Ministry
Al Jourgensen's band evolved from synth-pop to industrial metal, releasing platinum albums like Psalm 69. After Arista Records tried to make them "the next Joy Division" with disastrous results, Jourgensen returned to Chicago's Wax Trax! and merged thrash guitars with EBM rhythms and samples. They became one of industrial's most commercially successful acts, touring with a ten-piece lineup that included Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre. Jourgensen survived a near-fatal spider bite and substance abuse to continue the project into the 2000s.
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Discography
The Land of Rape and Honey
Ministry's fusion of thrash metal guitars with EBM went gold, making Chicago a second industrial capital. Al Jourgensen had obliterated his Arista makeover, playing in drop D and standard E tuning, his riffs jackhammering over tape loops and samples excerpted from movies. Adrian Sherwood's production on the previous album Twitch had shown the way, but this was pure aggression.
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste
Featured ten-piece touring band with Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre, went gold, cemented Ministry's industrial metal sound. The album title came from the United Negro College Fund slogan, appropriated and twisted. Jourgensen's guitars became heavier, the samples more cinematic. Industrial metal had arrived as a commercial force.
Psalm 69
Ministry's platinum-selling peak featured hit single "Jesus Built My Hotrod" and defined early-90s industrial metal. Al Jourgensen's guitars were tuned lower, the rhythms more punishing. The album title referenced a sex position. Industrial metal had become arena music, complete with pyrotechnics and a ten-piece touring lineup that included multiple guitarists and drummers.