In a recent interview with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, Al Jourgensen hinted at retiring Ministry. Jourgensen expressed his desire to transition into film scoring and activism, emphasizing his intention to make a difference through these avenues.

Jourgensen elaborated on his plans, stating that after wrapping up the last few albums and tours, he aims to focus on film scoring and activism, drawing inspiration from Tom Morello’s endeavors. He emphasized his disinterest in the conventional band dynamic, preferring the collaborative process of film scoring and the freedom it offers.

Regarding Ministry’s future, Jourgensen confirmed that the upcoming album, Hopiumforthemasses, out March 1 via Nuclear Blast Records, will not be the band’s final record. He revealed plans for one more album, recruiting former member Paul Barker to collaborate, marking a fitting conclusion to over forty years of Ministry.

Additionally, Jourgensen mentioned a remake of Ministry’s debut album, With Sympathy, which he had disliked for decades. However, with a new band lineup and fresh arrangements, he found new relevance in the songs, leading to its forthcoming release. Listen to the full interview here. 

Jourgensen elaborated:

 “There comes a point in time where — there’s only so many notes in a musical scale, there’s only so many things you can do, I think we’ve kind of perfected our genre, whatever genre that is. People like to call it industrial or whatever; I just call it music. But it is certainly our genre. And there comes a point in time where you don’t wanna start on the decline. And we’re all at the right ages. We’re peaking at the right time. And the next album and the final album should be fresh because bringing Paul Barker back into the fold for the last album, I think, is… We’ve all grown up in the last 40 years. And I do know I work well with him in the studio. as is obvious with the ’90s albums that we did. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the next one. But after that, what am I gonna do to top that? And the world’s not gonna suddenly magically change by then. But there comes a point in time musically where anything from here is gonna be downhill. I see so many bands do that. And I don’t need the money, I don’t need the whatever. So I think it’s a good time to stop. I just turned 65, which means that I’m getting like my mailbox stuffed with AARP shit. I took my piercings out. I took my dreads out. I decided at 65, I’m gonna become an adult. [Laughs] Good luck with that.”