Ministry

This is an excellent book,as I am a huge fan of metal music & I love reading books by my favorite artists particularly. The name Al Jourgensen might evoke a lot of different thoughts,memories & emotions but 1 thing is synonymous with the name,and that is the might Ministry.Electronic house,trance,industrial,metal,thrash,etc. 1 thing is certian,Al has done it all..and this book accurately explains it in great detail. I think it's great how the book was written,as it starts with a few pages from the guy who interviewed Al in 96 & again in 99 & 2003,then the story of Al starts with his roots & childhood,each chapter that follows is broken up by the album he released and kinda puts the albums in perspective.Al spares no detail in his experiences with substance use & abuse,encounters with aliens,other musicians & actors among others,as well as jail psych wards * time spent with William Burroughs and Tim Leary. The albums Are catalogued and broken down and explained,like what substances and debauchery were involved in the writing,recording and touring. There are some really funny,hilarious stories in on here as well as many tragic ones. I found myself learning a lot about uncle Al that I didn't know before,like side projects and producing for other bands. There is so much diversity in here from stories of love,loss,mayhem,death & destruction. Stories of debauchery & abuse. Alotta tour into info and personal info about him crashing cars,parties and dodging death while walking away laughing..many times over. Sure alotta the book has talk of use & abuse...but it's So here not Paul McCartney. This book talks about past band mates,label issues,road stories,band member deaths (including the late,great Mike Scaccia) as well as interviews from other members,other bands and work associates as well as family and his wife Angie. It covers his recovery and relapse and everything in between. I'm telling ya,if you are a fan of any of Als work or Ministry or industrial or just musician bios like I do,or maybe you want a deep look into a psychos psyche,or just a ton of laughs. Look no further because this book here had it all. It's so good I've read it 4 times in 6 months. It includes stories of time living with Leary,issues with lawsuits and death threats,your mishaps,surgeries and crazy,wild stories of lewd acts and insanity. Look no further cuz you will dig it,don't trust negative reviews,just read it for yourself and be the judge yourself. Enjoy

Wow, what a great read. I was never super into Ministry, but I am a much bigger fan now. No, the stories of debauchery and excess didn't make me a bigger fan of the band- the honesty and intelligence of Al Jourgensen did. His candid recollections of some crazy stories leaves you wanting more. He's a natural storyteller, without being too verbose or exaggerating. Much like his music, Uncle Al wrote an amazing, more than entertaining book that perfectly captures his reflection on his career. I loved the pictures he shared in the book as well. At one point in time (up until 2010?), Uncle Al was a very attractive guy. Comically, his two ex-wives were far from attractive people, as he shares bits and pieces from his personal life. Most of the book is focused on his surviving being a working musician, which is the only job he has held since dropping out of college. Drugs were a huge part, but his non-stop ability to create great music over and over and over again really left me taking another listen to his entire back catalog of music and appreciating what pain is behind every note. From the pain of insecurity, to the pain of knowing your young daughter is living at your drug dealer's house with your wife, to the pain of having an unconventional childhood, to the pain of losing a bandmate or friend... I seriously went back and looked up the year of every album he has made- more than 25 records- and am able to kind of feel where he was at in each period of is life through the music and now with the book. It's absolutely incredible. It's so intimate. It is exceptionally rare a musician would offer such insight, and it has given me not only a new appreciation for Ministry (I'm a huge fan now), but it has raised my expectations of what a rock star autobiography should be. I read The Dirt (Motley Crue), I read White Line Fever (Lemmy), but those autobiographies and so many more pale in comparison to this one. Long Live Uncle Al!

I first listen ended to Ministry in 1992 or 1993 when "Psalm 69" was blowing up. I remember how fascinated I was with the sound. It was like noting I had heard before, and there was this sonic biker cowboy whatever Al Jourgensen was singing distorted lyrics to the face-smashing guitars and machine gun lyrics on "Just One Fix" and "N.W.O." I was hooked. I started listening to older stuff like "Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" and "Land of Rape and Honey." Years later, I am still blown away by Ministry, and while I generally don't like listening to music with heavy-handed political messages, Al and company got a pass on the Anti-Bush trilogy ("Houses of the Molé," "The Last Sucker" and "Rio Grande Blood"). They were just too awesome sounding to put down.As I picked up Al's biography, I was beginning to listen to "From Beer to Eternity."Reinvented and reinventing is what I like about Ministry. And this book goes into all the details and thoughts tht have gone through Al Jourgensen's mind as he has navigated a crazy, twisted life.In terms of rock and roll bios, I have always used Mötley's "The Dirt" as the gold standard, which is why Slash's own biography turned me off from the whole genre (it was mediocre at best)." Al's "Gospels" changed the game. I really got a sense of emotion, thought and substance from this book even as he divulged all the gross nitty gritty.There is no pretense to this book. It's a solid rock autobiography, certainly not for the faint of heart. Despite The craziness and total lack of apology (something thy appears to be a character trait of Al's), this is a story of growth and redemption of sorts.If he can hold into this mortal coil for longer, I am excited to see what this man will continue to innovate with.Great book. Read it!

El Tío Al explica todos sus aventuras a lo largo de su vida, uno no esperaría lo que ha vivido y que siga en este plano existencial. Buen libro para pasar el tiempo

Only half way though, this was recommended by a friend, I’d never listen to Ministry, barely knew who they were , now I’m becoming an avid fan . The book is well written,interesting, funny, intelligent, and horrifying how this guy Al has crammed in so much into his 40/50 years … is amazing. A must read even if you no clue who the hell this guy is …

Je n'ai jamais autant ri en lisant une biographie d'une personnalité du Rock/Métal. Bourré d'anecdotes plus barrées les unes que les autres, c'est un must read si vous vous intéressé à la scène Indus Américaine... Et même si ce n'est pas le cas, si vous avez envie de vous payer des barres en lisant les excès hallucinants de Jourgensen et sa bande, ne manquez pas ce livre. Il est vraiment extra.

Mi dispiace che sia scritto in lingua inglese. Io ho una conoscenza da licenza media ma siccome mi è sempre piaciuta la lingua suddetta, lo sto leggendo a piccoli passi e traducendo senza dizionario ma a memoria con i vocaboli che conosco e collegandoli, riuscendo cosi ad avere una traduzione abbastanza decente del contenuto. Finora ho letto 3 pagine ed è un libro molto accattivante.Per chi si vuole cimentare come ho fatto io è un libro consigliato.

I have read a lot of biographies and this is without doubt one of the very best. Al Jorgensen has lived an incredible life, he has been at the forefront of the creation of an entire musical genre and bore eyewitness to many events that have shaped the world today. He has brilliant conversation writing style which touches on self deprecation, lunacy and a level of drive, ambition that few can fathom. This book is destined to become a film, but it should be an entire series.