-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
Survey
Sign up today!
Al Jourgensen must have seen the writing on the wall: First came the departure of longtime Ministry partner Paul Barker. Then recent recruit on bass and longtime associate Paul Raven (formerly of industrial legends Killing Joke) died of an apparent heart attack. Those losses were just the latest in a string of unwelcome changes in the Ministry camp, with Jourgensen’s hard-earned sobriety one of the sole bright points. With nearly all of Ministry’s peers gone, pale shadows of their former selves or finally grown up (Chris Connelly—from Revolting Cock to sensitive singer-songwriter and poet!), perhaps Jourgensen recognized it was time to move on and put Ministry out to pasture following one last tour.
Then again, in a world of unending Kiss farewells and Cher’s broken retirement promises, we remain understandably wary of accepting this as the end. Since announcing the group’s final jaunt, Jourgensen has released a covers album under the Ministry monicker (Cover Up), recorded a theme song for the Chicago Blackhawks (“Keys to the City”) and booked a whopping four-night run at the House of Blues for a protracted goodbye.
So will this really be the finish line for Ministry? Well, the “group” began and ended as the brainchild of Jourgensen, so don’t be surprised if the pseudonym and side project–happy rocker sticks around a little longer in one form or another. God knows, Jourgensen still must be confident of his abilities, as few other headliners would dare book jaw-dropping, scene-stealing Swedish math-metal stars Meshuggah as openers.
