Ministry reworks early synthpop years on ‘The Squirrely Years Revisited’ – Out March 28 via Cleopatra Records
Ministry (Photo by Derick Smith)
Ministry will revisit his long-dormant synth pop tracks and give them a fresh polish 40 years later on the album, “The Squirrely Years Revisited”, out March 28 via Cleopatra Records.
“The Squirrely Years Revisited” will feature 9 tracks (3 additional bonus tracks on CD) and offers reworked versions of classic hits like “Everyday Is Halloween”, “Work For Love”, “I’m Not An Effigy”, and “I’ll Do Anything For You”. New music videos will soon be released for several tracks as well.
Ministry — besides Al Jourgensen also including John Bechdel (keyboards), Monte Pittman and Cesar Soto (guitars), Pepe Clarke Magaña (drums) and Paul D’Amour (bass) – will embark on ‘The Squirrely Years Tour’ beginning April 29, with a set dominated by Jourgensen’s earliest works. Opening support will come from Nitzer Ebb for the first half of the tour, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult for the second half of the tour; and Die Krupps on all dates. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 14 at 10 AM local time in each market.
“Since I hated my early stuff for decades, I decided to take ownership of it and do it right,” says Jourgensen.
“The Squirrely Years Revisited” will be available in all formats including digital, CD and 4 different vinyl configurations. The full track list includes:
- Work For Love
- Here We Go
- All Day
- Everyday Is Halloween
- Revenge
- I’m Not An Effigy
- I’m Falling
- Same Old Madness
- I’ll Do Anything For You
- Just Like You [CD Only]
- We Believe [CD Only]
- Over The Shoulder [CD Only]
“The Squirrely Years Revisited” follows the release of Ministry’s 16th studio album in 2024, “Hopiumforthemasses“, and comes ahead of the final new studio album from Ministry in 2026, a record that has Jourgensen teaming up with Paul Barker once again.
Ministry ‘The Squirrely Years Tour’
*Nitzer Ebb appearing
+My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult appearing
(Die Krupps appearing on all dates except May 8)
April 2025
- 29 Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren*
- 30 Albuquerque, NM @ Revel*
May 2025
- 2 Austin, TX @ Emo’s*
- 3 Houston, TX @ House of Blues*
- 4 Dallas, TX @ Factory*
- 6 Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern*
- 8 Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
- 9 Chicago, IL @ Riviera*
- 10 Detroit, MI @ Masonic Cathedral*
- 12 Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage*
- 13 Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall+
- 14 Boston, MA @ Roadrunner+
- 16 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount+
- 17 Montreal, QC @ MTelus+
- 18 Toronto, ON @ History+
- 20 Minneapolis, MN @ Palace+
- 21 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre+
- 23 Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall+
- 24 Calgary, AB @ Palace Theatre+
- 26 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore+
- 28 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo+
- 29 Spokane, WA @ Spokane Live Casino+
- 31 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom+
June 2025
- 1 Salt Lake City, UT @ Union+
- 3 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield+
- 4 Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium+
- 5 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues+
About Ministry
Ministry was founded in Chicago in 1981 by Al Jourgensen. Initially, the band embraced a synth-pop sound, evident in their debut album, “With Sympathy” (1983).
Over time, Ministry’s music evolved into a more aggressive and industrial style, as showcased in albums like “The Land of Rape and Honey” (1988) and “The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste” (1989).
Their 1992 album, “Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs”, brought them mainstream success, featuring tracks such as “N.W.O.” and “Jesus Built My Hotrod”. After a hiatus in 2013, Ministry returned with “AmeriKKKant” in 2018, continuing to address societal and political issues. The band’s 16th studio album, “Hopiumforthemasses”, was released on March 1, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records.
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