M'Lou Elkins 
After two years’ worth of postponements, Ministry’s highly anticipated Industrial Strength Tour descended upon the sold-out crowd at Amplified Live in Dallas, TX on Saturday, March 26, 2022. The industrial metal giants brought the Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity along for the ride.
Corrosion of Conformity opened the show and quickly whipped the packed crowd into a fist-pumping frenzy with tracks primarily off their hit albums Deliverance and Wiseblood. Fans could be heard screaming the lyrics to classics like “Vote with a Bullet,” “Clean My Wounds” and “Albatross,” and it was obvious that the band was thrilled to be back in their element and playing again after a two-year COVID induced hiatus.
Frontman Pepper Keenan remarked several times how good it was to be back and encouraged fans to flock to the CoC merch booth after their set where he and his “day drinking best friend” (lead guitarist Woody Weatherman) would be holding court. Their set was solid and fun, and perfectly paved the way for fellow tour mates the Melvins.
The crowd erupted into excited screams when the Melvins took the stage to the theme song from Sandford and Son against a backdrop image of Bewitched’s Esmeralda. Frontman Buzz Osborne and his glorious mop of out-of-control hair lead the audience on a musical journey through their vast catalog of heavy hits.
They opened with “The Kicking Machine” and their Redd Kross cover of “Charlie” was a nice treat. A huge highlight was when Ministry drummer Roy Mayorga joined them onstage for “Hooch” and “Honeybucket.” The dueling drums produced an intense sound that ricocheted throughout the venue. Their stellar 12-song set ensured that the audience was properly primed for the main event.
With the chain-link fence in place on stage, an obvious homage to the old school days when Ministry was touring in support of A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, the lights went down as smoke filled the air. At long last Ministry took the stage and launched into “Breathe.” The crowd went insane and I briefly got the wind knocked out of me as I was quickly thrust against the barricade from the mad onslaught of fans behind me. Jourgensen alternated between stalking across the stage and launching himself at the prop chain-link fence separating the band from the crowd. He has a unique way of almost acting out the lyrics as he sings them, which makes him even more entertaining to watch.
After performing “Stigmata,” Jourgensen and crew treated the crowd to 1000 Homo DJ’s Black Sabbath cover “Supernaut,” followed by Pailhead classics “Don’t Stand in Line” and “Man Should Surrender.”
The band left the stage and the fence came down. When they returned for the encore, they busted straight into “Alert Level” – a tense track off their latest rehearse, Moral Hygiene, that puts everything that’s concerning about our country in recent times under a microscope. Closing out the night was their hard-hitting cover of Iggy and the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy.”
As the house light brightened and the crowd dispersed, I realized this performance was way more than just an opportunity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste…it truly showcased Ministry’s outstanding legacy in the industrial metal scene.
Check out our concert photo galleries of Ministry, Melvins, and Corrosion of Conformity from the show.
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