WITH SYMPATHY (1983)Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Synth-popCredits:
Artwork By [Cover Concepts] - Brian Shanley , Jim Nash/ Drums - Stephen George/ Engineer - David Wooley , Flood , Ian* /Mastered By - Greg Calbi/Producer - Ian Taylor , Vince Ely/ Vocals, Keyboards - Alain Jourgensen* Written-By - Al JourgensenTracklist:01 Effigy
02 Revenge
03 I Wanted To Tell Her
04 Work For Love
05 Here We Go
06 What He Say
07 Say You're Sorry
08 Should Have Known Better
09 She's Got A Cause Link to dowonload:http://rapidshare.com/files/21519790/with_sympathy__256_kbs_.rar.html
"Whether Al Jourgensen realizes this or not, 'With Sympathy' was one of the best, hippest, cutting-edge 80's dance/synth/goth/powerpop masterpieces of its time! He should be proud of this early pioneering and highly regarded synth work. WLIR and then WDRE, both popular Long Island/NYC area staple 'new wave' stations used to play the living daylights out of this now classic new wave masterpiece, and with good cause. The coolest area clubs in NYC used to play it too, as well as special 'extended remixes' of many of the songs on this album. In fact, my best friend and I were fans of Ministry after hearing 'With Sympathy', and a while later when we gleefully heard they came out with a new one called 'Land Of Rape And Honey', we bought it thinking we were going to hear more cutting-edge 'new wave' dance music. I still remember the total 'jaw dropping' utter SHOCK on our faces as the angry disjointed noise and deathly screaming now known as the 'new Ministry' came crashing through our speaker system with the first notes of 'LORAH'!!! We looked at each other with contorted shock visible on our faces, and immediately thought the CD was a misprint. The manufacturer must have made a mistake with the CD pressing, we thought. LOL! We actually went to the store, returned it, and of course realized that Ministry had indeed changed their formula as we dissapointingly heard the same wall of noise on the second 'replacement' CD we got. We must have spent an hour seriously trying to come up with theories as to what happened to 'Ministry' as a band, much of them comical. One theory surmised that Al Jourgensen became a devil worshipper, another posited that perhaps Al had an aneurysm and lost his sense of melody and musicality!!! LOL! This is one of the most memorable music moments of the 80's that I relate to lots of people who were into 80's new wave, and the funny thing is that so many of them say 'oh yeah, I remember early Ministry', what happened to them? Or 'oh yeah, thank god they changed their sound'! LOL! Hey Al, if you're reading this, is there any chance you will eventually release more cutting edge synth tunes and revert back to your roots (flame suit ON)?!?!"
"Although the first ministry album I purchased was Psalm 69, I actually found this my to be my favorite Ministry album. Although I do like the concept of Industrial muisc, too easily it deteriorates into a screed of "LIEK EYME SU ANGRY DAT EYE CUD EET GLAS!!!1111" with no sense of structure whatsoever. Here we have songs with actual lyrcial content and song structurewhich does not rely on an aggressive tone (something which cannot be said with anything after psalm 69). As a special bonus the first track has a line of lyrics that have the words NOT and ANGRY in the same sentence. So what if the synths are dated I prfer the sound of synths like this anyway. On a final note I will not touch anything after psalm 69 with a ten foot pole because it is just formless dreck and more recently obnoxiuosly topical. (I know N.W.O was but that's another story). "
"This is one of the best albums ever made in the 80s. And before Ministry went all Industrial (not that there's anything wrong with that). Effigy, Revenge, Say You're Sorry... pretty much every song is a awesome and keeps you moving. I wish I could find a CD, my vinyl is starting to get scratched!"
WORK FOR LOVE (1983)Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Synth-PopTracklist:
01 Work For Love (4:53)
02 Do The Etawa (4:04)
03 I Wanted To Tell Her (5:27)
04 Say You're Sorry (4:22)
05 Here We Go (3:20)
06 Effigy (I'm Not An) (3:51)
07 Revenge (3:49)
08 She's Got A Cause (3:36)
09 Should Have Known Better (4:30)Link to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21541551/work_for_love__192_kbs_.rar.html
TWITCH (1985)Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Industrial, ElectroTracklist :
01 Just Like You (5:00)
02 We Believe (5:56)
03 All Day Remix (6:02)
04 The Angel (6:06)
05 Over The Shoulder (5:11)
06 My Possession (5:02)
07 Where You At Now ? (12:13)
08 Over The Shoulder - (12" version)
09 Isle Of Man - (version II, bonus track)Link to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21606240/twitch__192_kbs_.rar.htmlThis was Al Jourgensen's first full-length venture into the darker possibilities of electronic music. Harsh synthesizers, brutal drums and cynical lyrics defied the easy classification of "techno-dance" when this album was released in the mid'80s. The programming is proficient and creative, taking the limited sound technology of the time into new areas. "Just Like You" and "All Day" make early use of processed vocals and cryptic spoken-word fragments. In "We Believe" and "Over The Shoulder" Jourgensen renders ominously driving bass lines and metallic percussion to project pessimistic visions of a cold, technocratic society. The album's second half is dominated by a long drum & noise piece: an interesting experiment that would lead to intriguing sound collages on subsequent albums. --Mark McCleerey
"I have really liked alot of Jourgensen's cd's (Psalm 69, Linger Fickin Good, Rabies, The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste) but for some reason I'm always drawn to Twitch when I'm in the mood for some old school goodies. I think its because the album is pure and doesn't try to be something its not, yet is a pioneer and a sign of things to come for the entire genre for over the next decade. If you like Twitch you'll probably also like Poesie Noire (Complicated - Compilated), Numb (Christmeister / Wasted Sky), Nine Inch Nails (Pretty Hate Machine), Frontline Assembly (State of Mind / Gashed Senses & Crossfire / The Initial Command), Skinny Puppy (Rabies, Bites, Remission)"
"This album has a special place in my heart. Forget what you know about present day Ministry and listen musically. Its very much an 80's sound, but even so it still was ahead of it's time. This is one of my essential albums of all time. For the price of this album you would be a fool not to own a copy. I have this, and the 'Twitched' album version myself, and plan to buy both cd copies also. Some say that there's only a few good tracks on here, but i disagree fully. "Good" is a relative term based on different criteria, but i feel each and every track has something to offer, and has it's place on this album. I hesitate NOT one second to give it a 5 for that reason. I love this album! "
"I would have given this album 4 stars except that this album is extremely influential.i can't believe how much this sounds like early Nine Inch Nails.i love NIN just as much as anybody but Trent should really be paying Al some royalties.this is a great album for those who like their music experimental and noisy.i wouldn't suggest this to any country music fans that's for sure, eventhough i do like some of the classic troubadors like willie,johnny and waylon.as a big fan of ministry i love this album and like that it's his first full-length.for those ministry fans who are used to the harder guitar-oriented stuff this might come as a little suprise as it is much more 80's-tinged and electronic,far from N.W.O.,and Al's voice is less harsh during this time period as well.trust me,i am not taking anything away from that because i like the second half just as much.good stuff."
TWELVE INCH SINGLES 1981 - 1984 (1987)Tracklist:
01 Everyday is Halloween
02 The Nature of Love
03 All Day
04 Cold Life
05 Halloween (Remix)
06 Nature of Love (Cruelty Mix B)
07 All Day (Remix B)
08 Cold Life DubLink to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21546807/12__192_kbs_.rar.htmlMinistry's early career is either a dirty secret or a case of abandoned potential, depending on how you see things--that is, depending on whether you're a dirtbag or a wimp. As a wimp with dirtbag tendencies, I can see both sides of the question. On one hand, while Ministry's early new wave radio hits were never quite as convincing as, say, Depeche Mode's or Blancmange's, or Men Without Hats', or whosever, Ministry were the only serious entries America had in the poof-wave sweepstakes (save the one-hit Combo Audio)--and they had great hooks besides. On the other hand, later Ministry rocked, which this stuff resolutely does not. Key tracks are missing, like "Work for Love" and "I Wanted to Tell Her"--so try the album, In Sympathy. --Gavin McNett
Product DescriptionStill their best work by far, this CD contains their ground-breaking material from Waxtrax!. Tracks included here are Everyday Is Halloween (2 mixes), All Day (2 mixes) and more.
"This is a great collection of goth synth-pop. They talk about everything depressed people can relate to, yet almost every new wave fan will appreciate at least some of the songs on this CD. Songs like "Everyday Is Halloween", "The Nature of Love", and "All Day" (Remix B) are definitely some of the high points in their Wax Trax! years. However, Ministry did have their flaws as well. The synth-intro on "Halloween Remix" is just too long (it takes 3:30 minutes for the song to kick in) "The Nature of Love (cruelty mix)" just gets repetitive without all the lyrics sung, and "Cold Life Dub" has got to be the worst old era Ministry song ever written! This compilation is also missing 3 other songs that Ministry wrote for Wax Trax! "I'm Falling" (a punk new wave song that sounds kind of like latter era speed metal Ministry, only with the crunchy guitar replaced with a new wave guitar, and the shouting replaced with fake british accent singing), "Nature of Outtakes" (another remix of "The Nature of Love" which again sounds like latter-era Ministry only stripped from all crunchy guitars, but they actually shout and bark this time), and "Primental" (a voxless unfinished version of "I Wanted to Tell Her" from their "With Sympathy" album). But this is still a good buy since you still get some of their best work ever as a synth-pop band. In my humble opinion, a few of their goth synth pop songs are even better then Depeche Mode's best work. So cop this if your a Ministry fan or not and witness some of the best new wave music the top 40 charts have been hiding from you. As well as some underground oddities that will probably grow on you also."
THE LAND OF RAPE AND HONEY (1988)
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Style:
Industrial, Heavy Metal
Tracklist:01 Stigmata
02 The Missing
03 Deity
04 Golden Dawn
05 Destruction
06 Hizbollah
07 The Land of Rape and Honey
08 You Know What You Are
09 I Prefer
10 Flashback
11 AbortiveLink to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21621083/the_land_of_rape_and_honey__256_kbs_.rar.html
This is a brilliant hybrid of electronic music and conventional guitar-heavy rock. The first three tracks in particular pound out the overall method: furious, punk-metal guitars over slamming, machinelike rhythms. This release exemplifies Al Jourgensen's and Paul Barker's skill at producing remarkably creative musical aggression. "You Know What You Are" and the album's title track are fist-in-the-air electro-anthems upon first listen. But upon closer scrutiny, the songs reveal themselves to be works of complex sonic architecture, with components drawn from a wide variety of sources. The same is also true with "Flashback," a techno-punk foray into loosely controlled fury. --Mark McCleerey
"I remember a friend of mine getting this CD when it came out. I was just starting to get into the industrial music scene, having just purchased some Front 242. When she started it up and Stigmata came on, I knew I had to get it for myself. From the opening scream of Stigmata, this starts hard and fast and never lets up. If you have A Mind... and Psalm 69, you can tell that Al and friends increased the guitar usage on each album. Well there are fewer guitars on this album, but that doesn't make it any less sinister or dark. I won't go into each track-the previous reviews have done an excellent job already. I would say that anyone who likes industrial music MUST have this essential recording of the genre."
""The Land of Rape & Honey" was a landmark album for Ministry for more than one reason. It was the first truly exceptional album to come from the band, and this was the album where listeners began to look at Ministry in a new light; as not just an industrial dance-beat band, but as a serious sonic paced industrial force. Though this album contains less metal elements than later releases, it still carries Ministry's trademark dark vibe with a punk rock edge. Opening track "Stigmata" became one of the band's most recognized songs for good reason. Other tracks, such as "Deity", "Destruction", "Hizbollah", "You Know What You Are", "Flashback", and the epic and catchy title track are pure industrial musical bliss. Sadly though, "Land of Rape & Honey" is out of print; but hopefully Warner Bros. will find the good sense to re-release the album with remastered tracks and all the goodies that would come to be expected."
"And one that was ground-breaking as well. It must've been shocking for the people who actually did follow all of Ministry's stuff in the '80s. The classic synth-pop singles "Cold Life" and "Everyday is Halloween", the more dated stuff of "With Sympathy", and then with "Twitch," Ministry became a Front 242-type industrial group, with a lot of techno elements and movie sampling. Then there's "The Land of Rape and Honey" which is nothing like anything done before from Ministry. I've got the domestic cassette version that doesn't include "Hizzbollah" or "I Prefer", but it still shines in that version. "Stigmata" is one of the greatest songs ever made, Ministry's shining moment. The main riff is kinda like a buzzsaw, the drums rule, and Al's distinctive vocals give it a totally unique feel. I kept on repeating this track when I got the album. There's plenty left to explore, though. For the ones who like the heavy stuff from Ministry, we've got "The Missing" and "Deity", predecessors for the "Psalm 69"-era Ministry. There's still a bunch of sampling going on with this release, especially with "Golden Dawn", which has an addictive bass in it. "The Land of Rape and Honey" and "Flashback" are two other classics on the album; those and "Stigmata" make this album worth the price. The former is a standard industrial great and the latter is a fun techno-punk-thrash type song, with some classic manic lyrics: "I'm gonna rip her flesh/I'm gonna p*ss in her face/I'm gonna rip her open/then hit her with mace". Then the ending track is a nice instrumental track that makes the end of the album worthwhile. You'll enjoy it most likely if you truly like industrial. While Al may be retiring the Ministry project soon, he'll be remembered by self-respecting industrial fans for albums he did between "Twitch" and "Psalm 69," and for some even "Filth Pig." Oh, and that reviewer below me only really likes metal snob stuff so it doesn't really matter what he says (not to get into his stupid elaboration of what someone listens to). " 
THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE (1989)
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Style:
Thrash, IndustrialTracklist:
01 Thieves
02 Burning Inside
03 Never Believe
04 Cannibal Song
05 Breathe
06 So What
07 Test
08 Faith Collapsing
09 Dream Song Link to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21632562/the_mind_is_a_terrible_thing_to_taste__224_kbs_.rar.html This was the record that definitively turned Ministry from an electro-industrial dance band into a cutting-edge metal act. With distorted vocals, pounding drum machines, and ripping guitar chords, songs like "Thieves" and "Burning Inside" merged computer technology with metallic riffology, setting the pace for dozens of second-rate computer nerds to follow. --Jon Wiederhorn
"Quite frankly, I haven't bothered much with industrial music since my college years when my music taste was more daring and experimental. But one of the many great bands I discovered in that era was Ministry. It's difficult to believe that these guys (the duo of Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker) used to be a synth dance pop act in the vein of Depeche Mode (get your hands on 1983's "With Sympathy" if you don't believe me). But since their debut, which Jourgensen has all but disowned, Ministry has violently transformed into a thrash industrial act whose brand of music sounds closer to Metallica than any of their synth-heavy peers. "The Mind" is a hellish ride of sped-up guitars, aggressive rhythms, and Al's tough growl, which sounds like he's gargling on a liquid abrasive. The hard-hitting "Thieves," "Burning Inside," and "Breathe" are the best tracks that display a rough clash of loud guitars, booming drums, and slight electronic touches. But the fan's favorite is the 8-minute "So What," which has to be heard live to really absorb the track. I played this CD since Lord-knows-when, and it's just as potent as it was back in 1989. Close the door and crank up the volume to 11."
"There are some album covers you can look at, and just know the music within is going to be hard and heavy. This is obviously one of those albums. Some may argue, but I believe more than other bands, and even more than Ministry's prior album, this is when industrial and metal came perfectly together. Sure there's a few repetitive low-points, but the majority of this album is like a punch to the face. The opener "Thieves" with it's power-drill sample sets the tone, and "Burning Inside" and "Never Believe" take it from there. The next powerhouse is "Breathe", which leads to the climax of the album "So What", which includes the choice lyrics "I only kill, to know I'm alive". These tracks aren't simply heavy, they're also well written, and basically catchy. "Test" even makes rap sound good. I recommend a proper stereo for this. "
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SHOWING UP - LIVE (1990)
Tracklist :01 The Missing
02 Deity
03 So What
04 Burning Inside
05 Thieves
06 StigmataLink to download:http://rapidshare.com/files/21643485/in_case_you_didn_t_feel_like_showing_up__320_kbs_.rar.htmlThis is a six-song live documentation of Ministry's 1989-90 North American tour. It is arguably the band at its peak: the material is drawn exclusively from their two best albums (The Land of Rape and Honey, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste). The lineup is a virtual "all-stars" of hard electro, including Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Martin Atkins of Pigface, and singer Chris Connelly. This is not mere rehash, as all the songs boast heavier guitar sounds than their studio counterparts. "Burning Inside" and "Stigmata" are distinctly different, both featuring longer arrangements and additional sound effects. There is also a rotation of singers, with Connelly taking the lead on "So What" and Ogre roaring in front on "Thieves." --Mark McCleerey
"I saw Ministry with KMFDM in Atlanta, Georgia at the Masquerade during the "Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" tour from which this was recorded. ( Although this was not the date recorded.) Before heroin ruined the band. A great concert this was. Truly amazing, genre - defying stuff, it spits in the face of all that came before it, and all that would follow. Heavy metal , but not in a dumb hair-metal kinda way. Industrial/dance, but not in a techno-gay-bar kinda way. It's the porridge that Goldilocks chose. Ministry here are at their peak, as far as live performance goes. And it SOUNDS good, unlike some live albums you come across. Utter perfection."
"There is no live CD in existence from any artist anywhere that is as good as this one. Ministry sound better live than other artists sound in a studio. This CD is brutally good.
But more to the point:
This CD is just brutal.
This is the most intense CD in existence, period. Studio or live. Metal, hardcore, thrash, punk, techno, eletronica, industrial, classical: there is no more intense music on the face of the earth. Al J. in the big hat makes Trent Reznor look like a chipmunk.
How to cause a heart attack: 1. Wire your CD player's L and R channels through some nice marshall or peavey amps. 2. Crank them very high. 3. Insert In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up and hit play.
Your windows will break, your pets will die, your neighbors will melt and you and your friends will soon fall into a pulsating heap on the ground, stimulants notwithstanding."
"As is the case with many an industrial metal band (who put the emphasis on the meal; see Rammstein and P.H.O.B.O.S.). Ministry's raw, straight ahead sound is best experienced in a live setting. For an experiment in scuh industrial strength nihilism look no further than 'In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up', which shows Al Jorgensen and crew at their strongest and harshest. Each song on the album gains a depth and intensity that spurpasses that of their studio counterparts due, in part, to both an enhanced bottom end the players involved (which include Nivek Ogre and Martin Atkins among others). Granted, the album itself does run a bit short (standing strong at six tracks, thirty some-odd minutes), but extended renditions of 'So What' and 'Stigmata' allow for a new and fantastic experience, making the length really not an issue. Despite the fact that it was released 16 years ago, it doesn't sound the least bit dated, and still stands strong as one of the most enjoyable live releases to come out of the 90s as well as Ministry's moment of absolute perfection. "
EARLY TRAX (2004)Notes:
This 70 minute + CD collects the early Ministry 12" singles and adds four previously unreleased tracks from the same period! Tracklist:
01 Every Day Is Halloween (6:32)
02 Halloween (Remix) (10:23)
03 All Day (5:50)
04 All Day (Remix) (6:34)
05 Nature Of Love (7:03)
06 Nature Of Love (Cruelty Mix) (6:44)
07 Nature Of Outakes (8:08)
08 He's Angry (Unreleased 1984) (3:54)
09 Move (Original Mix Unreleased 1984) (5:06)
10 I'm Falling (4:24)
11 I'm Falling (Alt. Mix Unreleased 1980) (4:04)
12 Overkill (Unreleased 1981) (4:33)Link to download:http://www.sendspace.com/file/lmdcbd"Way back when Ministry started out their sound showed only vague indications that it would develop to their gut-wrenching industrial hymns. What makes then this release tremendously intriguing is that you can time travel to the day when this band were experimenting with a hybrid of goth-electro beats and 80s alternative rock formulas. While you can easily hear their early influences, it's still obvious they were trying to develop coordinates of their own and did so in a rather convincing manner. If you belonged to the alterna-"crowd" of that time you will surely enjoy this, because chances might very well be that Ministry escaped your radar back then, and if that's the case, you seriously missed out on some great music. The tracks on this compilation have a retro quality of their own, but yet, perhaps surprisingly, the core of them are effortlessly listenable today as well. If you, on the other hand, happen to be a Ministry fan this album attains a very special interest. Tracing the roots of one of the premier groups of all time (heavy statement i know, but it is a very easily proven fact) can be a revelation. Sure, some of the musical creations of the band from that time might sound even a bit alien but then again that's what makes it all the more intriguing. It was to me, a long time fan of this incredible band. In fact, i'd only heard a coupla scattered tracks from their early works, and they hadnt impressed me too much. I was expecting more of the same, unrefined and raw early stuff in thsi compilation, but i wound up pleasantly surprised. The 5 stars aren't necessarily reflecting the quality of the music (allthough the music is actually on a pretty respectable level overall) but also the historical value of this CD. It was a long time overdue."
"This is basically a remastered better version of Twelve Inch Singles and if you have Twelve Inch Singles and like it, this is definitely worth a purchase. Unlike their speed metal, their early work like this compilation is basically electronic and new wave music, with a pinch of urban elements such as funk, the drum patterns, samples, and the scratching heard on Halloween. With the exception of Cold Life and Primental, you get all the singles Ministry made for Wax Trax! As well as some solid bonus materials that some how never saw the light. The best cuts for me off this album are two great mixes of I'm Falling, a song with lyrics that remind me of NWA's **** Tha Police, but I have no idea why the inlay says the alternate take of I'm Falling was unreleased when I have it on the Cold Life EP. Overkill, a punk new wave song Ministry almost always played at the end of their concerts in the early 80s. My favorite song of all time Everyday Is Halloween, a big mid 80s hit in the Chicago underground that reached out to outcasts everywhere. And last but not least, Move and He's Angry (He's Angry is a song that was going to be a PTP track but was credited to Ministry at the last moment) are solid numbers that will probably bring back memories of late 80s Front 242, especially their Front By Front album. Don't know why they were released much earlier when they didn't sound bad at all. Their good cuts to dance and freestyle to when your in a down 80s electro mood. Overall, to fans of early industrial and dark electronic music, this is definitely a worthwhile purchase. To fans of speed metal Ministry you might want to think twice before purchase, though you may want to have this so you know where Ministry came from. Overall, this is a classic album, (let's be honest, it does has it's weak spots with some of the remixes) so cop it already!"Biography:Until Nine Inch Nails crossed over to the mainstream, Ministry did more than any other band to popularize industrial dance music, injecting large doses of punky, over-the-top aggression and roaring heavy metal guitar riffs that helped their music find favor with metal and alternative audiences outside of industrial's cult fan base. That's not to say Ministry had a commercial or generally accessible sound: they were unremittingly intense, abrasive, pounding, and repetitive, and not always guitar-oriented (samples, synthesizers, and tape effects were a primary focus just as often as guitars and distorted vocals). However, both live and in the studio, they achieved a huge, crushing sound that put most of their contemporaries in aggressive musical genres to shame; plus, founder and frontman Al Jourgensen gave the group a greater aura of style and theater than other industrial bands, who seemed rather faceless when compared with Jourgensen's leather-clad cowboy/biker look and the edgy shock tactics of such videos as "N.W.O." and "Just One Fix." After 1992's Psalm 69, which represented the peak of their popularity, Ministry's record
ed output dwindled, partially because of myriad side projects and partially due to heroin abuse within the band, but continued to resurface through the rest of the decade.
Ministry was formed in 1981 by Alain Jourgensen (born Oct. 8, 1958, Havana, Cuba); he had moved to the U.S. with his mother while very young and lived in a succession of cities, eventually working as a radio DJ and joining a new wave band called Special Affect (fronted by future My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult leader Frankie Nardiello, aka Groovie Mann). Featuring drummer Stephen George, Ministry debuted with the Wax Trax! single "Cold Life," which -- typical of their early output -- was more in the synth pop/dance style of new wavers like the Human League or Thompson Twins. The album With Sympathy appeared on the major label Arista in 1983 and followed a similar musical direction, one that Jourgensen was dissatisfied with; he returned to Wax Trax! and recorded several singles while rethinking the band's style and forming his notorious side project the Revolting Cocks.In 1985, with Jourgensen the only official member of Ministry, the Adrian Sherwood-produced Twitch was released by Sire Records; while not as aggressive as the group's later, more popular material, it found Jourgensen taking definite steps in that direction. Following a 1987 single with Skinny Puppy's Kevin Ogilvie (aka Nivek Ogre) as PTP, Jourgensen once again revamped Ministry, with former Blackouts bassist Paul Barker officially joining the lineup to complement Jourgensen's rediscovery of the guitar; fellow ex-Blackouts William Rieflin (drums) and Mike Scaccia (guitar), as well as vocalist Chris Connelly, were heavily showcased as collaborators for the first of several times on 1988's The Land of Rape and Honey. With Jourgensen and Barker credited as Hypo Luxa and Hermes Pan, respectively, this album proved to be Ministry's stylistic breakthrough, a taut, explosive fusion of heavy metal, industrial dance beats and samples, and punk aggression. 1989's The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste built on its predecessor's artistic success, and In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up was recorded on its supporting tour, introducing other frequent Ministry contributors like drummer Martin Atkins (later of Pigface) and guitarist William Tucker (as well as featuring a guest shot from Jello Biafra). Jourgensen next embarked on a flurry of side projects, including the aforementioned Revolting Cocks (with Barker, Barker's brother Roland, Front 242 members Luc Van Acker and Richard 23, and many more), 1000 Homo DJs (with Biafra, Rieflin, and Trent Reznor), Acid Horse, Pailhead (with Ian MacKaye), and Lard (again with Biafra, Paul Barker, Rieflin, and drummer Jeff Ward).In late 1991, Ministry issued the single "Jesus Built My Hotrod," a driving rocker featuring manic nonsense vocals by co-writer Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers; its exposure on MTV helped build anticipation for the following year's full-length Psalm 69 (subtitled The Way to Succeed & the Way to Suck Eggs, although the only title that appears on the album consists of a few Greek letters and symbols). The record reached the Top 30 and went platinum, producing two further MTV hits with "N.W.O." and "Just One Fix," and Ministry consolidated its following with a spot on the inaugural Lollapalooza tour that summer (joined by new guitarist Louis Svitek). However, drug and legal problems sidelined the band in the wake of its newfound popularity, resulting in the clouded Filth Pig being released in 1995, too late to capitalize on their prior success. More problems with drugs and arrests followed, and Jourgensen returned to some of his side projects, recording a new album with Lard, among others. In 1999, the new single "Bad Blood" was featured prominently in the sci-fi special-effects blockbuster film The Matrix, setting the stage for the release of Dark Side of the Spoon (the title a reference to the band's heroin problems) later that summer. Guitarist William Tucker committed suicide in May 1999. The band was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for "Bad Blood," but they lost to Black Sabbath and were dropped from Warner Bros. around the same time. They were also added to the Ozzfest tour, but they were kicked off before it even began because of a management change. To compound their sorrows, Ipecac Records announced three live albums to be released with material from the Psalm 69 tour being the main focus, but they only had a verbal agreement and when Warner Bros. caught wind of the project they stamped it out despite already having the CDs ready for printing. In 2001, the band filmed a scene for Steven Spielberg's A.I. and released the song from the film on a greatest-hits album, appropriately titled Greatest Fits. The song received a decent amount of promotion, but the single went nowhere and the group signed to Sanctuary Records later in the year. While recording new material, they released the Sphinctour album and DVD in the spring of 2002 to satisfy rabid fans who were disappointed by the Ipecac situation. The next spring, Animositisomina was released, advertised as a return to the Psalm 69 style of songwriting and featuring a cover of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out of Me." Houses of the Molé followed in June 2004. In September 2005 Ministry celebrated their 25th anniversary with Rantology. Jourgensen remixed such past hits as "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and "N.W.O. for the set; it also included live material, rarities, and the new track "Great Satan." An extensive tour with Revolting Cocks in tow followed. (http://www.animositisomina.com/bio.php)
More bio:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_(band)
More info:
http://www.angelfire.com/rock/e4/ministryint.html an interview with Al
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