In 1983, Ministry’s debut album With Sympathy arrived in an iconic sleeve adorned with roses—a bouquet of condolences that, unbeknownst to most, marked the burial of the record itself. For nearly four decades, Al Jourgensen disowned these neon-lit ghosts, refusing to resurrect the album’s synth-pop melodies, instead opting to torch the past rather than revisit it. Songs like “Work for Love,” “Effigy (I’m Not An),” and the iconic “Revenge” became casualties of Jourgensen’s contempt, entombed and seemingly forgotten. —
Yet, history has a peculiar way of digging itself back up. Following a conversation with Lyndsey Parker, in which Jourgensen threatened to re-record his old material, last year’s Cruel World Festival became the unexpected exhumation ground. Backstage at Cruel World, synth icon Gary Numan coaxed Jourgensen into giving these early tracks further consideration. Recast through Ministry’s modern industrial machinery, these once-glossy tunes emerged snarling, distorted, and delightfully abrasive. Far from nostalgia, this was reclamation, a pointed resurrection—a sonic alchemy turning embarrassment into empowerment.
Ministry’s 1986 follow-up, Twitch, further cemented their departure from synth-pop, introducing a darker, more aggressive industrial sound. The single “Over the Shoulder” epitomized this shift, blending danceable beats with menacing electronic textures, setting the stage for Ministry’s future industrial dominion.
While Jourgensen long insisted he was no effigy of his former self, the irony now lies in his decision to rexume the past—perhaps realizing that, in fact, he might indeed be an effigy, just one he’s finally willing to burn publicly. Ministry’s ambitious North American tour, dubbed The Squirrely Years Tour, serves as both a celebration and reinvention of the band’s estranged early catalog, fittingly backed by fellow industrial legends Die Krupps and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, with Nitzer Ebb opening on select dates for the first part of the tour.
Among the itinerary’s crown jewels is Ministry’s May 16 performance at the Brooklyn Paramount—a historic venue itself reborn from decades of silence. Here, beneath chandeliers and ornate carvings, Ministry will reclaim the ghosts of their youth. The venue, freshly restored and haunted by the echoes of its glamorous past, promises an atmosphere thick with anticipation and catharsis.
The tour, beginning April 29 in Phoenix, will carve a path across North America, hitting major cities like Austin, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and wrapping June 5 under the neon glow of Las Vegas. Yet it is the Brooklyn Paramount show, steeped in symbolism and rich in irony, that crystallizes Ministry’s unlikely embrace of a past Jourgensen once vehemently renounced.
Tickets are on sale now. Order them here!
Tour Dates:
- 04/29 Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren *
- 04/30 Albuquerque, NM – Revel *
- 05/02 Austin, TX – Emo’s *
- 05/03 Houston, TX – House of Blues *
- 05/04 Dallas, TX – Factory *
- 05/06 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern *
- 05/08 Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival #
- 05/09 Chicago, IL – Riviera *
- 05/10 Detroit, MI – Masonic Cathedral *
- 05/12 Baltimore, MD – Soundstage *
- 05/13 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall +
- 05/14 Boston, MA – Roadrunner +
- 05/16 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount +
- 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
On March 28, Cleopatra Records will release The Squirrely Years Revisited, an album of twelve reimagined tracks, including Work for Love, I’m Not an Effigy, and I’ll Do Anything for You. Some will get fresh videos — as if to say: the past never really dies…it just mutates into something sharper, louder, and a hell of a lot grittier.
Pre-order The Squirrely Years Revisited via Cleopatra Records here.
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