Ministry is the brainchild of Al Jourgensen. 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 Adrian Sherwood, 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 Paul Barker 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],. Paul Barker 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 Prong founder Tommy Victor on guitar and Paul Raven (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, Al Jourgensen decided to re-start the band with Mike Scaccia 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.