Ministry
Biographie Ministry
Ministry
Everything Ministry has created since its inception has been an evolution. Al Jourgensen, the architect of Ministry, succeeded by remaking the mainstream in his own image and forging a new style of music.
Jourgensen morphed Ministry from a lightweight synth-pop band in the early '80s to a musical juggernaut with many side projects (Revolting Cocks, 1000 Homo DJs, Pailhead, Lard) on legendary Chicago-based Wax Trax! Records.
Moving to Sire Records in the mid-'80s Ministry released albums showcasing an ever-evolving style. The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste and The Land of Rape and Honey both went Gold as people searched beyond bland MTV conformity.
Psalm 69, featuring "N.W.O.", "Just One Fix" and "Jesus Built My Hotrod", went Platinum in 1992 and forever changed music with its heavily aggressive content. Subsequently in 1993, Ministry received a Grammy nod for Best Metal Performance for "New World Order." During the late '90s heyday of "alternative music", Jourgensen rebelled against the tide yet again. When the industry demanded a "Psalm 70," Jourgensen responded with the darker, more reflective tones of Filth Pig and Dark Side of the Spoon, and received a Grammy nomination for "Bad Blood" from DSOTS, which was featured on the Matrix soundtrack.
With the dawn of the new millennium, Jourgensen turned yet another new page, refocused his energy and delivered Animositisomina in 2002. . In 2004 a revitalized Ministry debuted Houses of the Molé. For its 25th Anniversary in 2005, Ministry released Rantology featuring tracks personally mixed, arranged, recorded and mastered by Uncle Al himself.
In October 2005, Jourgensen launched his own label, 13th Planet Records. Ministry's first release on 13th Planet, Rio Grande Blood, debuted in 2006 and captured Grammy nominations for "The Great Satan" (2005) and "Lieslieslies" (2006). It was followed by the remix album Rio Grande Dub in early 2007.
In late 2007, Ministry's final studio release, The Last Sucker reared its reptilian head. It was quickly followed by the band's collection of cover songs, Cover Up containing Ministry's Grammy nominated cover of the classic "Under My Thumb".
Al and company then embarked on the CULaTour, which took them across the US and then to 21 European countries. The band bid farewell to the US during four sold out nights in Chicago and finally calling it a day in Dublin, Ireland on July 18th, 2008. As a commemoration of Ministry's final world tour, the band has released the live CD and Double Disc DVD Adios Puta Madres. The DVD contains an entire disc of live performances and a second disc featuring a doumentary on the final Ministry tour.
And lastly, as its final releases, Ministry sparked up The Last Dubber remix CD, stirred up MiXXXes Of The Molé remix CD and went Undercover for a final cover album.
