Ministry – currently vocalist Al Jourgensen and multi-instrumentalist Paul Barker – have signed with Cleopatra Records for their final album. The album was recorded earlier this year and will be the first Ministry record since Animositisomina in 2003 to feature Barker.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome Ministry back home to Cleopatra," said Brian Perera, president of Cleopatra Records. "We've always taken great care of their classic Wax Trax! recordings, and now, as we reunite with Paul and Al, we're ready to continue honoring and expanding their iconic legacy."
Ministry vocalist Al Jourgensen added: "Looking forward to how this new and FINAL Ministry record comes out. Turns out working with Paul is like riding a bike; you never forget how. Buckle up, this is going to be a good one. It seems that everything has come full circle, with the re-inclusion of Paul for the FINAL record, it's like wrapping a bow on a 40-plus-year career."
Ministry's Paul Barker added: "After a couple years apart, these new recording sessions started in our tried-and-true manner: we started going in opposite directions that circled around which inevitably forced us to meet in the middle, much like a particle accelerator!"
Ministry's final record is currently slated to be out sometime in 2025. As for the end of the band, Jourgensen mentioned in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that he hoped to be done with Ministry by now, but of course COVID screwed up his plans.
"I'm 65 now. I was hoping to retire at 65, but two years of Covid made it so I can't afford that yet. So I'll do another couple years, and then that's it. There's no point in touring. And touring gets harder as you're older anyways, and I don't really want to do the whole casino circuit.
"All I really want to do is film scoring. I get to stay at my house, and I work out of my house. And so I'm just trying to wrap everything up with a nice little bow, exorcise all demons, and put Ministry to bed."
