111-558: The Genitorturers are an American industrial metal band with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music . They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band". Originating in Orlando, Florida , the band was founded by lead singer Jennifer "Gen" Zimmerman while attending Rollins college. Originally called The Festering Genitorturers, the band consisted of Marisa (vocals), Yvonne (guitar), Gen (bass), Larry (guitar) and Mike (drums). Their first performance
222-613: A goth anthem similar to Bauhaus (band) ' " Bela Lugosi's Dead "; "The Nature of Love", which came out in June 1985, became Ministry's final single on Wax Trax!; in July 1985, the band was shown as signed to Sire Records. Ministry's first release with Sire/Warner Bros. was the single " Over the Shoulder " in 1985, preceding the release of the band's second studio album, Twitch , in March 1986. Twitch
333-754: A "flop" nonetheless. Around this time, veteran industrial metal artists (Ministry, Godflesh, and White Zombie ) began to repudiate the industrial label. Sales remained high throughout 2000–2005; at least 10 million records were sold during that time frame. Many groups began to take influence from hip hop and electronic music , in addition to industrial metal. As a result, acts like Powerman 5000 are often described as industrial metal as well as nu metal . Several industrial metal groups have produced eye-catching videos. These include Godflesh's collaboration with Andres Serrano , Aidan Hughes 's graphics for KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails' work with Mark Romanek , Rob Zombie 's visual work for White Zombie (for which he received
444-528: A German digital hardcore musician, declared that "[Rammstein is] successful for all the wrong reasons. I think they're not a fascist band at all, but I think in Germany there's a lot of misunderstanding and that's why they sell records and I think that's dangerous." In response to the controversy, Rammstein stated that "We are not Nazis, Neo-Nazis, or any other kind of Nazi. We are against racism, bigotry or any other type of discrimination." The band went on to create
555-518: A bunch of songs written in my head. I wanted to have time to mourn before people start asking me about touring dates. It was sick. I was bombarded and email boxes were overloaded with 'what are you going to do now?' It was kind of creepy." By February 2017, Ministry had begun working on their fourteenth studio album, titled AmeriKKKant . The album, released on March 9, 2018, includes guest appearances from Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory , former N.W.A member Arabian Prince , DJ Swamp and Lord of
666-556: A commercial force in 1992 when Nine Inch Nails' Broken and Ministry's Psalm 69 went platinum in America, though the latter took three years to reach that status. Both groups were nominated for the Best Metal Performance in the 1992 Grammy Awards , with Nine Inch Nails winning. Two years later, Nine Inch Nails released The Downward Spiral , which debuted at No. 2, and would eventually go quadruple-platinum. This record
777-554: A commercial single; "Burning Inside" was accompanied by a music video. After completing the Revolting Cocks tour in early 1991, Jourgensen and his bandmates began work on a follow-up to The Mind ... at Chicago Trax! studios, amidst problems brought on by growing substance abuse. During these initial sessions, Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers recorded vocals for what became " Jesus Built My Hotrod ", which hit No. 19 in
888-418: A controversial artist, one who dares to have an opinion and bothers to create music and videos that challenge people's ideas in a world that is watered-down and hollow. In my work I examine the America we live in, and I've always tried to show people that the devil we blame our atrocities on is really just each one of us. [...] Sascha Konietzko reported that KMFDM was "sick and appalled" by the shootings, issuing
999-514: A critical backlash at the turn of the millennium. In an April 2000 review for the Chicago Sun Times , Jim DeRogatis dismissed Nine Inch Nails' new music as a "generic brand of industrial thrash" and accused Ministry of repeating an act that "was old by 1992". Although The Fragile reached the top spot of the Billboard 200 and went on to earn double platinum status, DeRogatis considered it
1110-405: A different explanation, saying that he was pressured by Arista management into producing his existing songs in the then-popular synthpop style, as a means of making them more commercially palatable. However, in the 1980s, Jourgensen said that when he discovered hardcore music, his musical direction simply changed; Jourgensen reiterated this point in 2012, and again in 2018. In 2019, he stated that
1221-586: A few industrial metal groups vulnerable to attack from American social conservatives . For example, Sen. Bob Dole , then head of the Republican Party, sharply criticized Time Warner after a meeting between Michael J. Fuchs (head of the Warner Music Group), William Bennett , and C. Delores Tucker , at which Tucker and Bennett demanded that Fuchs read lyrics from NIN's " Big Man with a Gun ". A year later, Bennett, Tucker, and Joseph Lieberman launched
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#17328909771441332-509: A key scene in Richard Stanley's 1990 film Hardware , although the band shown performing the song was Gwar . The follow-up album, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste , was released in 1989. Due to the complex nature of the album's drumming, a second drummer, Martin Atkins (formerly of Public Image Ltd. and Killing Joke ), was hired. In addition to Atkins, a ten piece touring line-up
1443-482: A livestream, Genitorturers debuted their first song in 11 years "Scars & Stripes Forever". Industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music , typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs , sampling , synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry , Nine Inch Nails , Fear Factory , Rammstein , KMFDM , and Godflesh . Industrial metal developed in
1554-516: A lot of people out." Ministry announced on their website that they entered the studio on September 1, 2011 with engineer Sammy D'Ambruoso to begin recording their new album. During the third webisode featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Relapse , a release date of March 23, 2012 was announced. On December 23, 2011, Ministry released " 99 Percenters ", the first single from Relapse , and began streaming it on their Facebook page two days later. On February 24, 2012, Ministry released
1665-517: A mix that focused on conventional hard rock instrumentation. The album's songs were played mostly at slower tempos than those on their previous three LPs, giving it an almost doom metal feel. Filth Pig was supported with the singles/videos "Reload", " The Fall ", "Lay Lady Lay" and "Brick Windows" and with a tour in 1996 (the live performances were later anthologized on the Sphinctour album and DVD in 2002). Jourgensen has subsequently said that he
1776-508: A music critic Robert Christgau stating, "Chicago's Anglodisco clones meet Anglodisco renegade Adrian Sherwood and promptly improve themselves by trading in wimpy on arty"; nevertheless, the album came to be viewed as a pivotal point in the band's discography, as it signaled ongoing changes in Ministry's sound. In later publications, Jourgensen credited Sherwood with giving his music an aggressive edge and providing production advice, but considered
1887-562: A newly bought ARP Omni synthesizer, a drum machine, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder. He presented a demo to Jim Nash, who suggested Jourgensen record a single and form a touring band, which Jourgensen decided to call Ministry. The first line-up of Ministry consisted of keyboardists Robert Roberts and John Davis, bassist Sorenson, and drummer Stephen George ; Jourgensen auditioned several singers, all of whom were unsatisfactory, so he decided to perform vocals himself. Nash purchased recording sessions at Hedden West studios which resulted in
1998-489: A prior, 1983 interview with Richard Skinner. Departed from Arista, Jourgensen returned with Ministry on Wax Trax! in mid-1984. While working as a cashier in the Wax Trax! store, he continued to record new material. In autumn 1984, Ministry embarked on a new tour with a renewed line-up, supported by Belgian industrial dance act Front 242 . During this tour, Sire Records co-owner Seymour Stein attended several gigs, offering
2109-448: A protégé of Reznor's, came to prominence. The group's live performance and its transgressive appeal was often more commented on than their music. Industrial metal reached its commercial zenith in the latter half of the 1990s – according to the RIAA databases, its top-selling artists sold around 17.5 million units combined. Records by major industrial metal artists routinely debuted on
2220-509: A rendition of their cover version of " What a Wonderful World ". Adios ... Puta Madres , a live album featuring material culled from the tour, was released in 2009 on CD and DVD. A documentary film called Fix: The Ministry Movie was planned for release sometime in 2010. However, the release date was pushed back to early 2011. Eventually, it premiered at the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival. Jourgensen sued
2331-590: A saxophone player for the 1999 tour, focused on developing songs for a new record during 2001 and 2002, with the band issuing Animositisomina on Sanctuary Records in 2003. The sound was strongly heavy metal with voice effects, though it featured an almost-pop cover of Magazine 's "The Light Pours Out Of Me". Animositisomina , compared to previous releases, sold poorly and singles for "Animosity" and "Piss" were canceled before they could be released. Barker announced his departure from Ministry in January 2004. He stated that
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#17328909771442442-680: A second single, " Double Tap ", which was included in the April 2012 issue of the Metal Hammer magazine. On March 23, 2012, Relapse was released; it was supported with " Defibrillatour ", a concert tour which lasted from that year's June to August. On December 23, 2012, guitarist Mike Scaccia died following an on-stage heart attack, while playing with his other band, Rigor Mortis. In an interview with Noisey in March 2013, Jourgensen announced that Ministry would break up again, explaining that he did not want to carry on without Scaccia. He explained, "Mikey
2553-530: A short-lived band called the Silly Carmichaels, which featured members of the Imports and played two shows. In 1981, Jourgensen met Jim Nash and Danny Flesher, co-founders and co-owners of the indie record label and shop Wax Trax! Records who recommended him as a touring guitarist for Divine . After playing a few concerts with the latter, Jourgensen began to write and record songs in his apartment, using
2664-536: A similar campaign against MCA Records for their distribution of Marilyn Manson 's music. Many of his concerts were cancelled by authorities after this uproar. In addition, Dennis Cooper cited Ministry's video for " Just One Fix ", which featured footage of William S. Burroughs , as an early example of heroin chic . Some initial reports claimed that Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were Marilyn Manson fans. In fact, they preferred KMFDM and Rammstein. Asa Coon , another school shooter,
2775-470: A song critical of then-U.S. President George W. Bush ; an alternate version of the track was placed on the multi-performer compilation Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 . The follow-up LP, Houses of the Molé (2004), contained the most explicitly political lyrics Jourgensen had yet written, with songs played more crudely than on previous recordings, giving the album the most metal-oriented sound of their career. In 2006,
2886-586: A statement the following day saying: First and foremost, KMFDM would like to express their deep and heartfelt sympathy for the parents, families and friends of the murdered and injured children in Littleton. We are sick and appalled, as is the rest of the nation, by what took place in Colorado yesterday. KMFDM are an art form – not a political party. From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others. While some of
2997-489: A strong anti-rock stance. British post-punk band Killing Joke pioneered the crossing over between styles and was an influence on major acts associated with industrial metal such as Ministry , Godflesh , and Nine Inch Nails . Another pioneer industrial rock group, Big Black , also impacted some later groups. By the late 1980s industrial and heavy metal began to fuse into a common genre, with Godflesh's self-titled EP and Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey at
3108-420: A sudden it was like there was a whole new parameter within guitar playing itself – especially in combination with sounds that you get out of a keyboard . Jourgensen seemed particularly fond of thrash metal . After the release of Land , he recruited guitarist Mike Scaccia from Texas thrashers Rigor Mortis . On one occasion, Jourgensen told the press that Sepultura was his favorite band. He also expressed
3219-497: A top seller, Godflesh nonetheless became an influential act, their name mentioned by Korn , Metallica , Danzig , Faith No More , and Fear Factory . Ministry emerged from the scene surrounding Wax Trax! Records , a Chicago indie label dedicated to industrial music. Ministry's initial foray into guitar rock happened during a recording session of The Land of Rape and Honey on Southern Studios , in London. The band's frontman,
3330-615: A twelve-inch single featuring "I'm Falling" and instrumental track "Primental" on the A-side, with the song " Cold Life " on the B-side. The record was co-produced by Jay O'Roarke and Iain Burgess and released in late 1981 on Wax Trax! in the US. In March 1982, the single was licensed by British label Situation Two , with "Cold Life" as the A-side. Ministry performed their debut concert on January 1, 1982 in
3441-533: Is a small, niche scene within industrial music. Very few bands today describe themselves or are described as coldwave. Bands like Cyanotic and Medicant Downline are perhaps the exception. Despite sharing the same name as the French genre , it is otherwise unrelated. Industrial metal blossomed in the early 1990s, particularly in North America, where it would eventually sell close to 35 million units. It first became
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3552-468: Is a sub-genre of industrial metal originating in the 1990s. It has its roots in acts like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry . The style focuses on heavier, punk-based guitars, sampled hard rock-like guitars, synthesizer accompaniment, and acid house elements. Lyrical content is typically cyberpunk-oriented with pop music sensibilities, although it can vary. Chemlab 's 1993 album Burn Out at the Hydrogen Bar
3663-403: Is also available as a downloadable content song for the 2008 video game Rock Band 2 . In July 2007, the band released Rio Grande Dub , an album featuring remixes from the band's 2006 Rio Grande Blood album. What Jourgensen expected to be Ministry's "final" album, The Last Sucker was released on September 18, 2007. Paul Raven died on October 20, 2007, a month and two-days after
3774-429: Is considered by AllMusic as "one of the bleakest multi-platinum albums ever". Overall, popular heavy rock music has changed to become more "industrialized". This robbed the industrial hardcore movement of any hopes of establishing a new identity of its own. The style is dead (or at least dying); the elements of the style continue on in new musical settings. Following Nine Inch Nails' success, Marilyn Manson , led by
3885-455: Is gone so it's time for something new. I think this is actually gonna wind up being the fastest and heaviest record I've ever done. Just because we did it as anti-therapy therapy against the country music we would just take days off and thrash faster than I've done in a long time, faster than Mikey's done in a long time. He just did a Rigor Mortis tour and said it was easy compared to this Ministry stuff so it's gonna be brutal and it's gonna freak
3996-498: Is often considered the album that defined the coldwave style. Artists like the aforementioned Chemlab, 16 Volt and Acumen Nation exemplified this genre. The coldwave style began to wane rapidly when industrial music in general started to lose popularity in the latter half of the 1990s-early 2000's. Many artists within the genre moved on to different styles that included; Hard rock, heavy metal, nu metal, synth-metal, synth-rock, and synth-pop among other genres. Coldwave today
4107-516: Is still president, and then what am I going to do: write those crappy albums that I write while Democrats are president?" A month later, media reports noted that Jourgensen had reconnected with former member Paul Barker after 15 years, hinting that the two might collaborate once again on the upcoming Ministry album. In a 2019 interview with Revolver magazine, Jourgensen reaffirmed that he had been working on new material since 2018, and revealed that he had hired Paul D'Amour (formerly of Tool ) as
4218-540: Is the Law EP includes the track "Lecher Bitch", which was also included in the November 2004 video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines . Earlier releases included Machine Love , which contains a cover of Divinyls ' hit "I Touch Myself", which was produced by Dave Ogilvie and Rob Zombie producer Scott Humphrey . In 2004, Genitorturers featured in a 12-page spread in the monthly pornographic publication Hustler ,
4329-731: 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 in 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
4440-508: The Billboard 200 . On release, the album was supported by two more singles—"Revenge" (with a music video partially reworked from "Same Old Madness") and " I Wanted to Tell Her " (a reworked version of "Primental"), and a supporting concert tour with the Police during the North American leg of their Synchronicity tour . During this time, Jourgensen met the members of Seattle -based band
4551-760: The Grammy -winning Broken and the best-selling The Downward Spiral , accompanied by their groundbreaking performance at Woodstock '94 . The rivethead subculture also developed at this time, along with the so-called "coldwave" subgenre, which encompassed Chemlab , 16 Volt , and Acumen Nation . Some electro-industrial groups adopted industrial metal techniques in this period, including Skinny Puppy (on their Rabies , co-produced by Jourgensen), and Front Line Assembly . British band Pitchshifter , formed in 1989 by brothers Jon and Mark Clayden, also started as an industrial metal band. The band later included elements of drum and bass . Frontman JS mentions: [...]In
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4662-484: The MTV Video Music Award for Best Hard Rock Video), and Marilyn Manson's output with Richard Kern and Floria Sigismondi . NIN later collaborated with Bill Viola for live accompaniment. Trent Reznor also produced the soundtracks for the films Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway , and served as "musical consultant" for Man on Fire . Rob Zombie has directed three films. In 2009, Marilyn Manson
4773-599: The University of Illinois at Chicago . He was introduced to the local underground scene by his then-girlfriend, and in 1979 he replaced Tom Hoffmann on guitars in Special Affect , a post-punk group which featured vocalist Frank Nardiello ( Groovie Mann of My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult ), drummer Harry Rushakoff ( Concrete Blonde ) and bassist Marty Sorenson. Following Special Affect's split in 1980, Jourgensen formed
4884-483: The death metal scene, such as Fear Factory , Nailbomb , Autokrator and Meathook Seed , also began to experiment with industrial. Fear Factory, from Los Angeles, were initially influenced by the Earache roster (namely Godflesh , Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower ). The German band Oomph! after their second album Sperm started to play industrial metal combined with elements of death metal and groove metal until
4995-460: The Blackouts —namely bassist Paul Barker and drummer Bill Rieflin, as well their then-manager Patty Marsh, who later became Jourgensen's wife from 1984 to 1995. In spite of With Sympathy' s success, Jourgensen's relations with Arista were acrimonious. Eventually, Jourgensen sent a demo tape featuring a cover version of Roxy Music 's song " Same Old Scene " before parting ways with Arista, suing
5106-713: The Cello. During their performance at the Blackest of the Black Fest in Silverado, California in May 2017, Ministry debuted their first song in four years, "Antifa", which, at the time, was expected to appear on AmeriKKKant . In an October 2018 interview with Billboard magazine, Jourgensen revealed that he had begun working on new material for Ministry's fifteenth studio album. He explained, "I have to get as many albums as I can done while Trump
5217-664: The Chicago club Misfits, and, in the spring, commenced a tour of the Northeast and the Midwest , supporting Medium Medium , A Flock of Seagulls , Culture Club , and Depeche Mode . Meanwhile, the "I'm Falling / Cold Life" single reached No. 45 in the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco chart with approximately 10,000 copies as of September 1982, and thus scoring Wax Trax!' first hit. The songwriter Aimee Mann played with Ministry in
5328-541: The Cuban-born Al Jourgensen , explained this transition: Rediscovering the guitar on this record was almost like the first day I got my Fairlight . The possibilities just seemed endless on something that had seemed so limiting before. That's really funny. I started out as a guitarist, but I hadn't really touched a guitar in five years. Then I heard that first feedback come out of the Marshall stack and all of
5439-526: The Hungarian experimental metal act Thy Catafalque , Blut aus Nord and Norwegian band Shining with their critically acclaimed Blackjazz album, which blended progressive rock, black metal, free jazz and industrial. Canadian artist Devin Townsend , the founder of industrial thrash metal band Strapping Young Lad , later fused industrial with progressive metal during his prolific solo career. Coldwave
5550-509: The Modern Rock Tracks chart with approximately 128,000 copies as of mid-July 1992; considered Ministry's first and biggest commercial hit, it built significant anticipation for their upcoming album, then titled The Tapes of Wrath . In an attempt to distance themselves from drugs and find fresh perspective, the band relocated from Chicago to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin , to record at Royal Recorders studios for ten weeks. After considering
5661-595: The Norwegian black metal scene, but later chose to experiment with industrial music. Several artists with their roots in progressive music, though not often associated with industrial metal scene, also incorporated industrial textures into their music. Later-era King Crimson , whose 2000s albums were referred as "industrial art metal", and OSI can be named as examples of progressive industrial metal. Several acts associated with extreme metal subgenres also mix progressive and avant-garde metal with industrial, those include
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#17328909771445772-551: The US until 1984: one year after With Sympathy had been released). Jourgensen assumes a false English accent for all of the album's songs, for which he also later expressed great dislike, though Patty Marsh stated in a 2013 interview "...the English accent thing was more an homage to the bands he loved than anything else. He was not trying to come off as British. The Stones used a southern accent and no one crawled up their ass for it.", an explanation Jourgensen himself had also given in
5883-592: The United States, Japan, and Europe, and is internationally renowned for its exploits and erotic show content. By the time of their second album Sin City in 1998, Genitorturers had gained a notable reputation with their flamboyant BDSM -themed shows resulting in the band appearing in various television features in the USA; including VH1 , Fox News , Hard Copy , HBO's Real Sex and Playboy TV's Sexcetera . The Flesh
5994-536: The Wisconsin sessions a "washout", they returned to Chicago to complete the album – now entitled Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs , after a chapter from Aleister Crowley 's The Book of Lies – by early May 1992, with only nine of about thirty songs written being chosen to feature. The album was influenced by speed and thrash metal , often being described as their fastest record by fans and critics. It
6105-603: The album Plastik . Sepultura singer Max Cavalera 's Nailbomb , a collaboration with Alex Newport, also practiced a combination of extreme metal and industrial production techniques. A lesser-known example of industrial death metal is Meathook Seed, made up of members of Napalm Death and the Florida death metal group Obituary . An industrial music fan, Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres suggested drum machines for The End Complete , Obituary's most successful album. The other band members' refusal led him to form Meathook Seed . In
6216-443: The album was not well received, critically or commercially. However, the single " Bad Blood " appeared on the soundtrack album of The Matrix and was nominated for a 2000 Grammy award. During this period, Jourgensen had an infected toe amputated after accidentally stepping on a discarded hypodermic needle. In the summer of 2000, Ministry was invited to that year's Ozzfest ; amidst a management changeover, they were dropped from
6327-516: The album's drum work, Ministry performed as one of the headliners for Australia and New Zealand 's Big Day Out touring festival in January 1995. In spite of their growing success, Ministry was nearly derailed by drug problems and a series of arrests followed in August 1995. Completed at Chicago Trax Studios, Filth Pig was released in 1996. Musically, Filth Pig was more heavy metal than industrial, with synthesizers and samples mostly stripped from
6438-473: The band a new deal; Jourgensen, recalling his negative experience with Arista, repeatedly declined, but eventually agreed to sign on the condition that Sire would provide resources to support the Wax Trax! imprint; as Jourgensen put it, "it was kind of a personal sacrifice to keep that company rolling and allow them to keep signing bands." George left Ministry soon after this tour, disagreeing with Jourgensen over increased use of drum machines, and went on to form
6549-478: The band released Rio Grande Blood , an LP on Jourgensen's own 13th Planet Records . With Prong 's Tommy Victor and Killing Joke 's Paul Raven , the album featured an even heavier thrash metal sound drawing comparison to Slayer . The single "Lieslieslies" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. It, along with another song on the album, "The Great Satan",
6660-443: 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
6771-459: The band's official biography, "What emerged would be a band that would go beyond shaking up the house that 'Mickey' built and extend to paving the way and breaking ground for performance based music artists thereafter worldwide". In 1993, IRS Records owner Miles Copeland III sent his assistant Nick Turner (former drummer for The Lords of the New Church ) to see the band perform. The quality of
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#17328909771446882-519: The band's sole member. Some material, recorded during the Twitch sessions, was later used for LeBlanc's and Sherwood's other projects, most prominently LeBlanc's solo album Major Malfunction . On release, Twitch hit No. 194 in Billboard 200, and was supported by a US and Canadian tour. Jourgensen assembled a new touring line-up, featuring Roland Barker on keyboards, Paul Barker on bass and Bill Rieflin on drums. Twitch received mixed reviews, with
6993-625: The band. Despite this, Ministry has since released three more albums, AmeriKKKant (2018), Moral Hygiene (2021) and Hopiumforthemasses (2024), while tentative talks of a second break up of the band, after at least one more album, have ensued since 2022. 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 thrice (in 2006, 2012 and 2016). Ministry's origins date to 1978, when Jourgensen moved from Denver to Chicago to attend
7104-561: The bill and replaced by Soulfly . After Ministry were dropped from Warner Bros. in 2000, the label issued the 2001 collection Greatest Fits , which featured a new song, "What About Us?". Ministry would later perform the song in a cameo appearance in the Steven Spielberg film AI: Artificial Intelligence . In 2000–2002, disputes with Warner Bros. Records resulted in the planned live albums Live Psalm 69 , Sphinctour and ClittourUS on Ipecac Recordings being canceled. Sphinctour
7215-558: The desire to produce a Metallica album. Jourgensen's interest in dance-oriented electronic music did not entirely fade, however; he also formed the side-project Revolting Cocks , a more electronic body music -inflected collaboration with Richard23 of Front 242 . German band KMFDM was another seminal industrial metal group. Although not a metal fan , KMFDM leader Sascha Konietzko 's "infatuation with ripping off metal licks " stemmed from his experiments with E-mu 's Emax sampler in late 1986. He told Guitar World that, It
7326-439: The early 2000s. In May 2021, Quirin announced via Facebook that he was leaving Ministry. On March 24, 2020, longtime drummer Bill Rieflin died of cancer, which had been kept private. Rieflin had joined King Crimson in 2013, and his death was announced March 25 by Robert Fripp via Facebook. On April 24, 2020, one month after Rieflin's passing, Ministry released their first song in two-and-a-half years, "Alert Level", which
7437-753: The early 80s. The band's initial success drew the attention of Arista Records founder and chief executive Clive Davis , who offered them a deal, promising to make them "the next Joy Division "—a promise that Jourgensen later considered to be misleading. Signing a six-figure, two-album deal, the band—with Jourgensen and George comprising the official line-up —moved to record at the Syncro Sound studios in Boston, with producers Vince Ely (former drummer of Psychedelic Furs ) and Ian Taylor (former assistant of Roy Thomas Baker ), as well as keyboardists Roberts and Davis as session musicians. A 12-inch single containing
7548-439: The early days we were inspired by bands like Head of David and Swans and the like... coming out of punk into the weird, angry, total noise, kind of pre-industrial music. It gets called industrial but I don't know if it really is. Industrial metal's popularity led a number of successful thrash metal groups, including Megadeth , Sepultura , and Anthrax , to request remixes by "industrial" artists. Some musicians emerging from
7659-538: The early years of the 21st century, groups from the black metal scene began to incorporate elements of industrial music. Mysticum , formed in 1991, was the first of these groups. DHG (Dødheimsgard), Thorns from Norway and Blut Aus Nord , N.K.V.D. and Blacklodge from France, have been acclaimed for their incorporation of industrial elements. Other industrial black metal musicians include Samael , The Axis of Perdition , Aborym , and ...And Oceans . In addition, The Kovenant , Mortiis and Ulver emerged from
7770-790: The filmmaker, Doug Freel, for failing to fulfill a portion of the contract giving Jourgensen approval over the final cut, along with "thousands of dollars". The lawsuit was dropped in July 2011. On July 21, the film was screened privately at the Music Box Theater in Los Angeles. On August 7, 2011, Ministry announced they would reform and would play at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place on August 2–4, 2012. The reunion lineup featured Al Jourgensen on vocals, Mike Scaccia and Tommy Victor on guitars, Aaron Rossi on drums, John Bechdel on keyboards, and Tony Campos on bass. Jourgensen told Metal Hammer in August 2011 that Ministry
7881-504: The forefront. Godflesh was founded by former Napalm Death guitarist Justin Broadrick . Drawing from a wide array of influences— power electronics forefathers Whitehouse , noise rock band Swans , ambient music creator Brian Eno and fellow Birmingham hard rockers Black Sabbath —the Godflesh sound was once described as " Pornography -era The Cure on Quaaludes ". Though not
7992-415: The former band members are German as reported in the media, none of us condone any Nazi beliefs whatsoever. Rammstein stated that they "have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior". Rammstein have also been controversial for their use of Nazi imagery, including footage shot by Leni Riefenstahl for Olympia in their video for " Stripped ". Alec Empire ,
8103-429: The genre when they began to mix extreme metal with industrial music in the late 1980s. Pigface , formed by Martin Atkins and including Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin , emerged as an industrial metal collective of sorts, participating with many figures from the noise rock and industrial worlds. Nine Inch Nails, the "one-man-band" formed by Trent Reznor , brought the genre to mainstream audiences with albums such as
8214-499: The international leg of the tour was at the Tripod in Dublin, Ireland on July 18, 2008. During the performance, Jourgensen repeatedly reaffirmed it would indeed be the last Ministry show. Due to a large demand for tickets, an extra gig was added at the Tripod on July 19, 2008. The band again played to a full house. Ministry's final song at this show (and ostensibly their last live performance) was
8325-413: 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
8436-440: The late 1980s, as industrial and metal began to fuse into a common genre. Industrial metal did well in the early 1990s, particularly in North America, with the success of groups such as Nine Inch Nails , but its popularity began to fade in the latter half of the 1990s. Though electric guitars had been used by industrial artists since the early days of the genre, archetypal industrial groups such as Throbbing Gristle displayed
8547-694: 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 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 and Roy Mayorga , keyboardist John Bechdel, and rappers and producers DJ Swamp and Arabian Prince . Ministry attained commercial success during
8658-488: The latter for violating contractual obligations. Since then, Jourgensen has expressed dislike for the With Sympathy -era, often providing different (and widely conflicting) explanations for his antipathy. In a 2004 interview, conducted by Mark Prindle, Jourgensen said that after signing with Arista, all artistic control of Ministry was "handed over" to other writers and producers. In his 2013 autobiography, Jourgensen gave
8769-469: The magazine's only multi-page spread with a rock band. Hustler described Genitorturers as "the world's sexiest band". In 2006, they toured Australia with Dead Inside the Chrysalis. The band's last album, Blackheart Revolution , was released in 2009. In 2014, Genitorturers celebrated over 20 years since the release of their debut album by going on tour, '20 Years of Depravity'. On Halloween 2020, during
8880-552: The new bassist of Ministry. The band – alongside Primus and Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals – opened for Slayer on the final North American leg of their farewell tour , which took place in November 2019. In December 2019, the band released a visual history coffee table book, Ministry: Prescripture , with author Aaron Tanner. In January 2020, Ministry announced the "Industrial Strength Tour" would start in 2020, with drummer London May of Samhain , which would feature both KMFDM and Front Line Assembly as guests. The tour
8991-520: The performance, as well as their musical style containing fused elements of hardcore punk, metal and industrial electronics, led them to a record contract. Soon after that, they recorded 120 Days of Genitorture . After recording this album, Morbid Angel bassist/vocalist David Vincent (Gen's husband) joined the Genitorturers on bass. He left Morbid Angel in 1995, after the album Domination , to join his wife's band. The band has extensively toured
9102-458: The record "so Adrian Sherwood-influenced." After Twitch , Paul Barker became Jourgensen's primary collaborator in Ministry; until his departure, he was the only person credited as a member of the band other than Jourgensen. Jourgensen then made another significant change to Ministry's sound when he resumed playing electric guitar. With Rieflin on drums, Ministry recorded The Land of Rape and Honey (1988). The album continued their success in
9213-404: The record was "fine", only that it could have been a lot better without interference from the record company. In 2021, Jourgensen resurrected the story that Arista took full control of the production and songwriting process, made Jourgensen cut his hair and bought him a wardrobe of sharkskin suits, and this time added the label wanted Ministry to sound like Wham! (a band who were not successful in
9324-617: The release of The Last Sucker , suffering an apparent heart attack shortly after arriving in Europe to commence recording for the French industrial band Treponem Pal near the Swiss border. Jourgensen remixed and co-produced Spyder Baby's "Bitter", which was released by Blind Prophecy Records in early 2008. A song titled " Keys to the City ", which became the theme song for the Chicago Blackhawks ,
9435-445: The short-lived band Colortone, and, much later, to pursue a record engineering career. Ministry released several singles throughout the summer of 1985—"All Day", " (Every Day Is) Halloween " and "The Nature of Love", as well as a reissue of "Cold Life"—which were cited as marking Jourgensen's first attempt at injecting industrial elements into Ministry's sound. Initially the B-side on "All Day" single, "... Halloween" became viewed as
9546-549: The song " Links 2-3-4 ", released in 2001, which responded to the Nazi allegations by insinuating that they reside left on the political spectrum . Ministry (band) 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
9657-565: The song "Same Old Madness" was recorded and planned for release, along with its accompanying music video. However, "Same Old Madness"—both the song and video—did not surface until 2014; instead, " Work for Love " was released in January 1983 and peaked No. 20 on the Hot Dance/Disco chart. Ministry's debut album, entitled With Sympathy (also known as Work for Love in Europe), was finished around this time and issued in May, reaching No. 94 in
9768-407: The style on their second album, L'Eau Rouge (1989). Prior to its release, singer Franz Treichler declared: We just wanted to hear guitars. We missed the attack of ' Envoyé '. That's what we want to hear right now, pure power. A metal sound that isn't revivalist, isn't biker style, speed metal style, any style, just WHAP! Canadian thrash metal band Malhavoc became one of the earlier acts of
9879-585: The top spots of the Billboard 200 chart: Rob Zombie 's Hellbilly Deluxe (No. 5), Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar (No. 3), and Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile (No. 1). A number of industrial metal albums performed well on Billboard's Heatseekers chart: Filter 's Short Bus (No. 3), Stabbing Westward 's Wither Blister Burn + Peel (No. 1), Rammstein 's Sehnsucht (No. 2), Orgy 's Candyass (No. 1), and Static-X 's Wisconsin Death Trip (No. 1). During this era, Trent Reznor
9990-839: The tour because of restrictions caused by the COVID in their native Germany. On September 24, 2021, Ministry announced that The Industrial Strength tour had been postponed once more because of the pandemic, with the tour now scheduled to take place in March and April 2022, and the Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity replacing Front Line Assembly and Helmet as special guests. On January 17, 2020, Billboard released an exposé on guitar player Sin Quirin , detailing accounts of Quirin's alleged behavior including sexual relationships with underage females while touring in San Antonio, TX, Portland, OR, and Tacoma, WA, in
10101-402: The trigger was his father dying while the band was wrapping up a summer tour in Europe, and also stated that his family life was his main focus at that particular time. Lukacin stated in 2013 that Jourgensen fell out with Barker over the band's finances. Jourgensen continued Ministry with Mike Scaccia and various other musicians. For Ministry's next album, Jourgensen released the song " No W ",
10212-403: The underground music scene. The Land of Rape and Honey made use of synthesizers, keyboards, tape loops, jackhammering drum machines, dialogue excerpted from movies, unconventional electronic processing, and, in parts, heavy distorted electric guitar and bass. The album was supported by a tour in 1988 and the singles and music videos for " Stigmata " and " Flashback ". "Stigmata" was also used in
10323-618: Was a Manson fan. Manson, a former journalist, published a detailed response to the controversy following the Columbine shootings in an article published in Rolling Stone . It concluded: I think that the National Rifle Association is far too powerful to take on, so most people choose Doom , The Basketball Diaries or yours truly. This kind of controversy does not help me sell records or tickets, and I wouldn't want it to. I'm
10434-498: Was asked [before], it was after Mikey passed and the entire media immediately starts asking me what is going to happen to Ministry. He wasn't even buried yet. I thought, 'Fuck you.' I was really pissed and really angry. I said, 'Fuck Ministry and fuck you for asking.' They want to comment on Ministry when my best friend had died. It's been more than two years now, and I got more ideas and I have done albums with Mikey and have done them without him. It's time to get another record out. I have
10545-584: Was at the Ocean Club in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in late 1986. Also on the bill was Declared Ungovernable, Belching Penguins, and The Rhythm Pigs. Shortening their name to The Genitorturers, the band underwent various personnel changes and progressed in the 1990s Florida "hardcore" music scene, with contemporary bands such as Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids , who also became a success in later years. According to
10656-428: Was chosen by Time as one of the most influential Americans of 1997. The genre's popularity was such that established glam metal groups, including Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe , began to dabble in the style. Figures from the hip hop scene also began to seek out collaborations with and remixes from industrial metal musicians. When industrial metal climbed the charts of the late 1990s, its sudden popularity
10767-458: Was formed, consisting of Chris Connelly (keyboards and vocals), Skinny Puppy vocalist Nivek Ogre (vocals and keyboards), Joe Kelly (vocals and backing vocals) and guitarists Mike Scaccia , Terry Roberts , and William Tucker , with Jourgensen, Paul Barker and Rieflin serving as the group's core members. This tour was documented on In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up . Two opening tracks, " Burning Inside " and " Thieves ", were released as
10878-438: Was in the process of directing Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll . The movie has since languished in development hell . Other films that have included prominent contributions from industrial metal artists include The Crow , Johnny Mnemonic , Hideaway , ( Mortal Kombat / 1997 sequel ) , The Matrix , Blair Witch and A.I. Artificial Intelligence . Its emphasis on transgressive themes has made
10989-404: 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
11100-448: Was intended to be on their next album. After constructing a studio in Austin, Texas in 1993, the band proceeded to record a new album in July 1994. After refusing to perform drums on "Lay Lady Lay", Rieflin parted ways with Jourgensen midway through the recording process. Along with newly recruited Rey Washam (formerly of Scratch Acid , Didjits , and Rapeman ) who performed the rest of
11211-447: Was just interesting to use it as a kind of white noise reinforcement for our music. All of a sudden heavy metal was free from all those tempo changes and boring attitudes it always had. What I always hated most about heavy metal was that the best riffs came only once and were never repeated. So the fascination, actually, was to sample a great riff, loop it, and play it over and over again. A Swiss trio, The Young Gods , brushed with
11322-598: Was met with negative reactions from the early innovators of industrial music . Peter Christopherson told The Wire that he no longer felt any kinship with the industrial scene: "this is not me, this is not what I'm about". Lustmord , a prominent early industrial musician, declared that "Ministry just doesn't interest [him]" and "[he has] no time for all this rock and roll shit they're doing now." Skinny Puppy frontman Nivek Ogre dismissed Nine Inch Nails as " cock rock " but have since patched things up and have even performed on stage together. Industrial metal suffered
11433-467: Was my best friend in the world and there's no Ministry without him. But I know the music we recorded together during the last weeks of his life had to be released to honor him. So after his funeral, I locked myself in my studio and turned the songs we had recorded into the best and last Ministry record anyone will ever hear. I can't do it without Mikey and I don't want to. So yes, this will be Ministry's last album." The album, titled From Beer to Eternity ,
11544-527: Was recorded and mixed largely at Southern Studios in London and Hansa Tonstudio in West Berlin during 1985, with the On-U Sound Records owner Adrian Sherwood and Jourgensen sharing co-production duties. Despite the contribution of several others (namely Belgian singer Luc van Acker and Sherwood's Tackhead bandmate Keith LeBlanc ), the album material was mainly performed by Jourgensen, listed as
11655-606: Was released on Sanctuary Records . Around 2001, Jourgensen almost lost his arm when he was bitten by a venomous spider. By his own admission, Jourgensen was suicidal during this period and decided to call an acquaintance he had met years earlier; the acquaintance, Angelina Lukacin, helped Jourgensen give up his massive substance habit, which included heroin and cocaine " speedballs ", crack , LSD , various pharmaceuticals and as many as two full bottles of Bushmills whiskey per day (Lukacin and Jourgensen married soon after). Jourgensen and Barker, along with Max Brody who had joined as
11766-540: Was released on July 14, 1992 and peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard 200 chart. Soon after, Ministry was invited to headline the second Lollapalooza tour with Pearl Jam , Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soundgarden , among others, before commencing a tour of Europe and the US, with Helmet and Sepultura as supporting acts. In October 1994, Ministry performed at the eighth Bridge School Benefit charity concert , with sets of cover songs (most prominently Bob Dylan's " Lay Lady Lay ") and one original song, "Paisley", which
11877-592: Was released on March 5, 2008. In addition to this single, two albums of covers/remixes, Cover Up (April 1, 2008) and Undercover (December 6, 2010) were released. All of these releases are credited to Ministry and Co-Conspirators , since they feature collaborations between Jourgensen and other musicians. Ministry's "farewell" tour, the "C-U-LaTour", started its North American leg on March 26, 2008 with Meshuggah performing as special guests and Hemlock as an opening act. They played their final North American shows in Chicago on May 10 and 12, 2008. The final date on
11988-405: Was released on September 6, 2013. Jourgensen stated that Ministry would tour in support of From Beer to Eternity , but would not record any more albums. In an April 2016 interview with Loudwire , Jourgensen stated that Ministry would make a follow-up to From Beer to Eternity "if the circumstances are right." When asked in July about the possibility of a new album, Jourgensen stated, "When I
12099-509: Was severely depressed during this period, that Filth Pig reflects this, and that he dislikes performing music from Filth Pig . Ministry recorded their final studio album for Warner Bros. Records, Dark Side of the Spoon (1999), which they dedicated to William Tucker , who committed suicide earlier that year. For Dark Side of the Spoon , Ministry tried to diversify their sound by adding some melodic and synthetic touches to their usual electro-metal sound, along with some jazz influences, but
12210-537: Was to begin on 1 July and extend until August. In May 2020, the band announced that they postponed all dates on the Industrial Strength Tour until 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The 25–date tour, with KMFDM and Front Line Assembly, was scheduled to take place in March and April 2021; the trek was once again postponed to the fall of 2021, this time with Helmet replacing KMFDM, who were unable to partake in
12321-456: Was working on a new album called Relapse , which they hoped to release by Christmas. Regarding the sound of the new material, he explained, "We've only got five songs to go. I've been listening to it the last couple of weeks and I wasn't really in the mood, I was just taking it as a joke. Just to pass the time at first but [Mikey's] raving about it. It's like, dude c'mon, this is not about Bush, so ... that part's over. The ulcers are gone and Bush
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