Every band says they’ll know when it’s time to call it a day. Very few actually sound this certain.
After more than four decades of pushing industrial music into darker, louder and more confrontational territory, singer Al Jourgensen says the end has finally arrived. One last album. One last tour. Then Ministry becomes part of rock history.
Ministry will release its 17th and final studio album, Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), on October 30 through Cleopatra Records. The band has also shared the first single, Burned Out, along with an accompanying music video directed by Joshua Bradford, formerly of Revolting Cocks.
For Jourgensen, there’s no ambiguity about the decision to bring Ministry to a close.
“I’m fucking done. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m amazed at the path that it’s taken, from ‘With Sympathy’ to where we’re at today, and all points in between. It’s been quite a ride, but I’m completely at peace with the fact that it’s done. It’s time to herd goats.”
The farewell album also reunites Jourgensen with longtime collaborator Paul Barker one last time. Barker appears on the closing track, We’re Still Here, while the record also features current Ministry members Monte Pittman, Cesar Soto, Paul D’ Amour, John Bechdel and Pepe Clarke Magaña.
Here’s what fans can expect on the final Ministry album:
- Crickets
- Voices of Hate
- Clown Car
- We Hate
- Delete
- Grifter
- The White Man Lied
- Singularity
- Burned Out
- We’re Still Here (featuring Paul Barker)
The White Man Lied will not appear on cassette or vinyl editions.
Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery) will be released on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats, including multiple coloured vinyl editions and deluxe box sets.
The album will set the stage for Ministry’s international farewell tour in 2027. The Goodbye Europe tour begins in April with special guests Die Krupps before the band heads out for a full U.S. farewell run, which will be announced later. European VIP packages will include a meet-and-greet with Jourgensen, a photo opportunity, commemorative laminate, silk-screen poster and a final European tour coin.
Before saying goodbye, Ministry still has four U.S. dates remaining in 2026:
- September 15 — Morrison, Colorado — Red Rocks
- September 20 — Louisville, Kentucky — Louder Than Life
- October 3 — Chicago, Illinois — Salt Shed
- October 24 — Fort Worth, Texas — Sick New World Texas
Founded in Chicago in 1981, Ministry evolved from its early synth-pop beginnings on With Sympathy into one of industrial music’s defining acts. Landmark albums including Twitch, The Land Of Rape And Honey, The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs helped reshape heavy music, while earning the band six Grammy nominations over its career. After returning from a hiatus in 2018, Jourgensen continued using Ministry as a vehicle for social and political commentary through albums including AmeriKKKant, Moral Hygiene, Hopiumforthemasses and The Squirrely Years Revisited.
Now, after 17 studio albums and a career that helped define an entire genre, Jourgensen is ready to close the book on Ministry for good.
When Ministry takes its final bow, will they go down as the most influential industrial band of all time?
