Ministry mainman Al Jourgensen has revealed his next musical project will be called Surgical Meth Machine – and it’s set to feature “the fastest music in the history of music.”
He’s currently appearing at Australia’s Soundwave festival with the final incarnation of Ministry, following the death of guitarist and close friend Mike Scaccia in 2012.
And while there are some more live shows to come from the band he’s best known for, he’s confirmed 2013 album From Beer To Eternity was their studio swan song.
Jourgensen tells The Metal Hammer Magazine Show: “We’re going to do one last tour as Ministry, maybe even another tour, because people seem to want to see it.
“As far as future studio releases, since Mikey’s death, I decided it’s not the same. It would be like Zeppelin playing without Bonham or the Who playing without Moon or something like that. Me playing without Mikey doesn’t seem right.”
Instead, he’s working on a Surgical Meth Machine album with longtime engineer Sam D’Ambruoso. “We decided to cut out the middle-men,” Jourgensen says. “Me and him are doing this music that’s just eyeball-popping. There’s nothing under 220pbm on there. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
He compares the material to a track on From Beer To Eternity: “Mikey’s Middle Finger is one of the last things Mike did before he died. Imagine a whole album of that – this is what we’re going for now. Straight mayhem.”
He adds: “People are probably going to dismiss it as craziness – and that’s good. Craziness develops a future in music. You need the crazy.”
Jourgensen has experienced a number of health issues in recent years, reporting in 2012 that he’d been clinically dead three times before medical teams saved his life. But he says: “Those days are done. I’m as healthy as a 56-year-old alcoholic hepatitis A, B and C carrier. I’m holding up well for an old goat – we can still pull it off.
“There’s only one person who’s been around the block as much as me and that’s Lemmy. The two of us are like the Ever Ready Bunny – we take a lickin,’ we keep on tickin’.”
Metal Hammer is reporting from Soundwave all this week. Stay tuned to The Metal Hammer Magazine Show for even more coverage.
