Jason Hensel
MINISTRY
w/ Nitzer Ebb + Die Krupps
5/4/25 – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
©Jason Hensel
Al Jourgensen once described With Sympathy as a “sonic abortion.” He distanced himself from the recordings, burned the master tapes on a barbecue, and would only sign the album if a fan paid him $1,000.
But he has a different take on Ministry’s debut album from 1983, thanks to a With Sympathy cover band. Seeing the crowd respond enthusiastically to the songs caused him to go home and relisten to the album. Even though he still hated it, he realized there was something worth exploring.
“That night I went, ‘You know what? Yeah. F*** it,” he told Yahoo a couple of years ago. “Instead of being owned, let’s own it.”
Then, in 2023, the Ministry band members surprised him with a rendition of “Revenge.” He said the song sounded good, especially with the current lineup.
“I have to credit not only this [With Sympathy] cover band, but I have to credit my current band for pushing this to the forefront and forcing me to do this,” he told Yahoo. “Well, not forcing me. Now I’m a willing accomplice.”
Forward to 2025, and Ministry is on tour supporting The Squirrely Years Revisited, a re-recording of songs off With Sympathy and the band’s second album, Twitch.
The tour made its Dallas stop at the Bomb Factory on May 4. By the time Ministry hit the stage, the large, Deep Ellum venue was three-quarters full. Just enough space available for retro dance moves.
Jourgensen, dressed in a sequin jacket, a huge fur hat, and heart-shaped sunglasses, asked the audience if they were ready to go back in time. The enormous cheer was the release of energy from 40 years of waiting to hear these songs played live.
Ministry kicked things off with “Work for Love” from With Sympathy. You could still hear the synthpop, but it was overlaid with the more guttural, hardcore sound the band is known for today.
A standout song from the night was the previously unreleased “I’ll Do Anything for You.” A bit darker, a little heavier, but still highly danceable, the track showcases Jourgensen’s superb songwriting abilities, then and now.
One of the more warm-hearted moments in the show was when Jourgensen told the crowd there was a special guest in the audience. It turns out that it was guitarist Monte Pittman’s mother who was there to celebrate her 85th birthday.
The biggest change to any song was “I’m Not an Effigy.” On Ministry’s debut album, it’s an earworm for the ’80s. The updated version is sludgy and more bombastic. For anyone at the show wanting to hear today’s Ministry, this was the song to satisfy those wants.
The band ended the main set with one of their biggest hits, “Every Day is Halloween.” Released in 1987, you could say it was the most recent song played that night, since everything else originally appeared in the early 1980s.
Check out our concert photos of Ministry below:
Ministry came back for a one-song encore, covering “Ricky’s Hand” by Fad Gadget, who Jourgensen said was an early influence on his songwriting. It was a great ending to a show that looked back and reminisced, but also sated sentimentality.
Nitzer Ebb was one of the two opening bands and the lead-in act to Ministry. Formed in England in 1982, their brand of electronic body music has made them extremely popular in clubs and on stages around the world.
An indication of how popular they are is the fact that at the Dallas show, almost all their shirts were sold out before the first band, Die Krupps, were halfway through their set. As the merch guy said, “We thought we brought enough.”
Still without singer Douglas McCarthy because of illness, Nitzer Ebb took the stage as a two-piece. David Gooday ran the synths and drums while Bon Harris sang, danced, and pumped up the crowd, many of whom were there specifically to see them.
They started their set with the club classic, “Control I’m Here,” moving next to another crowd favorite, “Hearts and Minds.”
One of the highlights of their set was “Lighting Man,” a sinister song that builds and builds, warning the audience repeatedly toward the end that “You better be careful out there / We’re going to pluck you off.”
Many of Nitzer Ebb’s songs have call-and-response lyrics and repeating lines, which seduce you into joining along with the singing. This is most notable on their huge club hit, “Join in the Chant.” Every time Harris yelled, “Fire / Fire / Fire,” the crowd raised their fists and yelled it along with him.
Check out our concert photos of Nitzer Ebb below:
They ended their set with “Murderous,” and their command of the stage and audience showed why Nitzer Ebb remains a popular live act more than 40 years after forming.
German band Die Krupps opened the show. Formed in Düsseldorf in 1980, the band has influenced groups like Front 242 and tourmates Nitzer Ebb. Their fusion of industrial and metal helped satisfy anyone in the crowd who wanted to hear Ministry’s more metal-sounding songs.
Die Krupps started their set with the rousing “Nazis auf Speed” and didn’t let up until they said their goodbyes at the end. Lead singer Jürgen Engler would stare down the audience, sometimes returning to strike a metal rod against a set of metal tubes at the front of the stage. Guitarist Dylan Smith was non-stop movement, engaging the audience with his musicianship and showmanship.
Engler said the band hadn’t played in Dallas in 10 years, so for many in the crowd, this was their first time seeing them. Judging by social media reactions, the audience would definitely like to see them come back sooner rather than later. As one person wrote on Facebook, “Went for Nitzer Ebb. Enjoyed Ministry. But was super impressed with Die Krupps!!” Or as another wrote, “Die Krupps is killing it.”
Check out our concert photos of Die Krupps below:
From Jourgensen killing his With Sympathy demons to Nitzer Ebb owning the crowd to Die Krupps’ impressive return to town, it was a well-worth-it Sunday evening at the Bomb Factory, where every act played and slayed.
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