MINISTRY now has an end date. Al Jourgensen says the industrial-metal pioneers will play their last concert on October 30, 2027, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles — one year to the day after the release of Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), the band's 17th and final studio album, out October 30 on Cleopatra Records.
Jourgensen revealed the plan in a sit-down with journalist Lyndsey Parker at Licorice Pizza Records, a conversation that traced MINISTRY's arc from the 1983 synth-pop debut With Sympathy, which he disowned for years, all the way to the farewell record.
Don't expect a tearful goodbye from the man himself. Asked whether he'll be sad when it's over, Jourgensen said he plans to be home before anyone is even let backstage, with comedian Bill Burr flying him out by helicopter. The night itself, he explained, will be "a procession" of musicians MINISTRY has influenced coming up to say goodbye and jam with the band — "It'll be a fun last show."
The Forum date caps a farewell campaign that begins in April 2027 with the "Goodbye Europe" tour, featuring DIE KRUPPS as special guests, followed by a full U.S. run. Jourgensen has said he's working through a pool of 55 songs to build the final set lists, and noticed along the way how little the political targets of his lyrics have changed in four decades.
Hate To Go closes with "We're Still Here", a last collaboration with Paul Barker, the bassist from MINISTRY's classic era. The rest of the record was made with the current lineup: guitarists Monte Pittman and Cesar Soto, bassist Paul D'Amour, sampler and synth player John Bechdel, and drummer Pepe Clarke Magaña. We've followed the album through its singles "We Hate" and "Singularity"; Jourgensen's verdict on the end of the band hasn't wavered since: "I'm fucking done… It's time to herd goats."