Thanks to the downtime afforded to them by the pandemic, industrial metal band Ministry have already made considerable headway on their sixteenth studio album. That effort is being self-described by band linchpin Al Jourgensen as an “arena rock” record and is expected to be wrapped up by this August.
Speaking recently with Metal Edge about it, Jourgsen offered:
“We have eight songs recorded right now, and even my engineer went, ‘This is total arena rock, dude.’ And I really feel like after that one, we have one more in us, which would be our 19th album. I don’t think I’m gonna hit 20, but I’m pretty certain we’re gonna have 19 by the time we’re done. So we’ll see. I mean, who knows, man? The world is just in such a state of fucking flux. You don’t know what’s gonna happen next fucking week. But this new record, it’s fun stuff.”
He however went on to clarify that his idea of arena rock doesn’t equate to hair metal, adding:
“…When I say arena rock, I don’t mean that this album’s going to be a hair-band fucking album. I mean, it’s Ministry, right? I’m just saying that the chord progressions and the sound of it is just much more… we don’t go off on eclectic tangents as much. These are hard-hitting beats that are in your face, and that you could visualize 20,000 people knowing the lyrics to the songs and chanting along. So the music lends itself more towards a larger stadium atmosphere.”
The pioneering outfit are currently out on the road headlining their ‘The Industrial Strength Tour‘ with Melvins and Corrosion Of Conformity in the opening slots. You can catch that trek, which in part celebrates the 30th anniversary of Ministry‘s 1989 gold-certified album “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste“, at the following shows:
03/08 Huntington, NY – The Paramount
03/09 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
03/11 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
03/12 Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theater
03/13 Portland, ME – State Theatre
03/15 Boston, MA – House of Blues
03/16 Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Riverworks
03/18 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
03/19 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
03/20 Ashville, NC – Orange Peel
03/22 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
03/23 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
03/24 New Orleans, LA – Fillmore (no Melvins)
03/26 Dallas, TX – Amplified Life
03/27 Austin, TX – Emo’s
03/28 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater
03/29 Houston, TX – House of Blues
03/31 Chicago, IL – Riviera
04/01 Cleveland, OH – The Agora
04/02 Milwaukee, WI – The Rage
04/03 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Hall
04/05 St Paul, MN – Palace
04/06 Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
04/07 Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom
04/09 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
04/10 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
04/12 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
04/13 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
04/14 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
04/16 San Francisco, CA – Warfield
04/18 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
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