Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres.
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1981 by producer, singer, and instrumentalist Al Jourgensen. Originally a synth-pop outfit, Ministry evolved into one of the pioneers of industrial rock and industrial metal in the late 1980s. The band's lineup has changed frequently, leaving Jourgensen as the sole remaining original member. Musicians who have contributed to the band's studio or live activities include vocalists Nivek Ogre, Chris Connelly, Gibby Haynes, Burton C. Bell and Jello Biafra, guitarists Mike Scaccia, Tommy Victor and Cesar Soto, bassists Paul Barker, Paul Raven, Jason Christopher, Tony Campos and Paul D'Amour, drummers Jimmy DeGrasso, Bill Rieflin, Martin Atkins, Rey Washam, Max Brody, Joey Jordison and Roy Mayorga, keyboardist John Bechdel, and rappers and producers DJ Swamp and Arabian Prince.
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on November 14, 1989, by Sire Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction, with Jourgensen inspired by Stormtroopers of Death and Rigor Mortis to add thrash metal guitars to the album and subsequent Ministry releases. As with most of Ministry's work, the album's lyrics deal mainly with political corruption, cultural violence, environmental degradation, nuclear war, drug addiction, and insanity.
ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ is the fifth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on July 14, 1992, by Sire Records. It was produced by frontman Al Jourgensen and bassist Paul Barker, and was recorded from March 1991 to May 1992 in Chicago, Illinois and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The album's title, initially intended to be The Tapes of Wrath, ended up being derived from Aleister Crowley's The Book of Lies.
The Land of Rape and Honey is the third studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on October 11, 1988, by Sire Records. This is the first Ministry album to include bassist Paul Barker and marks a departure from the band's previous two synthpop and EBM records. It incorporates heavy metal guitars and industrial music influences, and Al Jourgensen uses distorted vocals in his natural accent, rather than the faux British accent of previous albums. The resulting sound was influential in the industrial metal genre and is Jourgensen's favorite Ministry album. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in January 1996.
Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry.
Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that year, they opened a store under the same name in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. During the 1980s and 1990s, the accompanying record label became a strong presence on the industrial music scene as well as the punk rock scene in Chicago, and an outlet for European bands. The label was purchased by TVT Records in 1992 and was discontinued in 2001. In 2014, it was re-established by Julia Nash, daughter of co-founder Jim Nash.
With Sympathy is the debut studio album by American industrial band Ministry, released on May 10, 1983 by Arista Records. The group was formed in 1981 by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Al Jourgensen, with drummer Stephen George being the most notable member of its initial lineup. The album was briefly re-released overseas as Work for Love.
Beers, Steers + Queers is the second studio album by American–Belgian industrial rock band Revolting Cocks. Released in May 1990, the album was supported by three singles and was reissued several times. Its sound is industrial and built upon repetitive percussion and samples. David Jeffries of AllMusic described Beers, Steers + Queers as dominating college radio and clubs. The album's supporting tour was recalled by Chris Connelly as "ridiculous" and particularly chaotic.
Alain David Jourgensen is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is the frontman and lyricist of the industrial metal band Ministry, which he founded in 1981 and of which he remains the only constant member. He was the primary musician of several Ministry-related projects, such as Revolting Cocks, Lard, and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Jourgensen is a prominent figure in industrial music, influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in alternative and industrial-associated acts.
Paul Gordon Barker, also referred to as Hermes Pan, is an American musician, best known as the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer for industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2003. Prior to Ministry, he provided bass for the Seattle post-punk ensemble The Blackouts alongside future Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin and his brother, one-time Ministry touring keyboardist/saxophonist Roland Barker, from 1979 until 1985.
Twitch is the second studio album by American industrial band Ministry, released on March 12, 1986 by Sire Records. Recorded mostly in London and West Berlin during 1985, it was largely produced by On-U Sound Records owner Adrian Sherwood, while the band's frontman Al Jourgensen co-produced two tracks. It stepped away from the synthpop-oriented form of Ministry's 1983 debut studio album, With Sympathy, and moved toward a darker, more aggressive sound, heavily influenced by industrial dance groups Cabaret Voltaire and Front 242.
Animal Liberation is an album released by WaxTrax! records on April 21, 1987, to benefit PETA.
Stephen 'Stevo' George is a former drummer and one of the founding members of the American industrial rock band Ministry. George performed on the band's earliest recordings, including their early singles for the Wax Trax! record label, and their debut album, With Sympathy, released in 1983. He was the drummer for the short-lived pop band Colortone. Since then, George has become a successful producer and mixer, working with many pop artists who have sold gold and platinum records.
Big Sexy Land is the debut studio album by industrial rock band Revolting Cocks, released through Wax Trax! Records in 1986. This is the only album to feature the group's founding lineup of Luc van Acker, Richard 23 and Alain Jourgensen.
As of 2024, the discography of American industrial metal band Ministry, which was founded and is fronted by Al Jourgensen, consists of sixteen studio albums, eight live albums, fourteen compilation and remix albums, thirty singles, five video albums and twenty music videos. Several tracks spanning from 1981 to 1994 in studio, live and cover formats have remained unreleased by the band.
Live! You Goddamned Son of a Bitch is a concert album and video by the Revolting Cocks, consisting of live material recorded at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago, on September 4, 1987. However, Al Jourgensen has claimed in his autobiography, that the whole concert was re-recorded in Trax studio in Chicago afterwards. According to Jourgensen both Paul Barker and Chris Connelly thought the live record sounded horrible and they refused to release the original audio recording of the show. Jourgensen thought the recording was perfect but later agreed with Barker and Connelly. It is their second LP release following Big Sexy Land.
The Blackouts were a punk rock band formed in Seattle in 1979 by singer/guitarist Erich Werner, bassist Mike Davidson, and drummer Bill Rieflin, who were all former members of a local punk band, The Telepaths. They were joined by Roland Barker, first on synthesizer and later on saxophone.
"Zanna" is a song originally written and performed by Belgian musician Luc van Acker and American singer Anna Domino in 1984. It was released as single by Wax Trax! Records, with two songs on the B-side, Fear In My Heart and Traveling. It was also included on Van Acker's album The Ship (1985).
"I'm Falling" and "Cold Life" are songs by American Industrial band Ministry. Written by Al Jourgensen, these were first released in 1981 by Wax Trax! Records, as the band's debut single. Initially featuring "I'm Falling" as the A-side, the single found success via its B-side, "Cold Life", which was chosen as the A-side on release in the UK. In 1985, during Ministry's short-lived return on Wax Trax!, the single was reissued with "Cold Life" as the A-side.
