Ministry‘s final studio album will be emerging through Cleopatra Records. The platinum-certified industrial metal trailblazers are planning to cap off their career with their upcoming seventeenth studio album. That effort is being written and recorded with returning bassist/programmer, etc. Paul Barker, who exited the band back in 2003.
Originally joining the roster in 1986, Barker was a significant member among the group’s lengthy list of past participants, appearing on their most commercially and culturally impactful releases, including the gold-certified “Land Of Rape And Honey” & “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste“, as well as the platinum-certified “Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs“..
Vocalist/guitarist, etc. Al Jourgensen said of this effort:
“Looking forward to how this new and FINAL Ministry record comes out. Turns out working with Paul is like riding a bike; you never forget how. Buckle up, this is going to be a good one. It seems that everything has come full circle, with the re-inclusion of Paul for the FINAL record, it’s like wrapping a bow on a 40-plus-year career.”
Barker added:
“After a couple years apart, these new recording sessions started in our tried-and-true manner: we started going in opposite directions that circled around which inevitably forced us to meet in the middle, much like a particle accelerator!”
Cleopatra Records president Brian Perera also chimed in on the news, offering:
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Ministry back home to Cleopatra. We’ve always taken great care of their classic Wax Trax! recordings, and now, as we reunite with Paul and Al, we’re ready to continue honoring and expanding their iconic legacy.”
Ministry had most recently been aligned with Nuclear Blast Records. They’ve previously delivered several reissues, live albums and compilations through Cleopatra Records in the past. If you’re having some déjà vu over Ministry hanging it up, the band did indeed call it quits back in 2008, before reuniting in 2011.
Jourgensen seems more firmly invested in retirement this time around, telling Rolling Stone this past spring:
“I’m 65 now. I was hoping to retire at 65, but two years of Covid made it so I can’t afford that yet. So I’ll do another couple years, and then that’s it. There’s no point in touring. And touring gets harder as you’re older anyways, and I don’t really want to do the whole casino circuit.”
He further added in that conversation, “I’m not divulging my medical records, so there might be underlying reasons why it’s also time to go. I’ll just put it at that.”
