Cleopatra Records has announced the signing of the legendary industrial band MINISTRY, featuring key members Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker.
Brian Perera, president of Cleopatra Records, shared his excitement about the reunion: “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome MINISTRY back home to Cleopatra. We’ve always taken great care of their classic Wax Trax! recordings, and now, as we reunite with Paul and Al, we’re ready to continue honoring and expanding their iconic legacy.”
Al says: “Looking forward to how this new and FINAL MINISTRY record comes out. Turns out working with Paul is like riding a bike; you never forget how. Buckle up, this is going to be a good one. It seems that everything has come full circle, with the re-inclusion of Paul for the FINAL record, it’s like wrapping a bow on a 40-plus-year career.”
Paul adds: “After a couple years apart, these new recording sessions started in our tried-and-true manner: we started going in opposite directions that circled around which inevitably forced us to meet in the middle, much like a particle accelerator!”
MINISTRY‘s return to Cleopatra Records marks a new chapter for the band and their fans, with their highly anticipated last-ever album due in 2025. This release promises to capture the essence of MINISTRY‘s groundbreaking sound while delivering fresh, innovative tracks that will resonate with both longtime followers and new listeners alike.
The news follows MINISTRY‘s whirlwind summer as a featured guest on the “Freaks On Parade” tour headlined by ROB ZOMBIE and ALICE COOPER. MINISTRY has one more concert date left for 2024, with an appearance at California’s Aftershock festival on October 10.
MINISTRY‘s 16th studio album, “Hopiumforthemasses”, is also out now via Nuclear Blast Records and streaming on all networks, featuring single “Goddamn White Trash”, plus “Just Stop Oil”, as well as “B.D.E.” and “New Religion”.
Joined by MINISTRY‘s current frontline of musicians — creator and mastermind Al Jourgensen, John Bechdel (keyboards),Monte Pittman and Cesar Soto (guitars),Roy Mayorga (drums) and Paul D’Amour (bass) — “Hopiumforthemasses” also has a slew of special guest contributors including GOGOL BORDELLO‘s Eugene Hutz, longtime collaborator and LARD companion Jello Biafra and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY frontman Pepper Keenan.
Born in 1981 in Chicago, MINISTRY has been the lifetime passion project of founder Al Jourgensen, considered to be the pioneer of industrial music. In its early days, MINISTRY was identifiable by its heavy synth-pop material in line with the new sounds and technology that were being developed in the 1980s. MINISTRY‘s output began with four 12-inch singles on Wax Trax! Records in 1981 before the first LP “With Sympathy” in 1983 via Arista Records. As time progressed however, so did MINISTRY, quickly developing a harsher, and more stylized sound that the band soon became infamous for on seminal albums “Twitch” (1986),“The Land Of Rape And Honey” (1988) and “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste” (1989). With the release of “Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs” (1992),MINISTRY hit an all-time high in the mainstream musical realm and received its first Grammy nomination. In total, MINISTRY has been nominated for a Grammy Award six times. Eight more albums would follow before an indefinite break in 2013, only to be unearthed again in 2018 with “AmeriKKKant”, continuing to reflect Jourgensen‘s views on the frightening state of society and politics. The 2021 album “Moral Hygiene” marked a new creative era of Jourgensen and the band. MINISTRY‘s 16th studio album, “Hopiumforthemasses”, was released March 1, 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.