Al Jourgensen has finally made peace with the synth-pop skeleton in his closet, and he’s parading it through the streets in full daylight. The man who once torched the With Sympathy master tapes on a backyard grill, sneering that the record was a “sonic abortion,” strutted onto the gilded stage of the Brooklyn Paramount in sequin sparkle, fur hat, and heart-shaped shades. As Ministry ripped through gems from With Sympathy and Twitch in the new “Squirrely” fashion, the jumbo screens looped baby-bat footage of early-’80s Uncle Al, while a black-clad cross-section of NYC’s dark scene – deathrock die-hards, rivetheads, crusty club veterans – cheered like sinners at a tent revival. Every goth in NYC, it seemed, had hopped the D Train to the show.
Die Krupps opened the night with a thrilling set, clanging pipes and all. Forty years in, the German industrial legends still sound like the future collapsing in on itself. From the first clang of Nazis auf Speed, Die Krupps laid siege to the senses, where EBM’s cold circuitry locked arms with serrated guitar work and pneumatic percussion. Jürgen Engler stalked the stage with eyes like rifle sights, hammering metal tubes with the ritualistic precision of a factory god. Beside him, Dylan Smith blurred into motion, his guitar work an electric jolt through steel, sinew, and sweat.
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult stormed the stage in a riot of dark hedonism, delivering an intoxicating sermon of industrial-disco decadence. Tracks like A Daisy Chain 4 Satan and The Days of Swine and Roses exploded with hypnotic rhythms. With Sex on Wheelz, the band revved their sinister engine, turning the venue into a pulpit of glam-infused debauchery. Yet the night wasn’t without bittersweet reflection: Groovie Mann paused to honour the late Jacky Blaque, dedicating the sensual groove of A Continental Touch to her indelible spirit. By the time the ominous beats of And This Is What the Devil Does echoed through the hall, Thrill Kill Kult had once again transformed mourning into celebration, proving their dark disco revival remains as electrifying as ever.
Finally, Ministry took the stage, detonating the evening with Work for Love. The song’s candy-coated synthpop chassis now roared beneath fresh industrial steel, proving time can indeed swing a hammer. Having a bevy of backup dancers only made the spectacle more entertaining – make no mistake, this was high camp, Uncle Al style. Propping himself up against the cross of roses like a fur-hatted pirate, he surveyed the crowd with a twinkle in his eye, as if saying, “You want more? I’ll give ya more.”
And so, the crowd was given a rare treat: I’ll Do Anything for You, once a lost-in-the-vault curio, now a dance-floor wrecking ball that showed Jourgensen’s hook factory never closed.
The most startling reworking came from Effigy (I’m Not An), rebuilt from neon-new-wave sparkle into a hulking, head-crushing leviathan. The transformation felt like watching an old Polaroid mutate into a hologram: same bones, brand-new menace. The crowd went wild, with raucous dancing in the aisles and enthusiastic cheers.
For the finale, Ministry unfurled (Every Day Is) Halloween, that eternal goth-club rallying cry. The crowd howled the chorus so loudly the chandeliers rattled. Journey complete? Hardly. Two surprise covers kept the voltage high: a razor-sharp take on Fad Gadget’s Ricky’s Hand, followed by a deliciously growled, leather-clad spin through Rod Stewart’s Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?…proof that in Jourgensen’s world, camp and carnage hold hands.
Uncle Al turned regret into rocket fuel, lighting up Brooklyn with the history he once tried to bury…and the city devoured every note.
Ministry continues the revival with The Squirrely Years Tour. Tickets are on sale now. Grab them here!
- 05/17 Montreal, QC – MTELUS +
- 05/18 Toronto, ON – History +
- 05/20 Minneapolis, MN – Palace +
- 05/21 Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre +
- 05/23 Edmonton, AB – Midway Music Hall +
- 05/24 Calgary, AB – Palace Theatre +
- 05/26 Vancouver, BC – Commodore +
- 05/28 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo +
- 05/29 Spokane, WA – Spokane Live Casino +
- 05/31 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom +
- 06/01 Salt Lake City, UT – Union +
- 06/03 San Francisco, CA – Warfield +
- 06/04 Los Angeles, CA – Palladium +
- 06/05 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues +
* with Nitzer Ebb
+ with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
# without Die Krupps
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