Ministry‘s final studio album is set to be released by Cleopatra Records. The iconic industrial metal band, known for their platinum-certified sound, is gearing up to conclude their career with their seventeenth studio effort. This upcoming album features the return of bassist and programmer Paul Barker, who left the band in 2003.
Barker first joined the group in 1986 and was a key figure during their rise, contributing to some of their most significant releases, such as the gold-certified albums Land of Rape and Honey and 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 and guitarist Al Jourgensen shared his thoughts on this new project:
“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!”
Brian Perera, the President of Cleopatra Records, offered:
“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 was previously associated with Nuclear Blast Records, but they’ve released a number of reissues, live albums, and compilations through Cleopatra Records in the past. If this announcement feels familiar, it’s because the band initially disbanded in 2008 before reuniting in 2011.
It appears that Jourgensen is genuinely committed to retiring this time. He expressed his views to Rolling Stone earlier this 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.”
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