Industrial metal stalwarts Ministry are touring, mostly reflecting on their 2021 album Moral Hygiene (released via Nuclear Blast) but also looking forward a bit to their upcoming record, Hopium for the Masses, due Aug. 4.
On May 3, Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen took his band to The Fillmore Silver Spring, where they were accompanied by openers Gary Numan (yes, the legend) and Front Line Assembly in a big show that pleased a lot of people.
Jason Nicholson shot all three bands, and you must see these photos.
Ministry pulled five of 13 songs from Moral Hygiene, starting the set with the album’s “Alert Level.” The band peppered the others throughout the first half of the set, and they performed “Believe Me” and “Broken System” back-to-back.
Watch the official music video for “Believe Me” by Ministry on YouTube:
At the set’s midpoint, Ministry performed new song “Goddamn White Trash,” which apparently is set to appear on their 2023 record. They band closed the main set with perennial fave “Stigmata,” hailing from the 1988 album, The Land of Rape and Honey. In a surprise, Ministry closed the show with a one-song encore where they covered “Ricky’s Hand” by Fad Gadget, the British post-punk project of the late Frank Tovey.
Industrial/new wave giant Gary Numan could have headlined this tour and shouldered the burden of massive concert dates. But he and his band are along for the ride, much to the delight of Ministry’s Al. One of the pleasures of watching the tour progress across the country is to see Ministry and Gary Numan enjoy each other’s company on the road via social media.
At The Fillmore Silver Spring on May 3, Gary’s 13-song set drew heavily from his recent albums Intruder (2021) and Splinter: Songs from a Broken Mind (2013). Gary opened his set with Intruder’s title track.
Watch the official music video for “Intruder” by Gary Numan on YouTube:
Front Line Assembly served as the very first opener. Their short set included a smattering of songs from throughout their career and, weirdly, a cover of “Rock Me Amadeus” by late Austrian musician Falco. FLA favored their album Echogenetic (2013) at The Fillmore Silver Spring on May 3, drawing the songs “Killing Ground” and “Deadened” from it.
Stream “Deadened” by Front Line Assembly on YouTube:
This satisfying industrial mix has a few more dates on the road this week.
Here are some photos of Front Line Assembly performing at The Fillmore Silver Spring on May 3, 2023. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Jason Nicholson.
Here are some photos of Gary Numan performing at The Fillmore Silver Spring on May 3, 2023. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Jason Nicholson.
And here are some photos of Ministry performing at The Fillmore Silver Spring on May 3, 2023. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Jason Nicholson.
