Line #136 Music/Ministry


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ministry1992.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Ministry, back in 1992]]
3
4	->''So the only one thing that I could do was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long...''
5	-->--'''Ministry''', "Jesus Built My Hotrod"
6
7	Ministry was the {{Trope Maker\|s}} for the genre of IndustrialMetal back in TheEighties and helped popularise it along fellow {{Trope Codifier}}s Music/NineInchNails. Both bands also have something else in common, [[IAmTheBand having just one mastermind and constant member]]. In Ministry's case, this is a man named Al Jourgensen.
8
9	'''Current lineup'''
10	* Al Jourgensen - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming (1981-present)
11	* John Bechdel - keyboards (2006–2008, 2011-2013, 2014–present)
12	* Cesar Soto - guitars, backing vocals (2015-present)
13	* Paul D'Amour – bass, backing vocals (2019–present)
14	* DJ Swamp – turntables, electronics (2017–present)
15	* Derek Abrams – drums (2017–2018, 2018–present)
16
17	'''Current live members'''
18	* [[Music/FearFactory Burton C. Bell]] - vocals (2008, 2018–present)
19
20	'''Former members have included:'''
21	* John Davis - keyboards (1981-1982)
22	* Stephen George - drums (1981-1985)
23	* Robert Roberts - keyboards (1981-1983)
24	* Marty Sorenson - bass (1981-1982)
25	* Shay Jones - backing vocals (1982-1983)
26	* Brad Hallen - bass (1983-1985)
27	* Paul Barker - bass, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1986-2003) - classic lineup
28	* Bill Rieflin - drums, keyboards, programming, guitars (1986-1995) - classic lineup (deceased)
29	* Chris Connelly - backing vocals, keyboards, guitars (1987-1993) - classic lineup
30	* Mike Scaccia - guitars, bass (1989-1995, 2003-2006, 2012) - classic lineup (deceased)
31	* Louis Svitek - guitars (1992-1999) - classic lineup
32	* [[Music/FrontLineAssembly Michael Balch]] - keyboards, programming (1991-1992)
33	* Zlatko Hukic - electronics, guitars (1995-1999)[[note]]Is now known as Marz, a rapper who was best known from his days with Music/DarkLotus.[[/note]]
34	* Rey Washam - drums, percussion, programming (1995-1999, 2003)
35	* Max Brody - drums, percussion, programming, saxophone (1999-2004)
36	* Mark Baker - drums (2004-2005)
37	* John Monte - bass (January 2004-September 2004)
38	* [[Music/KillingJoke Paul Raven]] - bass, keyboards, guitars, drums (2005-2007) (deceased)
39	* Tommy Victor - guitars, bass (2005-2008)
40	* [[Music/{{GWAR}} Casey Orr]] - bass (2012)
41	* Aaron Rossi – drums (2007–2008, 2011-2013, 2014–2016)
42	* Roy Mayorga - drums (2016-2017)
43	* Jason Christopher - bass, backing vocals (2016-2017)
44	* Thomas Holtgreve - drums (2017)
45	* [[Music/{{Slipknot}} Joey Jordison]] - drums (2006, 2018) (deceased)
46	* Tony Campos - bass, backing vocals (2007-2008, 2011-2012, 2014-2016, 2017-2019)
47	* Sin Quirin - guitars (2007–2008, 2011-2013, 2014–2021)
48
49	The band was formed in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} in 1981. Their initial material was largely [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] SynthPop, as shown on their first album ''With Sympathy''. Jourgensen considers the album as OldShame and CanonDiscontinuity, referring to ''Sympathy'' as "an abortion of an album" and blaming ExecutiveMeddling for its existence. Fans largely follow the WordOfGod on this one, although it is notable that the follow up and somewhat looked down on album ''Twitch'' was a harsher-sounding industrial album with no traces of the "SynthPop" sound that was so prevalent on the previous album.
50
51	Ministry as we know it began when Jourgensen decided to add aggressive HeavyMetal riffing and recruited who would become his main collaborators for a while, Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin. The resulting album, ''The Land of Rape and Honey'', proved to be a landmark recording, combining harsh, electronics-heavy production with loud metal guitars and lots of {{sampling}} from old movies. Its follow-up, ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'', refined this formula by hardening the sound even further and introducing a political slant. This period also saw the band adopt its now-famous [[HellBentForLeather leather-clad]] cowboy/biker appearance.
52
53	Also in TheEighties, Jourgensen and Barker [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder formed a flurry of side projects]]. These included the more light-hearted, absurdist Revolting Cocks (which essentially has the same lineup as Ministry, plus Luc Van Acker and [[Music/Front242 Richard 23]] at first), Lard (a collaboration with Music/DeadKennedys frontman Music/JelloBiafra; tropes for their works can be found on Jello's page), Acid Horse (with Music/CabaretVoltaire), 1000 Homo [=DJs=] (where [[Music/NineInchNails Trent Reznor]] contributed vocals to a cover of Music/BlackSabbath's "Supernaut"), PTP (with Chris Connelly), and Pailhead (with Music/MinorThreat guitarist Ian [=MacKaye=]).
54
55	Ministry finally had its main breakthrough with ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs''. Besides providing the best example of their balls-out HotBlooded IndustrialMetal sound and the triple guitar attack of Jourgensen, Mike Scaccia and Louis Svitek, it showed the band's sense of humour through the CrazyIsCool hit single "Jesus Built My Hotrod" (with nonsense vocals by Gibby Haynes of the Music/ButtholeSurfers) and provided arguably one of the first {{Voice Clip Song}}s with "N.W.O." ''Psalm 69'' gained them a mainstream audience and would prove to be their most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album.
56
57	After ''Psalm 69'', the band almost got derailed by the members' severe drug addictions, culminating in a 1995 raid of their Texas headquarters and Jourgensen's arrest for possession. He received a five-year probation sentence and subsequently struggled to overcome his addiction. Around the same time, Rieflin and Scaccia left the band. Their next two albums, ''Filth Pig'' and ''Dark Side of the Spoon'', stripped away the industrial elements from their sound (synthesizers, samplers, electronics) in favour of straightforward guitar-bass-drums noise. The reception from both fans and critics was poor (although both albums have since gained supporters), and the band's lineup continued to be unstable. A guitarist from this era, Zlatko Hukic, had a solo career as a rapper, and a stint in the group Music/DarkLotus, under the name Marz.
58
59	Jourgensen finally kicked his habit after almost losing an arm to a venomous spider bite in 2001, and with Barker and new drummer/saxophonist Max Brody began working on 2003's ''Animositisomina''. After touring for the album, Paul Barker left and with guitarist Mike Scaccia back, Jourgensen began work on a follow up and formed a new lineup. Reclaiming his old IndustrialMetal sound (but adding ThrashMetal influences) and setting his sights on UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's presidency, Ministry released a trilogy of albums about how much Bush's presidency sucked: ''Houses of the Molé'', ''Rio Grande Blood'' and ''The Last Sucker''.
60
61	Jourgensen finally retired Ministry in 2008 after recording the covers album ''Cover Up''. He spent the next few years focusing on running his record label 13th Planet Records and concentrating on his side projects Revolting Cocks and Lard. However, as of late 2011 the band is active again, with old standbys Scaccia, Bechdel and Quirin, plus new guys Aaron Rossi and Casey Orr, and a new album, ''Relapse'', was released in 2012. However, Scaccia died on December 23, 2012 onstage while performing with Rigor Mortis. Gathering recordings Scaccia made between Relapse and his death, Ministry's thirteenth album, ''From Beer to Eternity'', was released in late 2013, and the band toured in support of the album. They also announced the release of their fourteenth album, ''[=AmeriKKKant=]'', for fall 2017 only to later push back the release date to March 9, 2018. Ministry spent the latter part of 2019 supporting Music/{{Slayer}} on the North American leg of their ''The Final Campaign Tour''. A tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ''The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste'' was planned for 2020, but this was postponed several times due to factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and occurred in 2022. They released their 15th album, ''Moral Hygiene'', in 2021, to generally positive reviews.
62
63	In 2024, Jourgensen announced that he would be retiring Ministry again with one more album after that year's ''HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES'', and that he would be reuniting with Barker for the planned final album.
64
65	'''Discography'''
66
67	* ''With Sympathy'' (1983)
68	* ''Twitch'' (1986)
69	* ''The Land of Rape and Honey'' (1988)
70	* ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' (1989)
71	* ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'' (1992)
72	* ''Filth Pig'' (1996)
73	* ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' (1999)
74	* ''Animositisomina'' (2003)
75	* ''Houses of the Molé'' (2004)
76	* ''Rio Grande Blood'' (2006)
77	* ''The Last Sucker'' (2007)
78	* ''Cover Up'' (2008)
79	* ''Relapse'' (2012)
80	* ''From Beer to Eternity'' (2013)
81	* ''[=AmeriKKKant=]'' (2018)
82	* ''Moral Hygiene'' (2021)
83	* ''HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES'' (2024)
84
85	----
86	!!This band provides examples of the following:
87
88	* AppropriatedAppellation:
89	** Revolting Cocks got their name from an incident where Jourgensen, Richard 23 and Luc Van Acker got drunk off their arses and started a bar brawl. The owner threw them out and shouted "I'm calling the police! You guys are a bunch of revolting cocks!".
90	** When Jourgensen played the demos for what became the first 1,000 Homo DJ's release, WaxTrax! label owner Jim Nash said "No one's gonna buy this. It'll take one thousand homo [=DJs=] to play this for one person to buy it."
91	** The title of ''Filth Pig'' was taken from a speech by a British MP attacking Jourgensen.
92	* TheBandMinusTheFace:
93	** Al's other band, Revolting Cocks, has been touring without him since 2010.
94	** Ministry has continued after the departure of Paul Barker, the band's second key member, in 2003.
95	* BingeMontage: The music video of "Just One Fix."
96	* BloodSplatteredInnocents: The cover for "Filth Pig" shows a guy with his head covered in blood, who's also [[NoodleImplements holding an American flag and wearing a badge saying "Don't Blame Me".]]
97	* BreakupSong: "I Wanted to Tell Her" is a duet about a girlfriend finding out her boyfriend cheated on her and leaving him.
98	* CarSong: "Jesus Built My Hotrod." The actual lyrics are scatted nonsense, but the spoken intro and SpokenWordInMusic samples are themed around driving and drag racing, and the music video and single artwork also run with the concept.
99	* CoolShades: Al Jourgensen.
100	* ConspiracyTheorist: "N.W.O." (though the lyrics are... strange), "Lieslieslies" ([[Website/TheBestPageInTheUniverse bukkakeing the listener with stupid]] 9/11 theories and uses clips from ''WebVideo/LooseChange'', one of the foremost 9/11 conspiracy theory films) and "99%" (focuses on the Occupy movement).
101	* ContentWarnings: 1990 LiveAlbum ''In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up'' has a Parental Advisory warning that the band didn't want. The band protested it by putting a dotted line around the warning and giving a message encouraging the reader to remove the warning and send it to Congress with a letter supporting the First Amendment.
102	* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning:
103	** The Revolting Cocks' covers of Music/OliviaNewtonJohn's "Let's Get Physical" and Music/RodStewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Both become grimy, gross songs about sleazy prostitution.
104	** Ministry's supremely sarcastic cover of Music/LouisArmstrong's "What A Wonderful World".
105	* CoverAlbum: ''Cover Up''.
106	* CoverVersion: In addition to the entire ''Cover Up'' album, they also performed a version of Music/TheDoors' "Roadhouse Blues" on ''The Last Sucker''.
107	* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: "Flashback", a MisogynySong about a man who wants to kill a woman in the most sadistic way possible.
108	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Twitch'', which exchanged the campy electronic pop of ''With Sympathy'' for a harder Industrial sound. Al hasn't looked back since.
109	* DeadArtistsAreBetter: DiscussedTrope in "Ghouldiggers", which doubles as a TakeThat at music managers and the music industry in general.
110	* {{Demonization}}: "The Dick Song" blasts Dick Cheney, calling him "son of Satan" and stating "You know he's evil, he's not of this race!". These are actually two of the ''nicer'' things Al says about Cheney.
111	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
112	** ''With Sympathy'' is a synthpop album that sounds very little like the rest of the catolouge, while ''Twitch'' is arguably heavier than what comes after it.
113	** Debut single ''I'm Falling / Cold Life'' also sounds a bit different from much of anything they'd later do: "I'm Falling" is a PostPunk song influenced by British groups like Music/{{The Cure\|Band}} and Music/JoyDivision, "Cold Life" is a funk song, and "Primental" is a disco instrumental (albeit one that would be repurposed WithLyrics as the ''With Sympathy'' track "I Wanted To Tell Her")
114	* EpicRocking: "Cannibal Song", "So What", "Scare Crow", "Impossible", "Leper", "Worm", "Khyber Pass", "End of Days, Part Two", "Ghouldiggers", and "Thanx but No Thanx", to name a few. There are many more.
115	* ExactWords: Their 2019 "Wax Trax Era" mini tour. While they're certainly playing tracks from that era, they aren't necessarily the tracks released on Wax Trax.
116	* FanDisservice: The cover of ''Dark Side of the Spoon'', depicting an obese woman wearing nothing but a dunce cap, sitting in front of a blackboard with the phrase "I will be god" written over and over on it. The "Bad Blood" single, released ahead of the album, featured the same woman from the front, with [[HandOrObjectUnderwear her hands held up in front of her chest]]. In contrast to the ''From Beer To Eternity'' cover, the band actually claimed there wasn't an intentional deeper meaning: Paul Barker said in an interview that he wanted a nude obese woman on the cover and Al had wanted a child in front of a blackboard, so they just combined the two concepts.
117	* GenreShift:
118	** From SynthPop to industrial for ''Twitch'', and straightforward industrial to IndustrialMetal for ''The Land of Rape and Honey.''
119	** "Test" on ''The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' is a strangely upbeat rap-rock-metal song. Part of the reason it's so different from the rest of the album is that they decided to do it on the spur of the moment - after meeting rapper K-Lite, who happened to be recording his own material in the same studio complex, the band decided it might be interesting to have him appear on a song.
120	** "Happy Dust" is a very different piece for the 90's era of the band, being an Music/EnnioMorricone-influenced instrumental with no overt industrial metal elements. It was used for intro/outro music for concerts supporting ''Filth Pig'', and years later appeared as a BSide to the "Bad Blood" single. Furthermore, the song shares a similar guitar melody with an obscure demo from the ''With Sympathy'' era called "Let's Be Happy".
121	** "Lesson Unlearned" is an Industrial ''FunkMetal'' song in the middle of an industrial thrash metal album (''From Beer To Eternity''). The song is still heavy enough to not completely clash, but the rhythm and guitar parts are clearly funk-influenced, and there's even melodic female backing vocals that wouldn't feel out of place on some of the more disco-influenced tracks on ''With Sympathy''.
122	** ''HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES'' closes with a surprisingly faithful cover of "Ricky's Hand" by industrial / SynthPop artist Fad Gadget.
123	* GrandFinale: "End of Days, Part Two" for ''The Last Sucker'' and Ministry, at least until ''[[HesBack Relapse]]''.
124	** ''From Beer to Eternity'' was also this until ''Amerikkkant'' was announced years later.
125	* GratuitousFrench: "Le Stupide", an early song that was seemingly only performed once, at one of the recorded concerts that were later released as ''Chicago / Detroit 1982'': The lyrics are basically a series of insults rendered in bad, basic French.
126	* GreenAesop: "Perfect Storm" and "Breathe."
127	** "Isle of Man" depicts a future where civilization has collapsed due to pollution and depletion of natural resources.
128	* HarshVocals: Al Jourgensen uses this as his primary vocal style, with added electronic effects to make it even harsher.
129	* HalloweenSongs: "Every Day is Halloween". More of a defense of the gothic subculture than a celebration of the holiday, but it's basically been adopted as a Halloween song- it has appeared on Halloween themed compilations and tends to be played at Halloween parties.
130	* HiddenTrack: The CD editions of a few albums have them, usually hidden after a series of short, silent tracks:
131	** ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' has a strange piece of seemingly found audio (variously called "Everybody", "Summertime", or "Dialogue") as track 68 - it's an unknown woman, introduced as Linda, singing a rambling acappella song about the summertime.
132	** the original release of ''Houses of the Mole''' had "Psalm 23" (an alternate mix of opening track "No W") as track 23, and "Walrus" as track 69. Later editions removed "Psalm 23", and added a different song, "Bloodline", as track 13.
133	** ''[[CoverAlbum Cover Up]]'' has alternate versions of "What A Wonderful World" as tracks 23 and 44, and "Willie Stigmata" (An anonymous fan singing the lyrics to "Stigmata" InTheStyleOf Music/WillieNelson) as track 69.
134	* HillbillyHorrors: "Goddamn White Trash" depicts far-right terrorists this way, albeit in a way that's PlayedForLaughs in the music video. The song itself depicts such people as {{Boisterous Weakling}}s who are "uneducated and ready for war" and "manipulated into civil war". The music video, meanwhile, depicts a group of far-right racist terrorists as pathetic losers who act tougher than they really are. They dress in tactical gear while riding hobby horses, pretend to knife fight imaginary enemies in their underwear, and act tough while using a mobility scooter just to get anywhere.
135	* IAmTheBand: Al Jourgensen IS Ministry. He was already the only remaining member by the time he recorded his second album, but Ministry was solidified as being first and foremost Al's project when he made ''Houses of the Molé'' as a new start for Ministry after his split with longtime production partner Paul Barker.
136	* IWasQuiteALooker: You'd never guess that [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/74/e0/3174e0493a4062ff2cc7e018a8147c29.jpg this]] was Al in his younger days without being told.
137	* IconicItem: Al Jourgensen always wears sunglasses and a bandanna or a hat. ''Always.''
138	* IconicOutfit: The band's leather cowboy/biker appearance, Al's sunglasses and bandanna.
139	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Aside from opening track "No W", all of the song titles on ''Houses of the Molé'' start with W - even the HiddenTrack is officially called "Walrus". The constant use of "-tour" puns for Ministry and Revolting Cocks tours also counts.
140	* IndecipherableLyrics: Jourgensen's vocal style is very gravelly to begin with, and the electronic distortion makes it even harder to understand.
141	* IndustrialMetal: TropeMakers.
142	* LeadBassist: Paul Barker, from 1987 to 2003, was Ministry's co-producer and second core member alongside Al. Many Barker-era songs tended to be bass-driven as well, especially on ''Filth Pig'' and ''Animositisomina''.
143	* LighterAndSofter: "Test" - at least, for Ministry. The lyrics are standard "be who you want to be" fare, free of violence, and it is a rap-rock fusion.
144	** LyricalDissonance: It sounds like somewhat standard Ministry fare, but the lyrics are lighter.
145	* LoudnessWar: Most releases going back to at least ''Animositisomina'' have been affected.
146	* MachoCamp: Sometimes, but without the muscles.
147	* {{Mesodiplosis}}: In "Hero":
148	--> "They get you ready to fight\
149	The fuse is ready to blow"
150	* MetalScream: Al uses a Type 1 with electronic effects on top.
151	* NewSoundAlbum:
152	** ''Twitch'' saw the band abandon synthpop in favor of a harsher industrial techno sound.
153	** ''The Land of Rape and Honey'' introduced guitars and upped the harshness of Al's vocals.
154	** ''The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' added SpeedMetal elements that would carry over into ''Psalm 69''.
155	** ''Filth Pig'' traded in the speed for a slower, GrooveMetal-esque sound.
156	** ''Houses of the Molé'' introduced the ThrashMetal sound that has defined the band since.
157	* NoIndoorVoice: Al ''loves'' shouting in his songs.
158	* ObsessionSong: "WKYJ", which seems to be from the point of view of a LoonyFan:
159	-->I got all of your pictures
160	-->You gave your soul to me
161	-->You're my addiction
162	-->I'm sure you'd have to agree
163	* ProtestSong: Most of Ministry's output, especially in TheNoughties, was basically political ranting set to pounding IndustrialMetal.
164	** Political themes crop up more occasionally in their eighties work: for example "All Day" is about exploited workers, while "The Isle Of Man" is about society collapsing due to mankind destroying the environment and using up natural resources.
165	* PunnyName:
166	** Albums: ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'' (see below), ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste''[[note]]"a mind is a terrible thing to waste" was the tagline to a series of {{Public Service Announcement}}s for the United Negro College Fund[[/note]], ''[[Music/PinkFloyd Dark Side of the Spoon]]'', ''[[Music/LedZeppelin Houses of the Molé]]'' and ''[[Music/ZZTop Rio Grande Blood]]''.
167	** Tours (for both Ministry and Revolting Cocks) since 1996: [=SphincTour=], [=CliTour=] [[note]]which, once it hit the United States, became the even more blatant [=CliTour=] '''US'''[[/note]], [=FornicaTour=] [=MasterBaTour=], C-U-[=LaTour=] (Ministry's last tour before their 2008 retirement), [=LubricaTour=] (the follow-up Revolting Cocks tour).
168	* RearrangeTheSong: Nearly every song they have covered.
169	** In 2010, they remade their old SynthPop single "Everyday Is Halloween" in a more IndustrialMetal style (although the result is still more melodic than much of their other recent material). In 2019 they did an UnpluggedVersion of the same song with [[Music/JanesAddiction Dave Navarro]] - it's not fully "unplugged" as there's a synthesized string section.
170	** One date of a 2023 tour saw a surprise addition to their set list - "Revenge", a song from their SynthPop era that hadn't been played in 40 years. Naturally this version was played with more of a heavy metal feel, though the lead was still played on a synthesizer and Al sang the lyrics instead of shouting them.
171	* {{Sampling}}: Mostly from movies and other media instead of music, though the original version of "No W" sampled "[[Music/CarminaBurana O Fortuna]]".
172	** Several songs from ''Rio Grande Blood'' and ''The Last Sucker'' cut and pasted together samples of speeches by George W. Bush, resulting in ridiculous StrawmanPolitical statements that make Bush sound evil. ''Blood'''s title track includes "I've adopted sophisticated terrorist tactics/And I'm a dangerous, dangerous man/With dangerous, dangerous weapons" and "I'm a weapon of mass destruction/And I'm a brutal dictator/And I'm evil"; "Death and Destruction" has "I am the decider, and I decide what's best, and what's best is [[BrokenRecord death and destruction, death and destruction]]".
173	** The EpicRocking conclusion to ''The Last Sucker'', "End of Days, Part Two", samples UsefulNotes/DwightEisenhower's farewell address, including the famous part warning about the "military-industrial complex."
174	** "Victims of a Clown" from ''[=AmeriKKKant=]'' prominently samples Charlie Chaplin's famous speech from the end of ''Film/TheGreatDictator''.
175	* ScaryShinyGlasses: Ex-bassist Paul Barker's glasses occasionally.
176	* SeriesFauxnale:
177	** ''The Last Sucker'' was promoted as the final Ministry album. The track "End of Days (Pt. 2)" was intended to serve as a GrandFinale, climaxing with a lengthy sample of UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower's farewell speech as President. However, Al had a near-death experience in 2010 that inspired him to restart Ministry the following year and record ''Relapse''.
178	** Al later said in interviews that ''From Beer To Eternity'' was going to be their last album, due to the death of Mike Scaccia. He'd later claim he had no intention of retiring the Ministry name this time, he had just said it because he quickly got fed up with journalists asking him about the future of the group so soon after Scaccia's passing.
179	* ShortTitleLongElaborateSubtitle: ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs''. More on that title below.
180	* ShoutOut: The title of ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'', is taken from chapter 69 of Creator/AleisterCrowley's ''The Book of Lies'', and is basically an IncrediblyLamePun about 69ing. The reference goes further, as the album covers don't have any text and the title written on the spine and the liner notes is ''ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ'', which is the heading of chapter 69 of ''The Book of Lies''. (''ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ'' is basically a combination of the Greek word "kefali", which means "head" - think of the English meaning - and "ΞΘ", which is "69" in Greek numerals.)
181	** Rather improbably, ''The Land of Rape and Honey'' was actually the '''official motto''' of the city of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, until 2016, referring to the town's significant production of rapeseed and honey. Al chose the title after seeing the motto on a souvenir mug and being amused at what how ''completely wrong'' it sounded.
182	** "Run, run, run, [[Music/{{Aerosmith}} Cheney's got a gun]]!" from "The Dick Song".
183	** Several of their albums are {{Pun}}s on the names of classic rock albums: ''Houses of the Molé'' on Music/LedZeppelin's ''Music/HousesOfTheHoly'', ''The Dark Side of the Spoon'' on Pink Floyd's ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'', and ''Rio Grande Blood'' on Music/ZZTop's ''Rio Grande Mud''. Then, of course, ''From Beer to Eternity'' is a pun on the classic novel/film ''Literature/FromHereToEternity''.
184	** The second verse of "End Of Days (Part 1)" is a nod to "Ball of Confusion" by Music/TheTemptations. As a quick comparison:
185	*** '''Ball of Confusion:'''
186	---->"Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration,
187	---->Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation
188	---->Ball of confusion
189	---->Oh yeah, that's what the world is today
190	---->Woo, hey, hey"
191	*** '''End of Days (Part 1):'''
192	---->"Revelations, dissipation, condemnation, dissolution, do you feel like you're under a gun?
193	---->Desperation, condemnation, indignation, terror nation
194	---->That's what the world is today!
195	----> Hey! Hey!"
196	* SelfDeprecation: The middle of [[http://lyrics.wikia.com/Revolting_Cocks:Linger_Ficken%27_Good Linger Fickin Good]]".
197	** "Unlistenable" by Surgical Meth Machine, another Ministry side project, includes {{Take That}}s to various other bands, but also has Al exclaiming "Ministry? I hate fuckin' industrial bands!" (for added HypocriticalHumor, this is said in the middle of an IndustrialMetal song)
198	* SequelSong: "TV Song", a BSide to "Jesus Built My Hotrod," was soon followed by "TV II" on ''Psalm 69'' - while "TV II" was just a re-recording of "TV Song", they did later turn it into more of a ThematicSeries starting with the ''Filth Pig'' era BSide "TV III": Any song with the word "TV" in it tends to include SpokenWordInMusic samples from television, fast tempos, StopAndGo, and usually also lyrics about television spreading paranoia and/or consumerism delivered at {{Motormouth}} speed.
199	* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Revolting Cocks.
200	** Check the "Fix: The Ministry Movie" trailer on [=YouTube=]. That is all.
201	* {{Shrouded in My\|th}}stery: The video for the unreleased song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGskkcIDdXg "Same Old Madness"]], an extremely rare song from 1982, predating the release of ''With Sympathy'' by one whole year. If it wasn't because the video appeared on Website/YouTube on 2006, the song and its video would've been largely forgotten by now. As a side note, it's the only video with the original line-up.
202	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: ''Filth Pig'', ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' and ''Animositisomina'' each had a token track where Paul Barker had a lead vocal: "Useless", "Vex and Siolence", and "Stolen", respectively.
203	* StopAndGo: "TV II" is a frantically fast track that constantly goes off and on again, while Al shouts lyrics during the pauses.
204	* SubliminalSeduction: at the beginning of ''Just One Fix''. The "Never trust a junkie" sample sounds very much like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDO4qroy2no "Christ is so stupid"]] when played backwards.
205	* SubparSupremacist: "Goddamn White Trash" depicts a group of far-right terrorists this way, albeit in a way that's PlayedForLaughs in the music video. The song itself depicts such people as {{Boisterous Weakling}}s who are "uneducated and ready for war" and who are "indoctrinated" to [[IRejectYourReality reject the facts they see]]. They dress in tactical gear while riding hobby horses, pretend to knife fight imaginary enemies in their underwear, and act tough while using a mobility scooter just to get anywhere. One of the racists dresses in hot pink and acts like a CampGay, yet none of the other terrorists seem to notice.
206	* {{Supergroup}}: Pigface, who evolved from a touring lineup of Ministry into their own revolving door project.
207	* SurprisinglyGentleSong: Asked to play an afternoon set for Music/NeilYoung's Bridge School Benefit charity concerts, the band opted for a set list that was almost all acoustic {{Cover Version}}s [[note]]the lone original was "Paisley", which was announced as being from their next album, but would ultimately be released as a BSide to "Lay Lady Lay"[[/note]] - a surprisingly faithful version of Music/TheGratefulDead's "Friend Of The Devil" was included on one of the accompanying ''Bridge School'' albums, marking one of the few times Al could be heard singing softly and melodically on an officially released Ministry song since the 80's.
208	** The self-titled album by Al's side project Surgical Meth Machine starts out with a series of ThrashMetal / HardcorePunk influenced songs with breakneck tempos upwards of 220 bpm... and closes with "I'm Invisible", a jazzy TripHop song with Al smoothly crooning the lyrics almost ''With Sympathy'' style.
209	* TakeThat:
210	** A lot towards UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, especially with ''Rio Grande Blood''.
211	** "N.W.O." (New World Order) is about "Papa Bush", according to Al.
212	** The "Jesus Built My Hotrod" single pointedly lists the radio edit of the title track as the "Short, Pusillanimous, So-They-Can-Fit-More-Commercials-on-the-Radio Edit".
213	** "Fairly Unbalanced" towards Fox News, and "The Horror" towards a number of Republicans (particularly Todd Akin) who made extremely horrifying statements about rape in the 2012 elections.
214	** ''[=AmeriKKKant=]'' towards UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, his administration, and his supporters.
215	** "Step" sends up condescending press releases that tend to accompany the news of celebrities going to rehab, with Al sarcastically drawling out lyrics like "I'd like to apologize to all my wonderful fans / For sticking by me through such troubled times / I love all you so much /I wish I could take you all to the Betty Ford Clinic"
216	* ThrashMetal: From ''Houses of The Molé'' onwards, though they also flirted with thrash on previous albums.
217	* ToAbsentFriends: ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' was dedicated to the memory of former touring guitarist William Tucker, who committed suicide in 1999.
218	** The self-titled album by Surgical Meth Machine, a side project of Al and occasional Ministry [[RecordProducer co-producer]] Sam D'Ambruosa, was originally meant to be a stylistic tribute to Mike Scaccia: The whole album was originally meant to feature tempos upwards of 220 bpm and be performed in a similar IndustrialMetal-meets-ThrashMetal style as the Ministry song "Side FX Include Mikey's Middle Finger (TV 4)", because Al considered Scaccia a great "shredder guitar player" who excelled at fast songs. The original concept is still prevalent, but the second half of the album includes some slower tempos and more experimental or psychedelic influences, which Al attributes to moving to California and getting a medical marijuana card.
219	* UncommonTime: The main riff of "Animosity" is in 9/4. The verse riff of "Impossible" alternates between 4/4 and 7/8. Main riff of "Kaif" has three bars in 4/4 and one in 5/4. "Just One Fix" keeps the same time signature throughout, but adds extra kick drum beats in the last section, which makes the riffs sound off-kilter.
220	* UnreliableNarrator: Al in his own book, which opens with a paraphrase of the famous "if you remember TheSixties you probably weren't there" quote updated to TheNineties; likely played deliberately as it contains interviews with everyone around him during his life, including bandmates, his then-wife Angie, even his father, telling differing accounts of his childhood, tour stories, and his relationship with Paul Barker.
221	** There's confusion about who directed the "Over The Shoulder" video, because in different interviews Al has alternately credited Storm Thorgerson or [[Music/ThrobbingGristle Peter Christopherson]] as the director - both were involved with {{Creator/Hipgnosis}} at the time. for what it's worth, Christopherson gets sole credit for the video in the ''Tapes Of Wrath'' DVD.
222	* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The video for "What About Us?" is basically an extended version of their cameo in ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'', wherein they appeared playing the song. Oddly, "What About Us?" wasn't even on the ''A.I.'' soundtrack album, so the video was really promoting the GreatestHitsAlbum ''Greatest Fits''.
223	* VocalDissonance: Ex-vocalist and keyboardist Chris Connelly was rail-thin and [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m08ylw94V41qjwxaio1_500.jpg almost effeminate in appearance]] with a baritone voice.
224	* VocalEvolution: Al initially used a FakeBrit accent; when ''The Land of Rape and Honey'' was recorded, he introduced his trademark and influential distorted screaming vocals. The accent briefly came back for a cover of {{Music/Magazine}}'s "The Light Pours Out Of Me" - Al presumably wanted to sound similar to Magazine vocalist Howard Devoto.
225	* VomitIndiscretionShot: Found in the "Just One Fix" video.
226	* WithLyrics: "Destruction" from ''The Land Of Rape And Honey'' is primarily instrumental, with the only vocals being a repeated title drop and some looped [[CarefulWithThatAxe wordless screaming]]. An early version included on the ''Trax!'' box set, called "Self Annoyed", had actual lyrics (but still included some of the distinctive screams).
227	** The ''With Sympathy'' track "I Wanted To Tell Her" is based on "Primental", an early instrumental BSide.
228	* WordPureeTitle: ''Animositisomina'' is basically the word "Animosity" turned into a palindrome.
229	* WordSaladLyrics: To the point where it would be easier to list the lyrics of songs that do not fall into this trope.

Context Music / Ministry