MINISTRY Mastermind AL JOURGENSEN On Land Of Rape And Honey - "To This Day, It’s Still My Favorite Record; It Was Done Out Of Sheer Artistic Joy"

October 13, 2018, 5 years ago

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MINISTRY Mastermind AL JOURGENSEN On Land Of Rape And Honey - "To This Day, It’s Still My Favorite Record; It Was Done Out Of Sheer Artistic Joy"

Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen recently spoke with Billboard about turning 60, and the 30th Anniversary of the band's classic album, The Land Of Rape And Honey. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Billboard: The Land of Rape and Honey turns 30 this week.

Jourgensen: "To this day, it’s still my favorite record. Especially because the process of making it was a learning experience, like when you’re in school and read that first book that actually makes a difference in your life. Doing all those cut-up bits, actually splicing quarter-inch and two-inch tape, for weeks in a room sequestered by myself with just those tape machines was monumental toward my upbringing, my thinking and my future vision of life in general. That was a real catalyst and the template of where I wanted to go. I completely ripped off the cut-up technique of William Burroughs and painter Brion Gysin by doing that with tape as opposed to having structured songs. It took weeks and weeks of editing, but it was a thrill to do and the possibilities seemed endless. Also, I was young and naive and steeped in the cynicism of being involved in the record industry. It was just done out of sheer artistic joy, so that record will always have a special spot in my heart."

Billboard: How did Sire react after Ministry’s earlier work?

Jourgensen: "Oh, they fuckin’ hated it (laughs). Of course! I was a pariah until the label played it around for some people who said, 'Wow, this shit is fresh!' and then they took credit for the whole thing."

Billboard: What is your favorite track or tracks on the album?

Jourgensen: "A lot of crazy shit happened during the recording of the instrumental 'Golden Dawn'. There were a lot of weird electrical problems and ghost encounters in the studio. It was dredging up some really crazy shit that wasn’t just the drugs! Because we had straight-edge friends that were in there who said that the song and the room were conjuring shit that was making them feel uncomfortable. I was having so many problems: Azimuth meters were flying off where they shouldn’t have been, which they didn’t do on any other song. It was just a really creepy song to make, so I think it’s the most powerful song on the record. But it’s unbelievable to think it’s that old. That album has actually outlived Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Pretty sobering thought, isn’t it? Especially considering we’re starting a new Ministry album on October 10th."

Read the complete interview here.

After several headlining tours of North America with the likes of such acts as Chelsea Wolfe and Death Grips, Ministry will continue to support their critically acclaimed album AmeriKKKant with a full U.S. tour this November / December. Joining the American industrial juggernaut are new wave of synthwave cessation, Carpenter Brut.

Today, the band has released a visualizer for the track "AmeriKKKa" in anticipation for that tour. Check it out below.

Tickets for Ministry's tour are on sale now via MinistryBand.com.Confirmed dates are listed below.

November
21 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
23  - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
24  - Denver, CO - Fillmore
27  - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theatre
29 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
30 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre

December
1 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
2 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
4 - Rochester, NY - Anthology
5 - Washington, DC - Fillmore
6 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
7 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
8 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
10 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
11 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater
12 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
13 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Houston
14 - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
16 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee
18 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues San Diego
20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda
21 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda



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