Ministry dug deep into their archive on the farewell tour: at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on 15 September 2026, they played “Scarecrow” live for the first time in 23 years and brought Paul Barker back on stage. That night they shared the top of the bill with Acid Bath.
“Scarecrow” closes “Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs” (1992), the record that took Ministry from the clubs to the big leagues. It had not been played since 2003, the year Barker left. He returned later in the set, on “Useless” from 1996’s “Filth Pig”, taking over vocals. The pairing is not new: the two gave “Useless” its live debut on 4 July 2026 at Till Fest in Leipzig, an appearance that also brought back “The Fall” for the first time since 1996.
Barker was Ministry’s bassist, producer and engineer from 1986 to 2003, through the years of “The Land Of Rape And Honey”, “The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste”, “Psalm 69” and “Filth Pig”. He left after “Animositisomina” and for years had no contact with Al Jourgensen; they reconciled in 2018, when both attended screenings of the Wax Trax! documentary “Industrial Accident”. In March 2024 it was confirmed he would write, play and produce on Ministry’s new record. His presence in the end is more limited than that announcement suggested: he has a credit on one song, the closing “We’re Still Here”.
“Hate To Go – Take Out Or Delivery” comes out on 30 October via Cleopatra Records and is their seventeenth and final studio album. The third single, “Singularity”, was released on 18 September, after “Burned Out” and “We Hate”.
The upcoming dates
- 20/9 – Louder Than Life, Louisville
- 3/10 – Salt Shed, Chicago (with Acid Bath and Windhand)
- 24/10 – Sick New World Texas, Fort Worth
- 4-6/12 – Good Things Festival, Melbourne / Sydney / Brisbane
- 8/12 – Liberty Hall, Sydney
- 10/12 – Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
“The Goodbye Europe” with Die Krupps runs in April and May 2027, from Utrecht to Helsinki.
See also: Ministry: “Singularity” and artificial intelligence on the final album | Prong – Live in Athens
Source: https://metal-stop.com/ministry-play-scarecrow-for-the-first-time-since-2003-and-bring-out-paul-barker-at-red-rocks-video/
