I’m a longtime Ministry fan (since 1990/1991).
I’m not confortable with the current state of Ministry.
It seems to be the era of compromises for Ministry :
-Ministry without Paul (compromise!)
-revco without everyone (fuck it)
-Ministry becomming a familial business trying to optimize the profit of the “Ministry brand” with new compilation, reissues, fan sites, etc (it’s marketing bullshit… where is the legendary Al’s tyranny ?).
-al said he would leave the US if Bush win (compromise again).
I understand that Al is doing all that but I don’t like him doing all that using the Mnistry name and trying to convince all of us that nothing has changed.
I’m waiting for a new incarnation of Ministry with no mrs jay, with no commercial second thoughts, with Paul again or with new talents. Al is best at using people (getting the best out of them) than at doing marketing.
I 'm aware that it could take several years or never happen at all.
In the meantime, new things from Paul would be cool.
I’m not pissed. I’m just waiting because all that is going on is just not Ministry.
I’just waiting to see if it’s totally dead…
Revco, are you sure you still want the lurker to come out ?
Lorien99
I dont think Mrs. Jay is influencing him to put out dumb heavy metal, if thats what you mean. Al’s been itching to do some neanderthal riffing since he “re-discovered” the guitar. It was Paul who held him in check and kept Ministry intellectual and innovative all those years (thank god).
That being said, I think she does have some negative impact on the business end, the biggest being Ministry’s insistance on being the headliner on any tour (hence no Skinny Puppy/Ministry madness).
As for Paul leaving…it sucks but we can’t do much to change it so I agree that its pointless to talk about it over and over…in fact I had high hopes for Paul and now I’m starting to become annoyed that one of my favorite artists has released absolutely NOTHING since leaving Ministry for supposed creative differences.
And I agree that if you’re gonna make an entire album full of unintelligent rants against George Bush (without suggesting a political alternative I might add) then it’s kind of hypocritical to stick around after he gets re-elected.
If anything Al summed up the whole state of the Democratic party with his actions:
- bitch and moan
- suggest no alternative
- act like Bush’s re-election will be doomsday despite the fact that Kerry’s genious plan was to “finish what we’ve started”…(uhhh)
- fall silent when Bush does get re-elected
Same with Ogre of Skinny Puppy. I read interviews with page after page of his liberal bullshit…and let me tell you for such a great lyricist his take on politics is quite misinformed and hypocritical. I mean for fucks sake I’m sick of all these people bitching and moaning without adressing the issue:
whether we deserved it or not (which we obviously do) these people attacked our country. what do we do about it?
Ogre and Al, with ALL that bitching and moaning, don’t give us a fucking answer do they?!?
And after devoting albums to Bush-bashing, what do they do? He wins again and they do nothing. They don’t leave the country. No way. Al and Ogre rail against a consumer lifestyle and all the negative impacts of globalization around the world, but when it comes down to it they don’t want to leave the comfort of that lifestyle…the security, the wealth, the quality of life that allows them to pursue their art and still survive.This is the ‘honey’ of the Land of Rape and Honey.
Look at Al with his motorcycles, happily playing with his environmentally destructive toys; the products of the very same Land of Rape and Honey he attacked in his early years.
What’s the point? if you’re gonna bitch, do something. At least leave the fucking country in protest if we’re being “Stripped of all our liberties” as Al claims in HOTM.
If Skinny Puppy wants to juxtapose Nazi imagery and pictures of Bush on the GWOTR tour, cool…I get it. But if this re-election was REALLY akin to Hitler’s rise to power, then wouldn’t he be long gone?
When these artists make such extreme statements (in interviews and via the music) don’t they at least owe it to themselves, their fans and their own art to follow through with it?
Otherwise the art just seems hollow…all bark and no bite like some lame rapper talking about how “gangster” he is when he’s never held a gun in his life. And thats exactly what HOTM was. Hollow. An outburst of poorly directed rage, at least part of which was a put-on, with no real substance behind it.
We don’t care if Ministry and Skinny Puppy aren’t really political radicals ready to storm the White House…but why do they have to pretend???
but… Al has come along way man. he’s been through hell and back. and quite frankly, i am mostly bummed about revolting cocks… that was/is the one band that i thought captured the “fun” in the way i thought it should be. to me personally, i can’t imagine the cocks without chris… (i’ve said this before - forgive me guys for being redundant)… but (to me ) what made the cocks so awesome was paul’s bass lines and chris’s amazing vocals. i’ve always felt that chris did his best work with them.
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