Artist > Ministry

Al Jourgensen began Ministry in Chicago, Illinois in 1981. His first band prior to Ministry was Special Affect with Groovie Mann (of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult). The original line-up of Ministry consisted mainly of Jourgensen (vocals and keyboards) and Stephen George (drums), and Ministry's original sound was essentially New Wave synth-pop that was more melodic than the aggressive music for which Jourgensen would become known. In the incarnation of Jourgensen/George, Ministry created four 12" singles on Wax Trax! Records through 1984 (anthologized on Twelve Inch Singles). Their first LP, With Sympathy, was issued on Arista Records in 1983, and sold slowly but hit the upper 90's in the Billboard Top 100. The music in With Sympathy, and the various singles that Arista issued in association with it, was melodic pop; critic Dean Carlson describes the album as "Human League's surly little brother." Jourgensen has always expressed disappointment with Ministry's music during those early years, reportedly referring to With Sympathy as an "abortion of an album." According to him, after signing the record contract, all artistic control of Ministry was "handed" over to other writers and producers. Some of his preferred recordings from that era were collected into the CD Early Trax (Rykodisc Records, 2004). A notable song was "Everyday is Halloween."

By the mid-1980s, Jourgensen parted ways with George and the record-company, continuing the direction and sound of Ministry of pre-Arista period. Signing to Sire, Jourgensen performed mostly solo for Ministry's next LP, Twitch (1986), which sold well, but was still considered to be "underground". The music was danceable electronic music, but wasn't pop music, and the sound was harsher and more aggressive than what Ministry had recorded before. This album was quintessential in asserting industrial music's importance in new-wave dance clubs. This album would also prove to be a pivotal move in the course of Ministry. Much of the new sound was created with the use of digital sampling and the input of producer Adrian Sherwood. Al's opinion of Twitch seems to be much higher than With Sympathy, as Ministry has played an updated version of the song "We Believe" as recently as 2003.