Ministry at Salt Shed Fairgrounds

Ministry is an American industrial metal band formed in Chicago in 1981 by Al Jourgensen. The group began as a synth pop project and later became one of the early contributors to industrial rock and industrial metal during the late 1980s. Ministry has undergone frequent lineup changes, with Jourgensen remaining the only consistent member. Contributors to the band’s studio or live work have included Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, Gibby Haynes, Burton C. Bell, Jello Biafra, Mike Scaccia, Tommy Victor, Cesar Soto, Paul Barker, Paul Raven, Jason Christopher, Tony Campos, Paul D Amour, Jimmy DeGrasso, Bill Rieflin, Martin Atkins, Rey Washam, Max Brody, Joey Jordison, Roy Mayorga, Aaron Rossi, John Bechdel, DJ Swamp and Arabian Prince. The band achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the albums "The Land of Rape and Honey" (1988), "The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste" (1989) and "Psalm 69" (1992). The first two received gold certifications while "Psalm 69" was certified platinum. The follow-up album "Filth Pig" (1996) represented a stylistic shift and reached number nineteen on the Billboard 200, but it received mixed critical response and marked the beginning of a commercial decline. "Dark Side of the Spoon" (1999) was also met with limited success and resulted in Ministry being dropped by Warner Bros. Jourgensen later entered rehab, and the band went on hiatus. Ministry returned in 2003 with "Animositisomina," the final album to feature Paul Barker. The band then released a set of politically themed albums known as the Bush Trilogy: "Houses of the Molé" (2004), "Rio Grande Blood" (2006) and "The Last Sucker" (2007). Although intended as the final release, Ministry reformed in 2011 and issued "Relapse" in 2012. Guitarist Mike Scaccia died in December 2012 and appeared posthumously on "From Beer to Eternity" (2013), which was again expected to be the band’s last album. Ministry later continued with the releases "AmeriKKKant" (2018), "Moral Hygiene" (2021) and "Hopiumforthemasses" (2024). Discussions about another potential breakup have taken place since 2022. Ministry has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has performed at major festivals such as Lollapalooza in 1992, Big Day Out in 1995 and Wacken Open Air in 2006, 2012 and 2016. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_(band) Studio albums With Sympathy (1983) Twitch (1986) The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ (1992) (aka "Psalm 69") Filth Pig (1996) Dark Side of the Spoon (1999) Animositisomina (2003) Houses of the Molé (2004) Rio Grande Blood (2006) The Last Sucker (2007) Relapse (2012) From Beer to Eternity (2013) AmeriKKKant (2018) Moral Hygiene (2021) Hopiumforthemasses (2024)