Before they became the industrial metal band they are more so known for today, Ministry was just another synthpop band hitting the 80's scene. Al Jourgensen founded the band in 1981, though frequent lineup changes have left him as the only remaining original member these days.
Ministry performed their debut concert among the likes of Medium Medium, A Flock of Seagulls, Culture Club, and Depeche Mode, and it was this added attention that Arista Records would take notice. Signing a six figure deal led to the release of their debut, With Sympathy. Unfortunately, upon its release, critics were not kind. The band was noted as having no originality, yet were praised at the same time for having dance friendly tunes.
Jourgensen would soon voice his own concerns against his record label, claiming they forced him into recording a synthpop style album, when this wasn't what he wanted to do. Ministry would leave the label, and of course, lawsuits would ensue. Since then, Ministry has desperately tried to separate themselves from their debut, with Jourgensen claiming a number of facets as to why he dislikes the album every time he's asked. Apparently it was enough for him to claim that he had destroyed the masters.
Well, if the creator hates it so much, the album must be terrible, yes? Well...No.
The stand out track for me is definitely the single, I Wanted To Tell Her, but the remaining nine are far from bad. Here We Go would have been a decent B side to the single. What He Say was equally intriguing not only because of the music, but for the weird vocals incorporated into the track.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, overall, there is good stuff here. Certainly not something to hate. If anything, it makes me kind of sad that their music style would change with future albums to the nose bleed noisy headache that it would become. Personally, I want more Ministry like their debut, and less like what they are now.
Though it would be three years after their debut, Ministry would release their follow up, Twitch on Sire Records in 1986. This would be the band's final synthpop style album before their 1988 breakthrough, The Land Of Rape And Honey. It would be on this album that Paul Baker would join as bassist, and serve as inspiration for Jourgensen to start moving towards the style of music he actually wanted to make. Both Land, and 1989's The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste would go gold.
Since then, and the unfortunate coming of the 90's, the band has continued to release albums catered to a more "noisy" audience. For me, that's a shame, but hey the artist has to do what the artist likes, and clearly that's the style of music Jorgensen wants to play. I don't hate him for it. It just means that most of the band's stuff isn't for me.
1992's ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ, remains to this day Ministry's most popular album, and the only one to be certified platinum. However, this hasn't slowed them down at all. They have continued to release albums, with their latest being 2024's Hopium for the Masses.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS March 28, 1981 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS March 28, 1987 |
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