Al Jourgensen says Ministry has reached the end of the road: “I think it’s the proper time”

Ministry founder Al Jourgensen has explained why he is ready to bring the influential industrial metal band to an end. The group’s final studio album, “Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery)”, is scheduled for release on October 30 through Cleopatra Records, with a farewell tour to follow in 2027.

Speaking to Steve Baltin in an interview with Hit Parader, Jourgensen said the decision was not driven by disappointment with the new record. On the contrary, he believes the album represents a fitting conclusion to decades of work.

“I figure it’s time. We’ve taken our genre and this band as far as we can go,” Jourgensen explained. He said he was happy with the album and considered it the culmination of roughly four decades of musical ideas.

The 68-year-old musician added that he has little desire to keep making the same kind of music. He fears that continuing would eventually become repetitive and that another album might not match the quality of the band’s final release.

“I just think that Ministry has run its course,” he said. Looking back, Jourgensen expressed satisfaction with the band’s achievements and insisted he has no regrets about ending it.

Jourgensen also revealed that he never originally intended to become a singer. Before his early recordings attracted attention, he had wanted to teach history at high school or college. When assembling Ministry, he auditioned numerous vocalists because he hoped to remain a guitarist rather than front the band himself.

What began almost accidentally became a career lasting more than four decades. Formed in Chicago in 1981, Ministry initially explored synth-pop before developing the aggressive industrial sound heard on albums including “The Land Of Rape And Honey”, “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste” and “Psalm 69”.

The final album features a reunion with former longtime member Paul Barker on the closing track “We’re Still Here”. Other contributors include Monte Pittman, Cesar Soto, Paul D’Amour, John Bechdel and Pepe Clarke Magaña.

Jourgensen has also indicated that he is ready to pursue interests outside music. While acknowledging the remarkable longevity of artists such as The Rolling Stones, he feels he has reached a different point in his own life.

Ministry will begin its “Goodbye Europe” farewell tour with Die Krupps in April 2027, followed by a US run. The band has already offered a preview of its last record with the single “Singularity”, which Chaoszine covered previously.