The end of legendary industrial metal band Ministry is near, but not without one more record.
In an interview with Loudwire, Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen said the band is plotting one final record after Hopiumforthemasses featuring former member Paul Barker. As Ministry fans know, Barker played for Ministry between 1986 and 2003, performing on everything from The Land Of Rape And Honey to Animositisomina.
"We have one more new record coming out," said Jourgensen. "And we're recruiting an old mate from the early days. Paul Barker is going to rejoin the band and we're going to record together and that will be our last one."
On the end of the band, Jourgensen elaborated: "There comes a point in time musically when anything from here is going to be downhill. I see so many bands do that. I don't need the money. I don't need the whatever. It's a good time to stop. I just turned 65, which means I'm getting my mailbox stuffed with AARP shit. I took my piercings out. I took my dreads out. I decided at 65, I'm going to become an adult."
No word on if Ministry is still planning to re-record and tour on their long-hated 1983 debut album With Sympathy. In a 2023 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Jourgensen noted that Ministry would only re-do the album if the band could "make it sound the way I want it."
"My hatred for this record was so deep. As a matter of fact, the two-inch [master] tapes of it, the actual two-inch tapes, I had a barbecue party and I burned them on a barbecue. So, there's no existing original With Sympathy's. I just burned them."
"We're doing 'Revenge'… this version that we have, it's going to be different. Let's turn it from this synthpop thing into a metal arena-rock song… and then we'll take it from there and see where it goes… If we can make it sound the way I want it, when I originally came up with these songs, then yes, I will do [a full tour behind the release]. If not, I won't. … So, we're working our way towards putting a bow on the whole thing and calling it a career. And then everyone can leave me the fuck alone so I can do what the fuck I want."
And frankly, I hope they do re-record the record – the live version of "Revenge" sounds great.
