Words – TG / Photos (C) Adrian Hextall / MindHex Media
Ministry
I think that is enough for a review to be honest.
If I say Ministry and gig, you know that it was a fucking amazing time (editor knows my potty mouth so may have to edit heavily).
However, I have been told that is not enough so yeah. I FINALLY GOT TO NOT SEE MINISTRY!
Now I know that sounds confusing, but I didn’t actually ‘see’ them. I heard every glorious note and beat and vocal and sang (screamed) every single word, but I did not see them.
It was so packed and hot and sweaty that I was all the way at the back near the bar in the steamy Electric Brixton in London. Now I am not a big girly girl but even I, with my earlier years of throwing myself in mosh pits (I kind of hang around the edges nowadays), so normally I would have no fear of pushing my way nearer the front but here is the thing…I didn’t have to.
I am not sure I have ever been to a gig where the vibe was so joyous, so friendly and so damned heavy before. It honestly felt like a family party from beginning to end and that includes the support. I found a friend who I had not seen in 11 years and deliberately lost my bestie (he understood) so I could go with my friend Amber to dance and jump like a maniac screaming the lyrics at the top of my voice, pumping my fist in the air and bouncing endlessly.
Again, I can not describe what the band did and judging from the pictures of Al Jourgensen and co doing their thing, it looked incredible but for a die hard Ministry fan who has never had the opportunity to see them before, it felt like they were giving a gift to their fans by playing all the favourites.
You know what it is like when you go to a gig especially those of the industrial genre, and you feel the beat, riffs, solos and vocal rawness in your body and experiencing songs such as ‘Thieves’ from ‘The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste’ (what a fucking beautiful opener), ‘N.W.O’ from ‘KE*A*H**(Psalm 69) to the classic ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’ from (same album as previous) and you know that Ministry were playing for their fans, that this most definitely did not feel like a filler gig and that I was right to be obsessed by Ministry.
Again, this review can not describe what they did, how they looked or even list out how they played. This is all about the vibe and the feeling of togetherness, and energy and fun and just sheer joy. All I can say is that this left me with such an incredible feeling of happiness that I was actually pleasant to people at work. Now that is saying something.
SETLIST:
1. Thieves
2. The Missing
3. Deity
4. Rio Grande Blood
5. LiesLiesLies
6. Goddamn White Trash
7. Alert Level
8. Stigmata
9. N.W.O.
10. Just One Fix
11. Jesus Built My Hotrod
Encore:
12. We Believe (Squirrely Years Version)
13. Effigy (I’m Not An) (Squirrely Years Version)
14. Revenge (Squirrely Years Version)
Before the sermon – the support
SIGLOS
Well this is rather splendid. I am at Brixton Electric to see my babes Ministry and a wonderful thing has happened. I have discovered a new band. I am a big fan of going to see support bands, I mean all your faves also did the support run so why would you not want to see them at the beginning?
I did not have any expectations for SIGLOS and not checked out their music beforehand but of course I am doing that now. They are an LA band with a fusion of Black, Doom and Industrial metal which in all honesty ticks all my boxes. The venue was fairly packed already so happy that they got to showcase what they had to more than a handful of people like at other gigs and fortunately for them, they had a crowd full of excited, happy, nice (well metalheads are nice) people.
The bonus for me is that I have Spanish / Cuban heritage so uber cool to hear lyrics in my language and having a look at their bio of mixing their Mexican and Spanish heritage is something I love. The dense, heaving beats almost sound ritualistic which I think they were going for and listening to vocalist Pedro Sanchez’s chants, with the packed-out crowd and darkness of the venue, you could almost feel we were in an underground cathedral in a ritual to call the demon gods. Can you tell I am a bit of an urban fantasy fan?
I love the slow grind of the beats and riffs and interesting to note that the guitarist – Sin Quirin is formerly of Ministry so I should not be surprised at the quality of the performance. For a starter band tonight, they set the scene and mood perfectly and to be honest, it filled me with joy seeing how much Pedro, Sin and the band enjoyed performing and it just fed into the whole night of good vibes, fans, music and bands playing tonight.
I shall definitely be going to see SIGLOS play again as should you. You won’t regret it.
Light of Eternity
If you’ve followed us for a while then you’ll know that we recently spoke to ‘Big’ Paul Ferguson of Killing Joke about his current band, Light of Eternity / LoE. The interview if you’re interested is below where Paul talks about playing with and touring with Ministry, something Killing Joke never managed to do.
This would be the second time we’d seen the band in a week with their debut London performance at the renowned 100 Club on Oxford Street taking place some 3 days earlier.
What was an excellent show at the 100 Club, marred perhaps by the low stage and less than stellar sound system was made up for by cheap beer and good company and a desire to see LoE again on a stage that benefited their dark gothic laden sound and style. The three members of the band have a unique vibe on stage and whilst they may not be the most energetic, SIGLOS definitely took some beating in that department, somehow the darker vibe of the bill, the industrial, dark metal slant that it offered suited LoE perfectly. If we looked at the 100 Club show as the warm up which even included Youth doing a DJ set to start the night, much to the joy of Killing Joke fans, then the Electric show truly showcased what the band were capable of when the venue, situation and audience all line up like a celestial eclipse.
With the same set as that at the 100 Club, LoE were able to deliver a haunting performance, truly immersive and one that resonates in the mind long after the show. Focusing on the two studio EPs released to date, “Edge of Fate” and “Aftershock,” the 45 minute set gave us everything that Killing Joke fans need right now with no music from KJ coming any time soon.
What began as a side project has quickly morphed into something far more significant. What started as a thing with Pauly Williams has become a focus for Ferguson and it fills a void left by the unexpected death of Geordie Walker. With the line-up solidified with the addition of Fred Schreck (The Ancients) on vocals, the band’s dynamic is one of enthusiasm, mystery and more importantly power and professionalism. This is and was no fly by night exercise and if things continue then I think we can expect more and more from LoE in the near future. More material and a longer set next time please guys!
SETLIST:
Aftershock
Tipping Point
Nebula
Vastness
Distraction
Edge of Fate
Dark Hope
Fascist X
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