Ministry is calling it quits.
This time, it’s really the end for Al Jourgensen (vocals, Surgical Meth Machine, formerly Revolting Cocks…). Joined by John Bechdel (keyboards, ex-Prong), Monte Pittman (guitar, ex-Prong, live with Madonna), Cesar Soto (guitar, ex-3 Headed Snake), Paul D’Amour (bass, ex-Tool), and Pepe Clarke Magaña (drums, Kyng), the Industrial Metal pioneer has signed with Cleopatra Records, announcing his eighteenth and final album, Hate to Go – Take Out or Delivery.
The album kicks off with the catchy Crickets, a track that immediately plunges us back into the band’s cold yet haunting Industrial atmosphere, and we’re delighted to hear the distorted and Mr. Jourgensen’s processed voice, who bellows to his heart’s content but also knows how to make room for the sampled voices of his country’s former presidents. The momentum continues at a brisk pace with Voice or Hate, a track where the band once again shows what they’re made of while weaving a touch of melancholy into their leads, contrasting with the energy of the rhythm section. The breaks effectively kick-start the momentum toward Clown Car, a track that starts off immediately pessimistic but suddenly explodes, displaying a certain simplicity along with that martial edge the band knows how to craft so well, as well as a blend of brutality and more accessible passages. A few glitches mark the start of We Hate, a track that’s strangely a bit calmer and already well-known to fans, but which still proves full of surprises while delivering the band’s trademark social commentary before moving on to the strange introduction of Delete and its various samples that follow one another, overlap, and create utter chaos before the first riffs kick in. The track is fairly accessible to newcomers and allows the band to deliver another effective critique before moving on to the lengthy Grifter, where the vocalist is again quite soft, as are the female backing vocals, while the samples merrily mock the powers that be before launching into The White Man Lied and its intoxicating sounds. Aside from the chorus, which Al screams with effects, the rest of the track is pretty groovy, and Singularity will be too, but in a different way, with much sharper riffs borrowed from thrash, raging nonstop until Burned Out unleashes haunting keyboards while wrapping its rhythm section around them. Once again, the song is quite long, featuring an extended break made up of samples that list a number of recent wars before picking up the pace once more; then the band welcomes back its former keyboardist, Paul Barker (Revolting Cocks) for We’re Still Here, the album’s final track and the culmination of their story – a song that proves to be very heavy, particularly in the choruses and the majestic finale, allowing the band to bow out with their heads held high.
Ministry had nothing left to prove to anyone, but after a forty-five-year career, the band still managed to make a big impact. Hate to Go – Take Out or Delivery is their swan song, don’t miss the final shows.
85/100
