HUGE* Ministry fan here! I’ve been hooked ever since a co-worker introduced me in the late 1980s to the industrial metal genre found on Twitch and The Land of Rape and Honey. Releases pleasing to my mind, body, and wespirit followed later, too. During the Presidency of George W. Bush aka “Shrub” (thanks to muckraker Molly Ivins) and “Satan’s Emissary on Earth” (…Ministry themselves), Ministry released the phenomenally epic “Bush Trilogy,” i.e., thrash metal within Houses of the Mole, Rio Grande Blood, and The Last Sucker. They represent a trio string nearly unparalleled by any rock and roll band ever. I’ve seen Ministry perform live at least 10 times. Yes, I am a devoted fan despite piss-poor Relapse and the swing to sludge on Filth Pig. Ministry once again provided me with fuel on From Beer to Eternity and, during the Trump years, Amerikkkant.
Ministry toured the world in 2023, and is currently booking gigs with supporting acts Gary Numan and WaxTrax! brethren, Front Line Assembly. Some will consider this a nostalgia tour. However, the juggernaut that is Ministry will release on March 1, 2024, HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES on Nuclear Blast Records. True to Ministry, sampling of voices and FOX News are sprinkled throughout, and Jello Biafra once again, albeit only one song, shares his talents on an Alan Jourgensen release!
HOPIUM, quite simply, lacks focus. The record bogs down and repeats with too much sludge. The last song, “Ricky’s Hand,” echoes Ministry’s dance/synth pop days, which is not necessarily a criticism, given those days gave us the “Every Day is Halloween.” However, Hopium is neither a thrash record nor industrial metal. Also, Hopium never got my neck or fingers snapping-not once. I have no problem with Ministry’s poor performance because its catalog and concerts have given me so much for which to be grateful. No doubt, magisterial Ministry will be born again, perhaps in 2025.
*Does NOT represent an endorsement of Donald Trump.
