Moral Hygiene, Ministry’s long awaited and highly anticipated album, released Friday, October 1, 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. This is a huge return for the band and their leader, Al Jourgensen, as he comes to us with a message and reminder to seek out and get back to common human decency. This is Ministry’s 15th studio album, and contains previously released singles such as “Alert Level,” “Good Trouble,” and “Search and Destroy.” Jourgensen’s work came to be while he spent the quarantining hours writing in his home and self-built studio “Scheisse Dog Studio” with engineer Michael Rozen and girlfriend Liz Walton.

Even before the full release, this album already had acclaimed tracks in its grasp, being the three songs that were mentioned above. Starting with “Alert Level,” the song starts off and continually asks its audience “how concerned are you?” This was a fitting message at the time, along with the repetition of the line “let’s get ready,” as this track released in April 2020, when the pandemic was just in its anxiety inducing beginnings.

“Good Trouble” holds the message of standing up to those to oppress you, to start the unrest. It contains lines such as “we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no peace” and “get the party started, get the fascists out.” The track is a rallying cry, in homage to Civil Rights Leader John Lewis, to fight for human rights and stand your ground, to clean up the mess that has been made.

“Search and Destroy” is a unique take on the Stooges classic, containing lines such as “look out honey, ’cause I’m using technology, and I ain’t got no time to make an apology.” The music video was filmed in an abandoned Los Angeles junkyard, and Jourgensen learned how to handle heavy weapon machinery in order to convey the aesthetic he wanted to its fullest.

NEW TRACKS

“Sabotage is Sex” starts off bursting with energy, highlighting the fact that Ministry has really returned. The song comes from the point of view of the oppressors and the oppressed, featuring the juxtaposition of lines like “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” and “we hunt your color for sport.” The overall message of the song is to “let freedom ring” and to “fight the power.” The production of trouble is required for this to happen, as the track points out. All kinds of it, in fact, including “good trouble, evil trouble, weird trouble, necessary trouble.”

“Disinformation” introduces itself with a news reporter in lower quality surrounded by a static, reporting on how misinformation is swirling around constantly on the internet, that “our reality has become increasingly shaped by false information.” The track continues with rising hype and a remix of Donald Trump repeating the words “fake news.” Basically, get used to this kind of life, because “Disinformation” explains that this is the new normal, the new Hell, and past is no more. Ending with its main theme, Jourgensen leads off by telling his audience of “disinformation, a cancer that spreads, disinformation, they control your head.”

“Believe Me” is a track that spends its time guiding its audience on the process of releasing you have been deceived by a previously trusted source, and the rage that follows. Jourgensen is angry at those who blindly follow a connection that is not even worth the considering of forgiveness, and never question the constant lies that is being fed to them by a “death cult.” Humanity has taken a turn for the worst, and it is highlighted in the lines “there’s not a lot to say, somehow we’ve lost our way, this is insanity, and not normality.”

“Broken System” starts off in an incredibly eerie yet thought provoking manner. “Life will never be the same” repeats over and over just as the song begins, really drilling in that anxious gut feeling, and it goes on continuously for about 30 seconds. The music also steadily builds up over this period into the main lyrics, which speaks on how the world is coming to a crumble all around us, and the main suspect of this “Broken System” is the issues and damages of climate change. This message is especially clear in the lines, “we’re running out to save our planet” and “the oceans are arising, we need to rise as well.” The concern of the wellbeing of Earth is perfectly encapsulated in Jourgensen’s emotional outpour and call to make a change put into this song.

“We Shall Resist” revolves around this exact message in the title and refusing to be silenced nor looked down upon by oppressors. Greatly reminding one of the background music to superheroes gearing up for a tough battle, “We Shall Resist” can give power to anyone who wishes to take down their enemies in a badass manner. Fascists think they can always have their way, to “assume total control” on those whose only wish is to speak the truth? Jourgensen tells us to not let this happen, for them to think that they can do such a thing to us, that “we must confront this enemy.”

“Death Toll” is an instrumental, but just as meaningful as all other tracks in Moral Hygiene. On top of the head-banging mix of guitars and drums, unsettling voices are mixed in, the first we hear being a sort of robotic sounding woman, counting up the death toll of all of the lives that COVID-19 has taken in this past year. The voice begins counting from 20,000 deaths, and finishes at 400,000 deaths, then at the end, simply says “the death toll is rising.” The other voices that are mixed into the instruments of “Death Toll” include a man calling the disease a “destroyer,” an and another saying “I execute judgement on you COVID-19!” and “I demand a vaccination to come immediately!”

Finally, “TV Song #6 (Right Around the Corner Mix)” swings into an intense beat immediately with a loud voice proclaiming “it is over!” Statements that follow include “thank you Jesus,” and “the United States is healed and well.” This is a false promise, as politicians are constantly seen ensuring Americans that the end to this virus is “right around the corner,” but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Statements that Donald Trump made during his presidency is also mixed into the metal, along with Jourgensen cursing him out from what he had to say in the unforeseeable times of 2020.

In summary, Moral Hygiene is the show stopping, exciting, and explosive return from Al Jourgensen we’ve all been waiting for. His exploration into politics and the numerous of mistakes the world made last year is clearly portrayed in his thoughts and feelings through every individual lyric of each track. We all need a moment to scream and release our thoughts on how the people in charge of our world aren’t always the best design makers, so go ahead and do so while Jourgensen backs you up in his masterful artistry shown in Moral Hygiene.