“This is The Twilight Zone!”
It seems I’m developing a bit of a reputation for my love of metal music. Sure enough, most of my tastes gravitate in a heavy, guitar crunching, angry spitting, violent dancing, political attack that much of metal shares with the world. This is why it should come as no surprise that I leapt for the chance to see Ministry at the Fonda Theatre one Thursday afternoon. However, this was no ordinary metal show, for Al Jourgenson and his cohorts were sharing the stage with 80s horror synth revivalist Carpenter Brut – whom I’ve also become deeply enamored with over the past year since Leather Teeth was released – and newcomers Alien Weaponry from New Zealand.
Alien Weaponry opened the show with a short but sweet set of blistering nu-metal tracks with vocals in English and te reo Maori. They’re a young bunch of guys with great enthusiasm and their unique vocals were refreshing to hear. The night was clearly off to a good start.
While I’m not sure if Carpenter Brut belongs to the synthwave genre, I can also understand his placement therein. What he does bring to the stage, that most synth wave acts don’t is a full band and an awesome visual aesthetic. Grand pulsating back lighting is met with a projected collage of classic euro horror scenes mixed in with unique footage shot for the band and from the moment the curtain raised at the Fonda he and his band brought on an unrelenting set of killer tunes for the hour they controlled the stage.
Ministry’s mark on metal – particularly industrial metal – is undeniable. Jourgensen’s aesthetic of political activism and religious mockery has been co-opted by goth-industrial kids and bands throughout, making the curtain reveal of Ministry’s stage set up – complete with neon crucifix microphone lectern surrounded by TV screens – thoroughly meet said mark. While perhaps not the most eloquent speaker, Jourgensen’s outrage is loud and clear, something which he has never shied away from and the tour – dubbed “The AmeriKKKant Tour” – is a sonic attack on Trump, his supporters, and his allies. The band opened their near two hour explosion of music with a set of material from the AmeriKKKant album, before plunging into a blistering set of classic material featuring sit-ins from Chris Connelly and Dave Navaro.
