History Music / Ministry

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: Asked to play an afternoon set for Music/NeilYoung's Bridge School Benefit charity concerts, the band opted for a set that was primarily acoustic {{Cover Versions}} - a surprisingly faithful version of Music/TheGratefulDead's "Friend Of The Devil" was included on one of the accompanying ''Bridge School'' albums, marking one of the few times Al could be heard singing softly and melodically on an officially released Ministry song since the 80's.

** Debut single ''I'm Falling / Cold Life'' also sounds a bit different from much of anything they'd later do: "I'm Falling" is a PostPunk song influenced by British groups like Music/TheCure and Music/JoyDivision, "Cold Life" is a funk song, and "Primental" is a disco instrumental (albeit one that would resurface with added lyrics as the ''With Sympathy'' track "I Wanted To Tell Her")

* HarshVocals: All over the place.

* IndecipherableLyrics: Jourgensen is addicted to distorting and processing his voice at the expense of understandable lyrics.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Most members of the original lineup (that is, the one from 1981) had left the band by the time ''With Sympathy'' was released, leaving Ministry as a duo (Al and drummer Stephen George) for the only known time. The reasons for their depature are unknown. Sephen George would end up leaving by the time ''Twitch'' was released, also for unknown reasons.

* FanDisservice: The cover of ''Dark Side of the Spoon'', depicting an obese woman wearing nothing but a dunce cap, sitting in front of a blackboard. The "Bad Blood" single, released ahead of the album, featured the same woman from the front, with [[HandOrObjectUnderwear her hands held up in front of her chest]]. In contrast to the ''From Beer To Eternity'' cover, the band actually claimed there wasn't an intentional deeper meaning: Paul Barker said in an interview that he wanted a nude obese woman on the cover and Al had wanted a child in front of a blackboard, so they just combined the two concepts.

* ShoutOut: The title of ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'', is taken from chapter 69 of Creator/AleisterCrowley's ''The Book of Lies'', and is basically an IncrediblyLamePun about 69ing. The reference goes further, as the album covers don't have any text and the title written on the spine and the liner notes is ''ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ'', which is the heading of chapter 69 of ''The Book of Lies''. (''ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ'' is basically a combination of the Greek word "kefali", which means "head" - [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar think of the English meaning]] - and "ΞΘ", which is "69" in Greek numerals.)

* FiveManBand:
** Current lineup:
*** TheBigBad: Al
*** TheDragon: Sin
*** TheEvilGenius: John
*** TheBrute: Cesar
*** [[SixthRanger Fifth Ranger]]: Paul
** Classic lineup:
*** TheBigBad: Al
*** TheDragon: Mike Scaccia
*** TheEvilGenius: Paul Barker
*** TheBrute: Bill Rieflin
*** [[SixthRanger Fifth and Sixth Rangers]]: Chris Connelly and Louis Svitek

* YourCheatingHeart: The subject of the disco-esque song "I Wanted to Tell Her" from ''With Sympathy''.

** ''The Land of Rape and Honey'', once you realize what it is... [[spoiler:An out-of-focus head shot of a dead man, possibly a concentration camp victim.]]

* MetalScream: Al uses a Type 1.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''The Land of Rape and Honey'', ''Filth Pig'', ''Houses of the Molé''.

* ThrashMetal: From ''Houses of The Molé'' onwards.

** "Test" on ''The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' is a strangely upbeat rap-rock-metal song. Part of the reason it's so different from the rest of the album is that they decided to do it on the spur the moment - after meeting rapper K-Lite, who happened to be recording his own material in the same studio complex, the band decided it might be interesting to have him appear on a song.

** "Test" on ''The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' is a strangely upbeat rap-rock-metal song.

** ''Dark Side of the Spoon'' as well: FanDisservice in the form of a nude, obese woman in a dunce cap (albeit seen from behind only). The back cover even uses a close-up of her rear.

* FanDisservice: The cover of ''Dark Side of the Spoon'', depicting an obese woman wearing nothing but a dunce cap.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: They once performed a surprisingly faithful acoustic cover of "Friend Of The Devil" by Music/TheGratefulDead, as heard on the benefit album ''The Bridge School Concerts, Vol. 1'' - it's one of the few times Al Jourgensen can be heard singing gently outside of the early synth pop material.

** "Unlistenable" by Surgical Meth Machine, another Ministry side project, includes {{Take That}}s to various other bands, but also has Al exclaiming "Ministry? I hate fuckin' industrial bands!" (for added HypocriticalHumor, this is
said in the middle of an IndustrialMetal song)

** ''AmeriKKKant'' towards UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, his administration, and his supporters.

---->''Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration,

---->Woo, hey, hey

---->Revelations, dissipation, condemnation, dissolution, do you feel like you're under a gun?

----> Hey! Hey!

---->Woo, hey, hey''

* SelfDeprecation: The middle of [[http://lyrics.wikia.com/Revolting_Cocks:Linger_Ficken%27_Good Linger Fickin Good]]".

** Al later said in interviews ''Relapse'' was going to be their last album, due to the death of Mike Scaccia. He'd later claim he had no intention of dissolving the group this time, he had just said it because he was already getting frustrated by journalists asking him about the future of the group so soon after Scaccia's passing.

* {{Supergroup}}: Pigface.