Ministry’s final album will be released via Cleopatra Records

Cleopatra Records will release Ministry‘s last studio album. With their upcoming seventeenth studio album, the platinum-certified industrial metal pioneers intend to wrap up their career. Paul Barker, the band’s former bassist, programmer, etc., comes back to write and record that endeavour. Barker left the band in 2003. Barker, who joined the group in 1986, was a prominent member of its long list of former members. He appeared on some of their most commercially and culturally influential albums, such as the platinum-certified “Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs” and the gold-certified “Land Of Rape And Honey” and “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste”. 

Looking forward to how this new and FINAL Ministry record comes out. Turns out working with Paul is like riding a bike; you never forget how. Buckle up, this is going to be a good one. It seems that everything has come full circle, with the re-inclusion of Paul for the FINAL record, it’s like wrapping a bow on a 40-plus-year career. Al Jourgensen

After a couple years apart, these new recording sessions started in our tried-and-true manner: we started going in opposite directions that circled around which inevitably forced us to meet in the middle, much like a particle accelerator!

Paul Barker

We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Ministry back home to Cleopatra. We’ve always taken great care of their classic Wax Trax! recordings, and now, as we reunite with Paul and Al, we’re ready to continue honoring and expanding their iconic legacy. Cleopatra Records president Brian Perera

Nuclear Blast Records was most recently partnered with Ministry. Through Cleopatra Records, they have previously released a number of collections, live albums, and reissues. Ministry did actually break up in 2008 before getting back together in 2011 if you’re experiencing déjà vu. This time, Jourgensen seemed to be more committed to retirement.

I’m 65 now. I was hoping to retire at 65, but two years of Covid made it so I can’t afford that yet. So I’ll do another couple years, and then that’s it. There’s no point in touring. And touring gets harder as you’re older anyways, and I don’t really want to do the whole casino circuit. I’m not divulging my medical records, so there might be underlying reasons why it’s also time to go. I’ll just put it at that.

Al Jourgensen