Ministry – Palace Theater – St. Paul MN – May 20th 2025

First Avenue presents Ministry with special guests My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Die Krupps

Review and photos by Kyle Hansen

1. Sound and Performance:
Die Krupps are known for blending industrial metal, EBM (electronic body music), and synth elements, and their live shows reflect that fusion powerfully. Expect heavy guitar riffs, pounding beats, and layered electronics, often performed with aggressive precision. Their sound is loud, raw, and immersive—ideal for fans of both industrial and metal scenes.

2. Stage Presence:
Frontman Jürgen Engler is a commanding presence on stage. His interaction with the audience is intense and sometimes confrontational in a good way—he thrives on the energy exchange. The band’s stage setup is typically minimal but visually impactful, often making use of stark lighting, metallic props, or the iconic “steelophone”, an industrial percussion instrument they’ve used since the 1980s.

3. Setlist Variety:
They strike a strong balance between old-school anthems like:

• “Fatherland”

• “To the Hilt”

• “Bloodsuckers”

• “Metal Machine Music”

4. Audience Reaction:
Fans typically describe the crowd as energetic, ranging from older industrial heads to younger metal fans. Expect moshing, headbanging, and synchronized fist-pumping. There’s a loyal following, especially in Europe, where their shows feel more like events than just gigs.

5. Atmosphere:
The vibe is often gritty and industrial, with an underground energy. Lighting and visuals are used to create a cold, cybernetic tone, aligning with their politically charged and dystopian themes.

1. Sound and Performance Vibe:
Thrill Kill Kult shows are often a psychedelic, sleazy, and funky spectacle. Their sound live leans into:

• Dark disco grooves

• Industrial and electronic textures

• Campy, B-movie atmosphere

They don’t aim for pristine sound fidelity—instead, they lean into a gritty, sensual vibe that matches their albums’ collage-style production.

2. Stage Presence:
Groovie Mann (Frankie Nardiello) is the charismatic ringleader—think of him more as a burlesque MC than a traditional frontman. He struts, preaches, and sometimes slurs theatrically through songs, flanked by backing vocalists or dancers (depending on the era and tour budget). Buzz McCoy (Marston Daley), the band’s producer and other core member, usually hangs further back handling electronics or guitar.

3. Visuals:
Their shows are known for:

• Erotic imagery and sleaze-pulp aesthetics

• Retro horror and occult video projections

• Strip-club-meets-grindhouse lighting

It’s meant to feel like a late-night cult movie marathon turned into a nightclub set.

4. Audience:
Expect a mix of goths, industrial fans, club kids, and nostalgic 90s alt-heads. The crowd usually knows the lyrics and treats the night more like a party than a formal concert.

5. Setlist Themes:
They draw heavily from:

• Confessions of a Knife

• Sexplosion!

• I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits

• And selected newer releases from the 2010s and 2020s

Big songs like “Sex on Wheelz,” “The Days of Swine and Roses,” and “Ana This is What The Devil Does” are staples and tend to bring the house down.

The Palace’s open GA floor and vintage balcony setting create an ideal mix for their performance:

• Good acoustics for a bass-heavy show

• Room for dancing and moving around

• Visual production translates well with the venue’s setup

Their set. was shirt, but they pack in a lot with medleys, vamping, and crowd interaction.

In 2025, Ministry launched what they’ve billed as a farewell tour—“The Squirrely Years”—a nod to their early synth-pop and EBM roots. This marks a major pivot from their heavier industrial-metal era and reflects on albums like With Sympathy and Twitch, which frontman Al Jourgensen had once distanced himself from.

1. Setlist & Sound:
For longtime fans, this tour offers a rare treat: songs from the early ’80s—like “Effigy (I’m Not An),” “Revenge,” and “Work for Love”—performed live for the first time in decades. They’re not played as cheesy throwbacks, either. Instead, they’re reinterpreted with:

• Modern production

• Grittier synths

• A touch of the abrasive Ministry edge

Expect fewer blastbeats and more layered electronics, synth hooks, and EBM-style rhythms.

2. Musicianship:
Jourgensen is still a commanding figure on stage—grizzled, intense, and theatrical. His band is tight and professional, with live drums, synths, and guitar lines all working in sync to honor but reimagine the material.

Even if his vocals aren’t pitch-perfect, that’s never been the point—it’s about attitude, irony, and energy.

3. Visuals & Atmosphere:
True to Ministry form, the stage is likely minimal and dark, with:

• Stark lighting

• Retro-futurist or glitchy video backdrops

• Occasional political imagery (though likely toned down for this nostalgic run)

The vibe is somewhere between industrial club night and post-punk cabaret, with an undercurrent of “final chapter” sentimentality.

✅ Strengths:

• Unique, one-time reinterpretation of early material

• A rare emotional tone to a Ministry show

• Clean production and coherent set structure

• A sense of historical closure

❌ Possible Downsides:

• If you came for Psalm 69-era Ministry, you may feel underwhelmed

• Some of the newer versions may deviate heavily from originals

If you’ve been to the Palace Theatre before, you can expect a heady, sweaty, neon-soaked night of industrial-glam chaos. Let me know if you want a mock setlist or era-specific concert impressions!