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Ministry
Photo: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi · CC BY-SA 3.0

Band · United States

Ministry

US industrial metal band

Formed in 1981

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Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1981 by producer, singer, and instrumentalist Al Jourgensen. Originally a synth-pop outfit, Ministry evolved into one of the pioneers of industrial rock and industrial metal in the late 1980s. The band's lineup has changed frequently, leaving Jourgensen as the sole remaining original member. Musicians who have contributed to the band's studio and/or live activities include vocalists Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, Gibby Haynes, Burton C. Bell and Jello Biafra, guitarists Mike Scaccia, Tommy Victor and Cesar Soto, bassists Paul Barker, Paul Raven, Jason Christopher, Tony Campos and Paul D'Amour, drummers Jimmy DeGrasso, Bill Rieflin, Martin Atkins, Rey Washam, Max Brody, Joey Jordison, Roy Mayorga, Pepe Clarke and Aaron Rossi, keyboardist John Bechdel, and rappers and producers DJ Swamp and Arabian Prince.

Ministry attained commercial success during the late 1980s and early 1990s with three of their studio albums: The Land of Rape and Honey (1988), The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) and Psalm 69 (1992). The first two were certified gold while Psalm 69 was certified platinum by the RIAA. Psalm 69 was followed by Filth Pig (1996), which was a stylistic departure for the band, and earned Ministry its highest chart position on the Billboard 200 at number nineteen, although it was met with mixed reception by critics and marked the beginning of the band's commercial decline. The lackluster response to their next album, Dark Side of the Spoon (1999), resulted in Warner Bros. dropping Ministry from the label and the group entered an extended hiatus during the early 2000s, when Jourgensen entered rehab after years of substance abuse.

Following Jourgensen's recovery, Ministry resurfaced in 2003 with Animositisomina, which turned out to be their last album with Paul Barker, who would leave the band the same year after nearly two decades as an official member. Ministry returned to the thrash/industrial style of Psalm 69 and released three albums critical of then-President of the United States, George W. Bush, dubbed the "Bush Trilogy": Houses of the Molé (2004), Rio Grande Blood (2006) and The Last Sucker (2007); these albums effectively revitalized the band's commercial viability. Although The Last Sucker was initially intended to be the band's final album, Ministry reformed in 2011 and released Relapse in the following year. On December 23, 2012, longtime guitar contributor Mike Scaccia died of a heart attack, and he was posthumously featured in the next Ministry album, From Beer to Eternity (2013), which was again supposed to be their last album, as Jourgensen thought his death was the end of the band. However, Ministry has since released three more albums, AmeriKKKant (2018), Moral Hygiene (2021) and Hopiumforthemasses (2024), and the band is planning to retire after a tour in support of their upcoming seventeenth studio album Hate to Go – Take Out or Delivery (2026).

Ministry has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has performed at several music festivals, including the second annual Lollapalooza tour in 1992, co-headlining Big Day Out in 1995 and performing at Wacken Open Air four times (in 2006, 2012, 2016 and 2025).

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Also in Français

Ministry [ˈmɪnɪstɹi] est un groupe de metal industriel américain, originaire de Chicago. Leur musique est principalement une fusion de metal et de musique industrielle, avec des influences punk. Il est considéré comme le premier groupe de metal industriel. Leur musique est initialement orientée new wave/synthpop, puis Ministry change son style en metal industriel à la fin des années 1980. Ministry trouve le succès auprès du grand public dans les années 1990 avec leur album Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992) et des tournées dans le cadre du festival Lollapalooza.

Après 27 ans de scène, Jourgensen décide de mettre fin au groupe en 2008, et déclare par la suite que celui-ci ne se reformerait plus. Cependant, le 7 août 2011, une réunion est annoncée, lorsque Ministry confirme l'un de leurs premiers concerts en quatre ans au festival Wacken Open Air en août 2012. Ministry sort un nouvel album, intitulé Relapse, le 23 mars 2012, qui sera suivi d'une tournée mondiale.

Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Discography

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