Ministry was formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1981 by Alain Jourgensen (born Oct. 8, 1958, Havana, Cuba); he had moved to the U.S. with his mother while very young and lived in a succession of cities, eventually working as a radio DJ and joining a new wave band called Special Affect (fronted by future My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult leader Frankie Nardiello, aka Groovie Mann). Featuring drummer Stephen George, Ministry debuted with the Wax Trax! single Cold Life, which -- typical of their early output -- was more in the synth pop/dance style of new wavers like the Human League or Thompson Twins. The album With Sympathy appeared on the major label Arista in 1983 and followed a similar musical direction, one that Jourgensen was dissatisfied with; he returned to Wax Trax! and recorded several singles while rethinking the band's style and for
ming his notorious side project the Revolting Cocks.
In 1985, with Jourgensen the only official member of Ministry, the Adrian Sherwood-produced Twitch was released by Sire Records; while not as aggressive as the group's later, more popular material, it found Jourgensen taking definite steps in that direction. Following a 1987 single with Skinny Puppy's Kevin Ogilvie (aka nivek ogre) as PTP, Jourgensen once again revamped Ministry, with former Blackouts bassist Paul Barker officially joining the lineup to complement Jourgensen's rediscovery of the guitar; fellow ex-Blackouts William Rieflin (drums) and Mike Scaccia (guitar), as well as vocalist Chris Connelly, were heavily showcased as collaborators for the first of several times on 1988's The Land of Rape and Honey. With Jourgensen and Barker credited as Hypo Luxa and Hermes Pan, respectively, this album proved to be Ministry's stylistic breakthrough, a taut, explosive fusion of heavy metal, industrial dance beats and samples, and punk aggression. 1989's The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste built on its predecessor's artistic success, and In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up was recorded on its supporting tour, introducing other frequent Ministry contributors like drummer Martin Atkins (ex-Public Image Ltd., later of Pigface) and guitarist William Tucker (as well as featuring a guest shot from Jello Biafra). Jourgensen next embarked on a flurry of side projects, including the aforementioned Revolting Cocks (with Barker, Barker's brother Roland, Front 242 members Luc Van Acker and Richard 23, and many more), 1000 Homo DJs (with Biafra, Rieflin, and Trent Reznor), Acid Horse (a collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire), Pailhead (with Ian MacKaye), and Lard (again with Biafra, Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin).
In late 1991, Ministry issued the single Jesus Built My Hotrod, a driving rocker featuring manic nonsense vocals by co-writer Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers; its exposure on MTV helped build anticipation for the following year's full-length Psalm 69 (subtitled The Way to Succeed & the Way to Suck Eggs, although the only title that appears on the album consists of a few Greek letters and symbols). The record reached the Top 30 and went platinum, producing two further MTV hits with N.W.O. and Just One Fix, and Ministry consolidated its following with a spot on the second Lollapalooza tour that summer (joined by new guitarist Louis Svitek). However, drug and legal problems sidelined the band in the wake of its newfound popularity, resulting in the clouded Filth Pig being released in 1995, too late to capitalize on their prior success. More problems with drugs and arrests followed, and Jourgensen returned to some of his side projects, recording a new album with Lard, among others. In 1999, the new single Bad Blood was featured prominently in the sci-fi special-effects blockbuster film The Matrix, setting the stage for the release of Dark Side of the Spoon (the title a reference to the band's heroin problems) later that summer. Guitarist William Tucker committed suicide in May 1999. The band was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for "Bad Blood," but they lost to Black Sabbath and were dropped from Warner Bros. around the same time. They were also added to the Ozzfest tour, but they were kicked off before it even began because of a management change. To compound their sorrows, Ipecac Records announced three live albums to be released with material from the Psalm 69 tour being the main focus, but they only had a verbal agreement and when Warner Bros. caught wind of the project they stamped it out despite already having the CDs ready for printing. In 2001, the band filmed a scene for Steven Spielberg's A.I. and released the song from the film on a greatest-hits album, appropriately titled Greatest Fits. The song received a decent amount of promotion, but the single went nowhere and the group signed to Sanctuary Records later in the year. While recording new material, they released the Sphinctour album and DVD in the spring of 2002 to satisfy rabid fans who were disappointed by the Ipecac situation. The next spring, Animositisomina was released, advertised as a return to the Psalm 69 style of songwriting and featuring a cover of Magazine's The Light Pours Out Of Me. Houses Of The Molé followed in June 2004. In September 2005 Ministry celebrated their 25th anniversary with Rantology. Jourgensen remixed such past hits as "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and "N.W.O. for the set; it also included live material, rarities, and the new track Great Satan. An extensive tour with Revolting Cocks in tow followed.
In 2007, after nearly three decades, nearly a dozen studio albums, and four Grammy nominations, Ministry released its final studio album, The Last Sucker. The third in an uber-critical trilogy aimed at exposing the foils, failures and fabrications perpetrated by the George W. Bush Administration, The Last Sucker follows 2004’s Houses Of The Molé and 2006’s Rio Grande Blood. Ministry embarked on its final world tour in the spring of 2008 – the “C U LaTour.”
Since Ministry's folding, Jourgenson has concentrated on running his label, 13th Planet Records. Three post-break-up Ministry albums have been released since The Last Sucker:
- The Last Dubber - a remix album of The Last Sucker.
- Cover Up - a compilation of new and old cover versions by Ministry.
- Adios - a live album documenting the "C U LaTour".
On August 7, 2011, it was announced that Ministry was reforming and would play at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 2–4, 2012. The reunion lineup features Al Jourgensen on vocals, Mike Scaccia and Tommy Victor both on guitar, Aaron Rossi on drums, John Bechdel on keyboards and Tony Campos on bass.
Jourgensen told Metal Hammer in August 2011 that Ministry has been working on a new album called Relapse, which they hope 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 parts over. The ulcers are gone and Bush 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 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 3, 2012 was announced.
On December 23, 2011, Ministry released "99%", the first single from Relapse, and will begin streaming it on their Facebook page two days later.
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