This is your
final warning

>>Industrial dance-metal icons Ministry
deliver their last sermon

THE BITTER END: Ministry

By LATEEF MARTIN

This year’s C U LaTour marks the end of the road for Ministry—on an election year no less, apt for a band known for its jagged political commentary. 2007’s The Last Sucker marked the conclusion of Ministry’s anti-George W. Bush trilogy. On the other hand, the very recent anthology Cover Up, Ministry’s 12th release, is an album of mostly “eight-track-era” tunes—Deep Purple, ZZ Top, the Doors, T-Rex, a punk-rock cover of Louie Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and more. “Always judge a band by its covers,” says frontman Al Jourgensen.

Tearing up stages has also torn up Jourgensen’s throat and he is now battling the flu, saving his voice for the rest of the tour, so on his behalf, Ministry guitarist Sin Quirin (also of Revolting Cocks) and guest vocalist Burton Bell (ex-Fear Factory) spoke to the Mirror while making a stop in Atlanta.

Mirror: This is Ministry’s last tour. Ever! Why now?

Sin Quirin: It was Al’s decision, he’s been doing this since the ’80s and he’s over saying what he’s had to say. But it’s not his demise, he has other things to do.

M: Like Revolting Cocks.

SQ: We’ve just finished the brand new Rev-Co album, it’s out in September, it’s called Sexo Olimpico and there will be a Rev-Co tour towards the end of 2008 or in 2009.

M: When writing with Ministry, do you try to pay tribute to the legacy of their sound or just forge ahead with your own flavour?

SQ: It’s a little of both. When I went in to write for The Last Sucker, Al wanted me to make the album very heavy, heavier that [2006’s] Rio Grande Blood. But realizing it was gonna be the last Ministry album, I sorta dove into the older Ministry stuff, and the songs I brought to the table have more of an older Ministry sound.

M: Burton, did you get mangled in the machine works of Ministry?

Burton Bell: John [Bechdel], my partner in [post-FF project] Ascension of the Watchers, and [recently deceased Ministry bassist] Paul Raven had been working with Ministry for the past couple of years. When I found out that Ministry was recording their last record, I was like, “Oh my God, I gotta be involved with that.” I talked to Al and he asked me to write lyrics, he was happy with them and he was like ‘Let’s do ’em!’”

M: How does touring with Ministry feel, compared to fronting the Factory?

B: For me, there’s no stress, I get to sing other people’s songs! It’s all about Al. This is a Ministry show, I just go onstage. In some ways, it’s like karaoke for me!

M: Al’s been on Bush’s back for a while now. Have you noticed a difference in your audiences’ reactions lately?

SQ: Yeah, there are some people that follow the lyrical content very closely. We actually get a lot of fans in the military that come up to us and shake our hands and dig what we’re about. Everybody’s into it for different reasons—some are just Ministry fans.

M: What’s next for Al?

SQ: He’s going to be producing with the many bands on his label, 13th Planet—he’s a phenomenal producer, arranger and writer. He scored a little bit of the music for the horror movie Wicked Lake, but a lot of the bands on the soundtrack are 13th Planet bands.

With Meshuggah and Hemlock
at Metropolis on Saturday,
May 3, 8 p.m., $45, all ages