Latest news with #AlJourgensen
Los Angeles Times
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Ministry's Al Jourgensen announces the end of his iconic, industrial band. But first, one last album and tour
After wreaking havoc and dishing out dissonance since 1981 — evolving from its early synth-pop dance roots into the industrial thrash metal chaos it's best known for — Ministry's band leader Al Jourgensen is finally ready to call it quits. He's preparing to put an end to the band's relentless run of recording and touring — this time for good. But not before one last album and a final world tour, as 'Uncle Al' prepares to bring the band's legendary career to a close. Speaking on the phone from a tour stop in Canada, he discussed Ministry's current Squirrely Years Tour — a special run of shows that focuses exclusively on the band's first two albums, 'With Sympathy' and 'Twitch.' For the first time in decades, Jourgensen is performing early songs — largely steeped in synth-pop — which he once dismissed, now embracing the full arc of his career. The frontman opened up about reuniting with longtime collaborator Paul Barker, the band's final album, his disdain for violent mosh pits, and why he never read his autobiography. When did you decide to bring Ministry to an end? Was it a process or something more abrupt? Oh, it was a process. After 17 albums, I feel like we've pushed the boundaries as far as we could go with this band. I know I've got one more album left in me that'll stretch those limits even further. But I don't want to end up like one of those bands doing the same riffs for 40 or 50 years — it just gets old. This has been coming for a while. It's not tied to my past health issues; it's just time. After our final album comes out next year, we're doing one last world tour. Then that's it. I'm done. Time to let the kids take over. So you're stepping away from Ministry — but are you stepping away from music entirely? Not entirely. I'll still do film scores. I just did one for a documentary called 'Long Knife,' about the Koch brothers ripping off the Osage Nation. It's kind of a follow-up to 'Killers of the Flower Moon.' That kind of work still interests me. But being on a tour bus and constantly talking to people? I'm over that. How's your health now? I feel great. It's a gift to go out in good health and a clear frame of mind. At one point in the early 2000s, I didn't think I'd ever tour again. I had a ruptured artery in my stomach and was bleeding every day on the road. I just said, 'Nope, this isn't worth it.' But now we're wrapping everything up intentionally — bringing back people like Paul Barker, recording in old places, ending things right. You've said before that you hate mosh pits. What's the energy like on this tour, especially with the older material? Man, this tour is a psychedelic freakout. We're playing 40-plus-year-old songs, and somehow there's still a little bit of moshing happening — but not violent. It's cracking me up. These shows feel like a one-off trip into the past. People are just dancing and enjoying the moment. It's more like a weird, dark, electronic hippie dance party. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much. Is it a different mindset performing the early material versus the heavier Ministry songs? Oh, hell yeah. But the fans know what they're getting into. Nobody's screaming for the '90s metal stuff. It feels like stepping into a hot tub time machine. We've put real work into this setlist, and it's paid off. I'm genuinely enjoying it. Will your final tour represent the full scope of Ministry's career? Absolutely. It'll be a two- to three-hour career retrospective. We'll be covering every era — all 17 albums. We might even bring back two drummers like we did in the '80s. The final tour won't just be a greatest hits set — it'll be a curated journey, and maybe even feature some old friends. You've been open about your battles with addiction. How did that shape you? Like everyone, I've evolved. Twenty years ago, I was a different person. Now people call me 'Uncle Al,' and I like that. I've been through enough that fewer things bother me. And the things that do matter? I'm more focused on them than ever. I'm grateful for all of it, even the madness — it brought me to where I am now. Did music help you survive those darker times — or did it make them worse? Both. Some days, it saved me. Other days, being in the music business made me want to blow my head off. It's a double-edged sword. Ministry has always taken on injustice. Are you still fighting the good fight? That's the irony of this tour. With everything going on in the world, this felt like the right time to step back and let people remember what joy felt like. That said, the next album will be laser-focused. I haven't stopped speaking out — if anything, I've sharpened my aim. Is it true you never read your autobiography, 'Ministry: The Lost Gospels of Al Jourgensen?' Never read it. I didn't even write it. I told stories to a Rolling Stone writer over a gallon of vodka, and their legal team cleaned it up. They handed it back to me as a finished book. The first interview I did about it, they asked, 'Did you read it?' I said, 'Why should I?' Same thing with watching concert footage — I lived it. Why relive it? Do you think Wax Trax! Records and the early Midwest scene are overlooked in Ministry's legacy. Sometimes, yeah. But real musicians know how important that era was. Wax Trax! was its ecosystem. It's wild now seeing 14- to 18-year-old goth kids in the front row, right next to 50- and 60-year-olds who were there back in the day. That's the reward. What does the very final chapter of Ministry look like? The new record will be done by Christmas and out by June 2026. Then we'll hit the road for one last world tour starting next September. Every continent except Antarctica. One year. One final ride. Then it's over. And I'm good with that. Ministry's Squirrely Years Tour stops at the Hollywood Palladium on June 4, with support from Nitzer Ebb, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, and Die Krupps.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Things to to in Edmonton: Ministry, Purple City launch party, Dragon Food Tours and much more
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content Ministry: Whoa — rare and incredible treat here as the ferociously industrial Ministry is jumping into the time machine to explore its dance roots. Article content Article content Singer Al Jourgensen said he'd never do it, but The Squirrely Years tour will see the band revisits its synth-pop dawn hits like Work for Love and I'm Not an Effigy, and frequently-played goth night anthem Everyday is Halloween. Article content 'Since I hated my early stuff for decades,' says Jourgensen, 'I decided to take ownership of it and do it right.' Article content Should be an utterly different, dancier vibe than your typical Ministry concert, with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Die Krupps opening up! Article content Article content Article content Purple City Line Up Launch Party: Up the north side, Oakland post punk Marbled Eye, Toronto psych act Hot Garbage, local dream-poppers Verttigo, and Calgary's Stucco are all opening the door on Edmonton's great, youth-oriented indie music fest. Article content Running Sept. 5-7, Purple City's 25 headliners will be first announced at this party showcase — a solid idea all around as a sort of sampler of what to expect in the downtown-spanning, future-forward annual whirl of good times and discovery. Article content
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ministry will celebrate its early records at Palace Theatre
Ministry, an elder statesman of industrial rock, will celebrate its earliest work with a new tour. The Chicago-born band of Al Jourgensen will hit the Palace Theatre in St. Paul on May 20, promising to play songs from their first two studio albums, With Sympathy and Twitch. The albums fall closer to synth-pop than the industrial metal that came to define the band. The three albums that followed these debut records became some of the genre's most revered releases. Two of those next three surface in Consequence of Sound's 50 greatest industrial albums of all time, including Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs sitting in the top spot. The tour, which starts on April 29, will include contemporaries in the opening slots. In St. Paul, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult will open along with Die Krupps. (Nitzer Ebb will open on other dates during the tour.) As part of the celebration and embrace of its early work, Ministry unveiled a new record that features 12 re-recorded tracks from that early era. 'Since I hated my early stuff for decades, I decided to take ownership of it and do it right,' Jourgensen said in a statement. The album, The Squirrely Years Revisited, will be released on March 28. That, however, isn't the group's previously announced final album, which will have Jourgensen and Paul Barker reuniting in the studio. The tour announcement says that the band now plans to release its final record in 2026. Blabbermouth and Spotify presales will take place on Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the public the following day at the same time. Elsewhere in the Midwest, Ministry will bring the tour to Chicago (May 9) and Detroit (May 10).
