MINISTRY To Release 'Cover Up' In April

"We don't just bitch about Bush and global oligarchies. We're still a rock band and 'Cover Up' is THE MINISTRY party album," said MINISTRY's Al Jourgensen about "Cover Up", recorded by MINISTRY & CO-CONSPIRATORS and set for an April Fools Day (April 1) release.

"Cover Up" simply is one of the hottest, nastiest rock'n'roll albums ever recorded and sees Jourgensen and CO-CONSPIRATORS paying tribute to some of the most memorable PAR-TEE rock songs, mostly from the 8-track era, and to those artists who first laid them down — DEEP PURPLE, T.REX, ZZ TOP, THE DOORS, MOUNTAIN, BOB DYLAN, THE ROLLING STONES and more.

Playing on the "Cover Up" title, Jourgensen has injected himself into various conspiracy theory photographs throughout the release's artwork.

In addition to fellow MINISTRY guitarist Sin Quirin (REVOLTING COCKS),Jourgensen enlisted an impressive group of CO-CONSPIRATORS for "Cover Up" — FEAR FACTORY frontman Burton C. Bell (also of ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS) sings on THE ROLLING STONES' "Under My Thumb", REVOLTING COCKS' Josh Bradford provides vocals for GOLDEN EARRING's "Radar Love", and PRONG vocalist Thomas Victor lends his pipes to DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'" and RAN JAM's "Black Betty", which also features the Hell Paso Mosh Choir. Additional CO-CONSPIRATORS include the late Paul Raven (MINISTRY, KILLING JOKE),Tony Campos and Wayne Static (STATIC-X),Edu Mussi (ECHOES AND SHADOWS) and Plastilina Mosh.

"Cover Up" will also include MINISTRY's cover of THE DOORS' "Roadhouse Blues" (the version can also be found on MINISTRY's September 2007 release, "The Last Sucker"),and DEEP PURPLE's "Space Truckin'" all tracks culminating in Jourgensen's personal punk rock rendition of LOUIS ARMSTRONG's "Wonderful World".

"'Under My Thumb', like THE DOORS cover 'Roadhouse Blues', was about my not understanding the dichotomies involved," says Jourgensen. "If you listen to the lyrics to 'Under My Thumb', it's the most misogynistic song ever made. I never understood that dichotomy so I always wanted to tackle it. Same with 'Roadhouse' — it's a blues-based song, yet the lyrics are about driving your car into a wall at full speed, drunk, and not giving a f**k. It's so much an anarchist anthem, it should've been a SEX PISTOLS song. So, I wanted to approach both tracks with the spirit of the original lyrical intent."

The April Fools Day release of "Cover Up" coincides with the launch of MINISTRY's final world tour — C U LaTouR — which kicks off March 25 in Spokane, WA. The 36-plus market limited engagement C U LaTouR features special guests MESHUGGAH and opening act HEMLOCK, ending the North American leg mid-May with multiple-nights in Jourgensen's hometown of Chicago. MINISTRY then heads off to play the principal European festivals as well as choice club dates, kicking off in London at the end of May, stretching through to July to end the tour in Dublin, Ireland.

Since announcing the C U LaTouR in late October, additional shows in Spokane, Calgary, Vancouver, Tulsa and Chicago have been added to the routing, with more dates to be announced in the coming weeks.