Ministry has tried many different kinds of things during their long career.  The band started in the beginning of the eighties as a lightweight synth pop band, but during the years the band’s sound has gotten heavier and heavier. The commercial peak of the band’s career was in 1992, when the album “Psalm 69” sold platinum in the US and the single cut “Jesus Built My Hot Rod” was on heavy MTV rotation.
Last couple of years Ministry has been concentrating on spreading their angst on the incompetence of its homeland’s leaders. The band’s commercial golden age is clearly over, but there are still things to say.
Ministry has always heavily centered on the singer and multi-instrumentalist Al Jourgensen. Long time bass player Paul Barker left the band in 2003, and after that the band has been working on several different line-ups.
Al Jourgensen, born in Havana, Cuba in 1958, has always been quite a strange character – former heroin addict, who has strongly considered thoughts on almost everything. And the man isn’t afraid to say out loud his often very provocative thoughts.

Industrial?

When making “Rio Grande Blood”, the Ministry line-up consisted of Tommy Victor (Prong) on guitar and Paul Raven (Killing Joke) on bass. The new guys were involved in the songwriting process as well, and Jourgensen says the album was born very naturally.
“On our earlier albums we used lots of computers, while this album was made by jamming in the garage”, says Jourgensen, who is calling from his home in Texas.
“We just turned on our amps, put the volume on eleven and started rocking. I guess that’s what the album sounds like as well. It was easy to write songs, because I was angry and pissed of, which is always a good starting point for making music.”

“On our earlier albums we used lots of computers, while this album was made by jamming in the garage”, “We just turned on our amps, put the volume on eleven and started rocking. I guess that’s what the album sounds like as well. It was easy to write songs, because I was angry and pissed of, which is always a good starting point for making music.”

Being angry and pissed of also influenced the fact that “Rio Grande Blood” was put together rather quickly, without polishing it too much. Computers disappeared from the studio together with Paul Barker.
“Making the record was pretty intensive – we had 18 hour working days. We had to do it fast because the other guys have other bands as well, so the record had to be made in time or we couldn’t have finished it at all. This is also the most organic record we’ve ever made. Actually, I don’t even like computers that much.”

Quite a surprising comment coming from a man who’s considered to be one of the forefathers of industrial music.
“Music is music, that’s all the categorization you need. I have never myself thought Ministry to be industrial, it’s a stamp other people have put on us. It was never my aim to be any kind of pioneer, either. I’ve always made music based on my feelings. I never planned to have a 25 year career, it just happened.”

The price of gas and the right-wing selfishness

Al Jourgensen is a man who likes to keep it straight. When making an interview he shoots his answer to every question quickly and without blabbering too much. However, there is one subject that the man really is prepared to speak about. This subject is easy to guess even after becoming familiar with “Rio Grande Blood” on the surface level.

You’re not really a fan of George W. Bush, ehh?
“No”, Jourgensen says quickly. He doesn’t laugh; apparently the whole thing isn’t that funny for him.

When one asks Jourgensen to list Bush’s negative sides, the flood gates finally open.
“He is an arrogant, greedy bastard, who will break every rule and regulation so that his friends can earn more money. He is a spineless idiot. But Bush is after all a small part of the problem, that’s actually the sad part. He doesn’t actually lead this country, even if he thinks he does. The whole US political system, having two parties and the selfishness of the right wing, would need a radical re-arranging. If there was no Bush, there would be another similar idiot.”
Indeed, “Rio Grande Blood” seems to be an album made by people who are not too fond of the current US president. Even the title “Rio Grande Blood” (which is the nickname of oil in Texas) and the album cover (which shows George W. Bush crucified in a barrel of oil) promise this is a record that’s heavily politically charged. The music of the album also fulfills that promise: the title track that opens the album already mixes Ministry’s aggressive pounding with samples from the speech of the younger Bush, and the whole thing is pretty difficult to misunderstand.

Jourgensen can offer a couple of real life examples on how the Bush’s government has messed up.
“Arranging help for the New Orleans catastrophe was a chaotic process, which made many people lost their lives. This wouldn’t have happened if we would have had a real leader instead of Bush. Also, the whole Iraq war is something really sick. Also, social security, the price of gas and many other economical things are rather messed up.”

An honest election?

Al Jourgensen has said that Bush and his government is his biggest muse at the moment. Artists have, of course, been always influenced by their country’s current political situation, but in the case of Ministry the music seems to be only the tool to bring the message across. That doesn’t mean that “Rio Grande Blood” wouldn’t work on a purely musical level as well, but the main reaction to the record is still that somebody does not like George W. Bush.

What was you reaction when you heard Bush has been re-elected?
“It was quite a shock, it was quite hard to believe to be true. We were on tour in Nashville, and the whole situation was quite absurd. First I was really depressed, then I became really angry. But you can’t help it anymore, this is what happened and we just have to live with it. However, I don’t believe Bush will be elected for the third time even if he tried to, so we just have to wait to get rid of him.”

From a European viewpoint it looks rather weird that he was re-elected. Jourgensen thinks it might not have been the real, honest result of the vote.
“I don’t necessarily believe this result actually reflects to what people really voted. The polls before the voting predicted victory for Kerry. These were the first elections that this online system was used in counting the votes, so some kind cheating is possible. This country is so corrupted that anything is possible.”

People, however, campaigned strongly against Bush quite actively. In the rock music circles there were several movements that tried to make people give their votes for the democratic candidate John Kerry. Obviously the campaign against Bush was not strong enough.
“It wasn’t, when the end result was this. However, I don’t believe it was all in vain – look at Bush’s current popularity ratings. People are starting to realize what kind of man he is, and I’m sure the campaigning against Bush has had a large effect on this. And the campaigning also had the effect that many young people, who previously weren’t interested in politics, voted. Young people are nowadays better aware of what elections are about.”

The end is at sight

When “Rio Grande Blood” hit the stores, Ministry started spreading it’s political message at gigs. Jourgensen’s most important side project Revolting Cocks will be the touring partner.
“This is the first time, and probably the last time as well, when Ministry and Revolting Cocks are going to tour together. Because many members of the band have various other projects as well, it takes lot of planning and preparation to get even one band’s tour prepared. Personally I think I would need an oxygen machine to get through the tour.”

Al Jourgensen is known as a man who has had many different projects over the years. Right now the only project besides Ministry and Revolting Cocks is Lard, which features Jourgensen and Jello Biafra.
“I guess three projects is enough for one man. All kinds of things naturally happen, but right now I will concentrate on these. There’s not enough time even for Lard, anyway, even if it would be nice to do something with Biafra. Well, he guests on the new Ministry record.”

What will happen to Ministry after you have finished touring for “Rio Grande Blood”? And what will happen after Bush is finally out of the white house?
“Ministry will make one more record, after that I will concentrate on other things. There is no point in continuing with Ministry when Bush is not the leader any more.

However, Jourgensen can’t say yet what these “other things” will be.
“I actually don’t know yet. Revolting Cocks and Lard will have a large role, naturally, but I would like to produce other bands as well.”

Jourgensen has a clear vision on what he wants people to feel when listening to the new album.
“I hope people will be as angry as I was when making the record, and still am. I don’t really believe many people listening to Ministry support Bush anyway, but for me it is important to vent my anger.”

www.ministrymusic.org
www.thirteenthplanet.com

Composed by Tapio Ahola