Collection: The Ministry​

Ministry is the brainchild of [a86726. Beginning in 1981, playing synth-pop with a strong disco influence, they released their first 12" on [l953, before being signed to [l362 and releasing their debut "[m=7612," in 1983. After a falling out with the label and the direction of the project, Jourgensen returned to [l953 to release a series of 12" Singles, including "[m=213065," which became an instant club favorite and would go on to become one of the band's most popular songs.

Jourgensen then signed to [l27031/[l1000 in 1985. Ministry's second album "[m=16563," was produced by [a4969, and had a more menacing sound reflecting Jourgensen's interest in the international EBM (electronic body music) scene of the time. Ministry's third album, "[m=7643," (1988), was both a natural evolution of their aesthetic and a sharp break with previous pop tendencies and, with the arrival of [a100041 and other new members, Ministry's sound developed into a crossover between EBM, industrial, and heavy metal. Their experimentation with heavy metal was then continued with the following "[m=7332," (1989), where the guitar began to take on much more importance to their sound. Ministry's breakthrough album, "[m=7376," (1992), was a very dark, powerful, and violent album, that saw the band moving further into thrash metal while still retaining elements of industrial music and noise. The following records "[m=7396," (1996), and "[m=7510," (1999), showcased a much more straightforward heavy metal sound, to lower sales than previous records. The band released their first best of collection entitled "[m=292713," (2001), and were then dropped by [l1000.

In 2003, the band then moved to [l36259 and released "[m=7543,". [a100041 left the band in January 2004, leaving Jourgensen to put together a new line-up for "[m=16549." After the 2004 "Evil Doer Tour," there was yet another change in personnel with [a68599 founder [a185073 on guitar and [a22534 (who had also played in Prong and in Killing Joke) on bass. In May, 2006, Ministry released "[m=16269," which was quickly followed by what was announced as their final album, "[m=16284," in 2007, and a collection of covers entitled "[m=7414," in 2008.

Despite Jourgensen's claim that the band was over, 2010 saw another collection, mixing covers and remixes, entitled "[m=493113." Following a serious illness, [a86726 decided to re-start the band with [a264545 and two new Ministry albums followed, "[m=422618," in 2012 and "[m=595839," in 2013. Scaccia's death in 2012 had apparently brought a final, definite end to the band with the 2013 album, until early 2017 when Jourgensen began working on a new album, tentatively titled "AmeriKKKant."