 he replaced Tom Hoffmann on guitars in
Special Affect, a post-punk group which featured vocalist Frank Nardiello (Groovie Mann of
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult), drummer Harry Rushakoff (
Concrete Blonde) and bassist Marty Sorenson. Following Special Affect's split in 1980, Jourgensen formed a short-lived band called the Silly Carmichaels, which featured members of
the Imports and played two shows. In 1981, Jourgensen met Jim Nash and Danny Flesher, co-founders and co-owners of the indie record label and shop
Wax Trax! Records who recommended him as a touring guitarist for
Divine. After playing a few concerts with the latter, Jourgensen began to write and record songs in his apartment, using a newly bought
ARP Omni synthesizer, a drum machine, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder. The first line-up of Ministry consisted of keyboardists Robert Roberts and John Davis, bassist Sorenson, and drummer
Stephen George; Jourgensen auditioned several singers, all of whom were unsatisfactory, so he decided to perform vocals himself. Ministry performed their debut concert on January 1, 1982 in the Chicago club Misfits, Meanwhile, the "I'm Falling / Cold Life" single reached No. 45 in the
Billboard Hot Dance/Disco chart with approximately 10,000 copies as of September 1982, and thus scoring Wax Trax!' first hit.
With Sympathy and later Wax Trax! singles (1983–1985) The band's initial success drew the attention of
Arista Records founder and chief executive
Clive Davis, who offered them a deal, promising to make them "the next
Joy Division"—a promise that Jourgensen later considered to be misleading. Signing a six-figure, two-album deal, the band—with Jourgensen and George comprising the official line-up According to Jourgensen, "[t]he label took me to a stylist, cut my hair, picked out my producer. They even wrote lyrics. We opened for
Culture Club and
the Police. I did it to the best of my ability, but kicking and screaming." During this time, Jourgensen met the members of
Seattle-based band
the Blackouts—namely bassist
Paul Barker and drummer Bill Rieflin, as well their then-manager Patty Marsh, who later became Jourgensen's wife from 1984 to 1995. In spite of
With Sympathys success, Jourgensen's relations with Arista were acrimonious. Eventually, Jourgensen sent a demo tape featuring a cover version of
Roxy Music's song "
Same Old Scene" before parting ways with Arista, suing them for violating contractual obligations. Since then, Jourgensen has expressed dislike for the
With Sympathy-era, providing various explanations for his antipathy. In a 2004 interview, Jourgensen said that after signing with Arista, all artistic control of Ministry was "handed over" to other writers and producers. In his 2013 autobiography, Jourgensen said that he was pressured by Arista management into producing his existing songs in the then-popular synthpop style, as a means of making them more commercially palatable. Jourgensen attributed the stylistic change in 2012 to his "development as an artist" and said he was influenced by his time in Europe and collaborations with Wax Trax! artists. He reiterated that his style changed in 2018. In 2019, he stated that the record was "fine", only that it could have been a lot better without interference from the record company. In 2021, Jourgensen repeated his criticism that Arista took full control of the production and songwriting process, changed his wardrobe, and forced him to perform in the style of popular synth pop bands. Jourgensen assumes a false
English accent for all of the album's songs, for which he also later expressed great dislike, though Patty Marsh stated in a 2013 interview "...the English accent thing was more an homage to the bands he loved than anything else. He was not trying to come off as British.
The Stones used a southern accent and no one crawled up their ass for it.", an explanation Jourgensen himself had also given in a prior, 1983 interview with Richard Skinner. Departed from Arista, Jourgensen returned with Ministry on Wax Trax! in mid-1984. During this tour,
Sire Records co-owner
Seymour Stein attended several gigs, offering the band a new deal; Jourgensen, recalling his negative experience with Arista, repeatedly declined, but eventually agreed to sign on the condition that Sire would provide resources to support the Wax Trax! imprint; as Jourgensen put it, "it was kind of a personal sacrifice to keep that company rolling and allow them to keep signing bands." George left Ministry soon after this tour, disagreeing with Jourgensen over increased use of drum machines, and went on to form the short-lived band Colortone, "The Nature of Love", which came out in June 1985, became Ministry's final single on Wax Trax!;
Twitch (1985–1987) Ministry's first release with Sire/Warner Bros. was the single "
Over the Shoulder" in 1985, preceding the release of the band's second studio album,
Twitch, in March 1986.
Twitch was recorded and mixed largely at
Southern Studios in London and
Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin during 1985, with the
On-U Sound Records owner
Adrian Sherwood and Jourgensen sharing co-production duties. Despite the contribution of several others (namely Belgian singer
Luc van Acker and Sherwood's
Tackhead bandmate
Keith LeBlanc), the album material was mainly performed by Jourgensen, listed as the band's sole member. On release,
Twitch hit No. 194 in
Billboard 200, and was supported by a US and Canadian tour. Jourgensen assembled a new touring line-up, featuring Roland Barker on keyboards, Paul Barker on bass and Bill Rieflin on drums.
Twitch received mixed reviews, with a music critic
Robert Christgau stating, "Chicago's Anglodisco clones meet Anglodisco renegade Adrian Sherwood and promptly improve themselves by trading in wimpy on arty"; nevertheless, the album came to be viewed as a pivotal point in the band's discography, as it signaled ongoing changes in Ministry's sound. until his departure, he was the only person credited as a member of the band other than Jourgensen. Jourgensen then made another significant change to Ministry's sound when he resumed playing electric guitar. The follow-up album,
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, was released in 1989. Due to the complex nature of the album's drumming, a second drummer,
Martin Atkins (formerly of
Public Image Ltd. and
Killing Joke), was hired. In addition to Atkins, a ten-piece touring line-up was formed, consisting of
Chris Connelly (keyboards and vocals), Skinny Puppy vocalist
Nivek Ogre (vocals and keyboards), Joe Kelly (vocals and backing vocals) and guitarists
Mike Scaccia,
Terry Roberts, and
William Tucker, with Jourgensen, Paul Barker and Rieflin serving as the group's core members. This tour was documented on ''
In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up''. Two opening tracks, "
Burning Inside" and "
Thieves", were released as a commercial single; "Burning Inside" was accompanied by a music video. After completing the Revolting Cocks tour in early 1991, Jourgensen and his bandmates began work on a follow-up to
The Mind ... at Chicago Trax! studios, amidst problems brought on by growing substance abuse. During these initial sessions,
Gibby Haynes of the
Butthole Surfers recorded vocals for what became "
Jesus Built My Hotrod", which hit No. 19 in the Modern Rock Tracks chart with approximately 128,000 copies as of mid-July 1992; considered Ministry's first and biggest commercial hit, it built significant anticipation for their upcoming album, then titled
The Tapes of Wrath. After considering the Wisconsin sessions a "washout", they returned to Chicago to complete the album – now entitled
Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs, after a chapter from
Aleister Crowley's
The Book of Lies – by early May 1992, with only nine of about thirty songs written being chosen to feature. The album was influenced by
speed and
thrash metal, often being described as their fastest record by fans and critics. It was released on July 14, 1992 and peaked at No. 27 on the
Billboard 200 chart. Soon after, Ministry was invited to headline the second
Lollapalooza tour with
Pearl Jam,
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Soundgarden, among others, before commencing a tour of Europe and the US, with
Helmet and
Sepultura as supporting acts.
Middle years, turmoil and Jourgensen's drug addiction (1994–2001) In October 1994, Ministry performed at the eighth
Bridge School Benefit charity concert, with sets of cover songs (most prominently Bob Dylan's "
Lay Lady Lay") and one original song, "Paisley", which was intended to be on their next album. After constructing a studio in
Austin, Texas in 1993, After refusing to perform drums on "Lay Lady Lay", Rieflin parted ways with Jourgensen midway through the recording process. Along with newly recruited
Rey Washam (formerly of
Scratch Acid,
Didjits, and
Rapeman) who performed the rest of the album's drum work, Ministry performed as one of the headliners for
Australia and
New Zealand's
Big Day Out touring festival in January 1995. In spite of their growing success, Ministry was nearly derailed by drug problems and a series of arrests followed in August 1995. The album's songs were played mostly at slower tempos than those on their previous three LPs, giving it an almost
doom metal feel.
Filth Pig was supported with the singles/videos "Reload", "
The Fall", "Lay Lady Lay" and "Brick Windows" and with a tour in 1996 (the live performances were later anthologized on the
Sphinctour album and DVD in 2002). Jourgensen has subsequently said that he was severely depressed during this period, that
Filth Pig reflects this, and that he dislikes performing music from
Filth Pig. Ministry recorded their final studio album for Warner Bros. Records,
Dark Side of the Spoon (1999), which they dedicated to
William Tucker, who committed suicide earlier that year. For
Dark Side of the Spoon, Ministry tried to diversify their sound by adding some melodic and synthetic touches to their usual electro-metal sound, along with some jazz influences, During this period, Jourgensen had an infected toe amputated after accidentally stepping on a discarded hypodermic needle. In the summer of 2000, Ministry was invited to that year's
Ozzfest; amidst a management changeover, they were dropped from the bill and replaced by
Soulfly. In 2000–2002, disputes with Warner Bros. Records resulted in the planned live albums
Live Psalm 69,
Sphinctour and
ClittourUS on
Ipecac Recordings being canceled. By his own admission, Jourgensen was suicidal during this period and decided to call an acquaintance he had met years earlier; the acquaintance, Angelina Lukacin, helped Jourgensen give up his massive substance habit, which included heroin and cocaine "
speedballs",
crack,
LSD, various pharmaceuticals and as many as two full bottles of
Bushmills whiskey per day (Lukacin and Jourgensen married soon after). Jourgensen and Barker, along with
Max Brody who had joined as a saxophone player for the 1999 tour, focused on developing songs for a new record during 2001 and 2002, with the band issuing
Animositisomina on Sanctuary Records in 2003. The sound was strongly heavy metal with voice effects, though it featured an almost-pop cover of
Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me".
Animositisomina, compared to previous releases, sold poorly and singles for "Animosity" and "Piss" were canceled before they could be released. Barker announced his departure from Ministry in January 2004. He stated that the trigger was his father dying while the band was wrapping up a summer tour in Europe, and also stated that his family life was his main focus at that particular time. Lukacin stated in 2013 that Jourgensen fell out with Barker over the band's finances. Jourgensen continued Ministry with Mike Scaccia and various other musicians. (
Hildesheim, Germany) For Ministry's next album, Jourgensen released the song "
No W", a song critical of then-U.S. President
George W. Bush; an alternate version of the track was placed on the multi-performer compilation
Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1. The follow-up LP,
Houses of the Molé (2004), contained the most explicitly political lyrics Jourgensen had yet written, with songs played more crudely than on previous recordings, giving the album the most metal-oriented sound of their career. In 2006, the band released
Rio Grande Blood, an LP on Jourgensen's own
13th Planet Records. With
Prong's
Tommy Victor and
Killing Joke's
Paul Raven, the album featured an even heavier thrash metal sound drawing comparison to
Slayer. The single "Lieslieslies" was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. It, along with another song on the album, "The Great Satan", is also available as a
downloadable content song for the 2008 video game
Rock Band 2. In July 2007, the band released
Rio Grande Dub, an album featuring remixes from the band's 2006
Rio Grande Blood album.
The Last Sucker, which Jourgensen expected to be Ministry's "final" album, was released on September 18, 2007.
Paul Raven died on October 20, 2007, a month and two-days after the release of
The Last Sucker, suffering an apparent heart attack shortly after arriving in Europe to commence recording for the French industrial band
Treponem Pal near the Swiss border.
Breakup and posthumous releases (2008–2011) Jourgensen remixed and co-produced Spyder Baby's "Bitter", which was released by Blind Prophecy Records in early 2008. A song titled "
Keys to the City", which became the theme song for the
Chicago Blackhawks, was released on March 5, 2008. In addition to this single, two albums of covers/remixes,
Cover Up (April 1, 2008) and
Undercover (December 6, 2010) were released. All of these releases are credited to
Ministry and Co-Conspirators, since they feature
collaborations between Jourgensen and other musicians. Ministry's "farewell" tour, the "C-U-LaTour", started its North American leg on March 26, 2008 with
Meshuggah performing as special guests and
Hemlock as an opening act. They played their final North American shows in Chicago on May 10 and 12, 2008.
Adios ... Puta Madres, a live album featuring material culled from the tour, was released in 2009 on CD and DVD. A
documentary film called
Fix: The Ministry Movie was planned for release sometime in 2010. However, the release date was pushed back to early 2011. Eventually, it premiered at the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival. Jourgensen sued the filmmaker, Doug Freel, for failing to fulfill a portion of the contract giving Jourgensen approval over the final cut, along with "thousands of dollars". The lawsuit was dropped in July 2011. On July 21, the film was screened privately at the Music Box Theater in Los Angeles.
Reunion, Relapse, death of Mike Scaccia and From Beer to Eternity (2011–2015) On August 7, 2011, Ministry announced they would reform and would play at Germany's
Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place on August 2–4, 2012. The reunion lineup featured Al Jourgensen on vocals,
Mike Scaccia and
Tommy Victor on guitars,
Aaron Rossi on drums, John Bechdel on keyboards, and
Tony Campos on bass. Jourgensen told
Metal Hammer in August 2011 that Ministry was working on a new album called
Relapse, which they hoped to release by Christmas. Regarding the sound of the new material, he explained, "We've only got five songs to go. I've been listening to it the last couple of weeks and I wasn't really in the mood, I was just taking it as a joke. Just to pass the time at first but [Mikey's] raving about it. It's like, dude c'mon, this is not about Bush, so ... that part's over. The ulcers are gone and Bush is gone so it's time for something new. I think this is actually gonna wind up being the fastest and heaviest record I've ever done. Just because we did it as anti-therapy therapy against the country music we would just take days off and thrash faster than I've done in a long time, faster than Mikey's done in a long time. He just did a
Rigor Mortis tour and said it was easy compared to this Ministry stuff so it's gonna be brutal and it's gonna freak a lot of people out." On December 23, 2011, Ministry released "
99 Percenters", the first single from
Relapse, and began streaming it on their Facebook page two days later. On February 24, 2012, Ministry released a second single, "
Double Tap", which was included in the April 2012 issue of the
Metal Hammer magazine. On March 23, 2012,
Relapse was released; it was supported with "
Defibrillatour", a concert tour which lasted from that year's June to August. On December 23, 2012, guitarist Mike Scaccia died following an on-stage heart attack, while playing with his other band, Rigor Mortis. In an interview with
Noisey in March 2013, Jourgensen announced that Ministry would break up again, explaining that he did not want to carry on without Scaccia. He explained, "Mikey was my best friend in the world and there's no Ministry without him. But I know the music we recorded together during the last weeks of his life had to be released to honor him. So after his funeral, I locked myself in my studio and turned the songs we had recorded into the best and last Ministry record anyone will ever hear. I can't do it without Mikey and I don't want to. So yes, this will be Ministry's last album." The album, titled
From Beer to Eternity, was released on September 6, 2013. Jourgensen stated that Ministry would tour in support of
From Beer to Eternity, but would not record any more albums.
AmeriKKKant and Moral Hygiene (2016–2022) in 2019 In an April 2016 interview with
Loudwire, Jourgensen stated that Ministry would make a follow-up to
From Beer to Eternity "if the circumstances are right." When asked in July about the possibility of a new album, Jourgensen stated, "When I was asked [before], it was after Mikey passed and the entire media immediately starts asking me what is going to happen to Ministry. He wasn't even buried yet. I thought, 'Fuck you.' I was really pissed and really angry. I said, 'Fuck Ministry and fuck you for asking.' They want to comment on Ministry when my best friend had died. It's been more than two years now, and I got more ideas and I have done albums with Mikey and have done them without him. It's time to get another record out. I have a bunch of songs written in my head. I wanted to have time to mourn before people start asking me about touring dates. It was sick. I was bombarded and email boxes were overloaded with 'what are you going to do now?' It was kind of creepy." By February 2017, Ministry had begun working on their fourteenth studio album, titled
AmeriKKKant. The album, released on March 9, 2018, includes guest appearances from
Burton C. Bell of
Fear Factory, former
N.W.A member
Arabian Prince,
DJ Swamp and Lord of the Cello. During their performance at the Blackest of the Black Fest in
Silverado, California in May 2017, Ministry debuted their first song in four years, "Antifa", which, at the time, was expected to appear on
AmeriKKKant. In an October 2018 interview with
Billboard magazine, Jourgensen revealed that he had begun working on new material for Ministry's fifteenth studio album. He explained, "I have to get as many albums as I can done while
Trump is still president, and then what am I going to do: write those crappy albums that I write while Democrats are president?" A month later, media reports noted that Jourgensen had reconnected with former member
Paul Barker after 15 years, hinting that the two might collaborate once again on the upcoming Ministry album. In a 2019 interview with
Revolver magazine, Jourgensen reaffirmed that he had been working on new material since 2018, and revealed that he had hired Paul D'Amour (formerly of
Tool) as the new bassist of Ministry. The band – alongside
Primus and
Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals – opened for
Slayer on the final North American leg of their
farewell tour, which took place in November 2019. In December 2019, the band released a visual history coffee table book,
Ministry: Prescripture, with author Aaron Tanner. In January 2020, Ministry announced the "Industrial Strength Tour" would start in 2020, with drummer London May of
Samhain, which would feature both
KMFDM and
Front Line Assembly as guests. The tour was to begin on 1 July and extend until August. In May 2020, the band announced that they postponed all dates on the Industrial Strength Tour until 2021, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The 25–date tour, with KMFDM and Front Line Assembly, was scheduled to take place in March and April 2021; the trek was once again postponed to the fall of 2021, this time with
Helmet replacing KMFDM, who were unable to partake in the tour because of restrictions caused by the COVID in their native Germany. On September 24, 2021, Ministry announced that The Industrial Strength tour had been postponed once more because of the pandemic, with the tour now scheduled to take place in March and April 2022, and the
Melvins and
Corrosion of Conformity replacing Front Line Assembly and Helmet as special guests. On January 17, 2020,
Billboard released an exposé on guitar player
Sin Quirin, detailing accounts of Quirin's alleged behavior including sexual relationships with underage females while touring in San Antonio, TX, Portland, OR, and Tacoma, WA, in the early 2000s. In May 2021, Quirin announced via
Facebook that he was leaving Ministry. On March 24, 2020, longtime drummer Bill Rieflin died of cancer, which had been kept private. Rieflin had joined
King Crimson in 2013, and his death was announced March 25 by
Robert Fripp via Facebook. On April 24, 2020, one month after Rieflin's passing, Ministry released their first song in two-and-a-half years, "Alert Level", which was expected to appear on the band's then-upcoming fifteenth studio album. In May 2021, the band announced that drummer Roy Mayorga has rejoined the band.
Hopiumforthemasses and upcoming final album (2022–present) About two weeks after the release of
Moral Hygiene, Jourgensen revealed that another Ministry album would "be out in 6-8 months." In a March 2022 interview with Metal Edge, Jourgensen said that the album would feature an arena rock-styled sound, and he also hinted at one final Ministry album. The band performed a cover of
Ricky's Hand by
Fad Gadget with Numan, on two nights. In April 2023, the band played a new song live titled "Goddamn White Trash" from their then-upcoming album
Hopium for the Masses, which was planned to be released on August 4. However, it was announced that the album (with the new title
Hopiumforthemasses) would be released on March 1, 2024. In the fall of 2023, Ministry, along with
Filter, opened the Freaks on Parade tour, headlined by
Alice Cooper and
Rob Zombie. The tour spanned one month, lasting from August 24, 2023 until September 24, 2023, visiting 19 venues across the United States and Canada. After the Freaks on Parade tour ended, Ministry announced that they would be touring with Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly again for the
Hopiumforthemasses Tour, which began on February 27 and ended on April 5, 2024. In February 2024, Jourgensen confirmed in an interview with
Loudwire that Ministry intended to release one final album and then disband, declaring, "I think it's a good time to stop." On October 7, 2024, Ministry announced that they were signed to
Cleopatra Records for the release of their final studio album. The band released a collection of re-recorded material from its early days (including re-recorded songs off their first two albums
With Sympathy and
Twitch),
The Squirrely Years Revisited, and "comes ahead of the final new studio album from Ministry in 2026, a record that has Jourgensen teaming up with Paul Barker once again;" on March 28, 2025. ==Artistry==