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‘My first death was the weirdest …’ Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, metal’s great survivor
The industrial pioneer’s heart stopped three times during addiction and serious illness. Now, before a planned split, his new album takes on Trump – even if it means disowning his mother
Ministry’s ascent was truly springboarded by a label change and the addition of bassist/co-writer Paul Barker, who’d remain until an acrimonious 2003 split (Jourgensen today attributes the parting to financial tensions and the pair’s wives not getting along). Despite these experiences, his two fatal overdoses, a spider bite that almost necessitated the amputation of his arm, and contracting all three forms of hepatitis, Jourgensen says he didn’t strike rock bottom until the early 2000s. He first vowed to retire from touring due to alcohol-exacerbated health issues in 2008 (he unretired in 2011), then said the band would split as a result of longtime guitarist Mike Scaccia’s fatal heart attack in 2012 (they never did).
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