MINISTRY’s 16th studio album, “Hopiumforthemasses”, is out today via Nuclear Blast Records and streaming on all networks
After months of teasing album singles and videos for “Goddamn White Trash”, plus “Just Stop Oil” and “B.D.E.”, the six-time Grammy Award-nominated MINISTRY has another new track out today with “New Religion”.
You can check out the music video for “New Religion” below.
MINISTRY founder and leader Al Jourgensen states about the track: “All traditional faiths seem to pale in comparison to our new ‘Deity’ Media.”
Jourgensen is joined in MINISTRY by John Bechdel (keyboards), Monte Pittman and Cesar Soto (guitars), Roy Mayorga (drums) and Paul D’Amour (bass).
“Hopiumforthemasses” also has a slew of special guest contributors, including GOGOL BORDELLO‘s Eugene Hutz, longtime collaborator and LARD companion Jello Biafra and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY frontman Pepper Keenan.
“Just like you or anybody else, I’m simply a passenger in this lifetime,” said Jourgensen. “I’m watching social changes, political changes, and economic changes, and I comment on them because I do have a First Amendment right. A lot of people say artists and athletes should shut up and play ball. No, I’m on this trip too. If I see something, I say something. That reflects on where each album goes. Instead of staying sedentary and singing about broken relationships, inner turmoil, or whatever is hurting this week, I comment on what’s going on from the perspective of a fellow passenger.”
MINISTRY “Hopiumforthemasses” track listing:
01. B.D.E.
02. Goddamn White Trash***
03. Just Stop Oil
04. Aryan Embarrassment**
05. TV Song 1/6 Edition
06. New Religion
07. It’s Not Pretty
08. Cult of Suffering*
09. Ricky’s Hand
* Featuring Eugene Hütz (GOGOL BORDELLO)
** Featuring Jello Biafra
***Featuring Pepper Keenan
Speaking with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, Al Jourgensen confirmed that he is planning to wrap up MINISTRY, more than 40 years after starting the band.
“Film scores are really where I wanna be right now,” he said: “After we take care of like the last couple albums, last couple tours coming up here, then, yeah, I’m pretty much into film scoring and activism.
“At that point, I honestly think that — because our lyrics are pretty sarcastic and politically charged, yet I really think I’d make more of a difference in the long run by being just strictly an activist without pay, very similar to what Tom Morello is doing. So more along those lines. Between that and film scores. I’m quite happy. It’s not like I’m just gonna curl up into a ball and get a grandma blanket and watch TV all day or something and play golf.
“The creative process doesn’t stop,” he explained. “It’s just that you refocus it as opposed to like just one band all the time and trying to top yourself and make sure that you don’t suck less than the last one. That’s not interesting to me at this point. Just keep moving forward.”
Discussing further his decision to pursue activism and film scoring as a career once MINISTRY is done, Al said: “Well, unless the world suddenly changes, which I doubt. MINISTRY seems to get better the shittier the world gets. So, maybe there’s a case to be made that if it keeps getting shittier, maybe we should do more albums. But you know what? I really think the time the time is done. I have friends like Alice [Cooper] and Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP and Rick Nielsen of CHEAP TRICK and they love playing live, they love getting back in front of an audience and getting that rush, that adulation.
“But when I’m on stage, I’ve never in my entire career gotten that rush from playing live. I’m too busy thinking about, like, ‘Is the monitor frequency correct?’ and this and that, and who’s doing what and all that. I don’t even hear the crowd. And especially since we keep playing bigger and bigger places, it’s not like you can pick out individual faces or anything. It’s just literally a blur of kind of a pastel color with like some annoying noise at the end of each song while I’m already thinking about the next song.
“So I won’t miss that at all. I won’t miss touring and I won’t miss recording MINISTRY because of the pressure of kind of being constrained, either a) to make it better, or b) to make it worse instead of just letting it flow like you do on a film score. And not only that — I love collaboration, so working with the director is perfect for me. I love collaborating. That’s why I had so many bands in the ’80s and ’90s. I love collaboration, but only now I’ll be collaborating with directors as opposed to other musicians. So, I find that an interesting twist in my road and I’m looking forward to it.”