MINISTRY ( IS THE END NIGH?) MAYBE NOT!

May 3, 2025 Sunray Magazine

Ministry at the Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ. 4|29|25

I remember going over to a friend’s house back in 1996. He said he stole this tape from his mom, and that we should definitely not be watching it. We were 12 years old at the time. That movie was DOOM GENERATION! Actor James Duval had a ministry shirt on, and I was on a mission to find out what or who Ministry was. I randomly came across the album Psalm 69 in a warehouse music store. I was lucky enough that my parents didn’t really care about what kind of music I listened to. As soon as the first song ‘NOW’ hit, I was instantly hooked and dove into their catalog. With Filth Pig and ‘A mind is a terrible thing to taste’ becoming two of my all-time favorite records. Growing up in the Los Angeles goth scene, albums like ‘Twitch’ and ‘With sympathy’ were two albums that I absolutely loved. We all know the story of Uncle Al’s dismissal of the first two records with a fiery dislike for both albums. The record labels were pressuring Al which made him have a strong dislike for them. As we all know, he said it would never happen to perform them live.

It’s now 2025, and we’re getting a full tour of songs from both albums, ‘With sympathy’ and ‘Twitch’.

Phoenix AZ got the first night ff the tour and The Van Buren seemed to be sold out as it was packed from wall to wall. Opening up the show was ‘Die Krupps and ‘Nitzer Ebb’. Right before Ministry hit the stage, there was this feeling in the air of anticipation and excitement. You could hear people around saying how excited they were this was finally happening, and how long they had waited to see these songs live. 9:30 hit the lights dimmed, and it was finally here to go back in time and to fill all the hearts of old and new goths / new wave fans. The theme on stage was red roses. Al Jourgensen’s impressive biomechanical mic stand was covered with beautiful red roses. Opening up the night with ‘Work for love’ and playing a couple of songs that they haven’t played since 1982 to 1984, like ‘Here we go’, ‘ I’ll do anything for you ‘, and ‘ Same old madness’.

This whole set was a trip down memory lane and If you looked in any direction you saw true Ministry fans dancing the night away. Realizing how much these two albums meant to us, it was such a divine moment in Ministry’s long history. With Al and crew embracing these albums and performing them pretty much flawlessly. If you’re a long-time Ministry fan, this is not the tour to miss! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness these songs live. Break out your eyeliner/ boots and dance the night away.

MINSTRY BAND LINEUP:

Al Jourgensen – vocals/guitar

Cesar Soto – guitar

Monte Pittman – guitar

Paul D’Amour – bass

Pepe Clarke Magaña – drums

John Bechdel – keys